I need to extract specific pages from large PDF documents but have heard that the online PDF editors are dangerous to use. What are my options to cut out pages without downloading malicious software onto my Windows computer?
While there are programs that are risky to install on your Windows PC, PDF-related programs are no more dangerous than any other type of utility. The danger – as the FBI has warned – is that people are uploading documents with PII, personally identifiable information, that’s being collected and used for nefarious purposes. As the FBI explains: “Criminals use free online document converter tools to load malware onto victims’ computers, leading to incidents such as ransomware.”
If you want to convert a PDF into an editable Word document, for example, you can simply open it with Microsoft Word and it’ll do the magic required: If you have “Word” on your PC, you’re ready to go! There are lots of variations on these utilities, however, and they offer me the chance to repeat my standard advice: Don’t install anything on your PC from a third party. No extensions, no utilities, no plug-ins, etc. If you can verify that it’s from a large tech company like Microsoft or Adobe, you’re safe. But some obscure site that has a dicey Webpage or is software stashed in an online repository? Risky, for sure.
Shortcuts: Extract Specific Pages | Specify Which Pages to Include | Merging PDF Documents
This brings us to your question: How do you extract pages from a PDF? You can pay to get a Pro subscription to Adobe Acrobat Pro at about $30/mo, but that might be prohibitively expensive. For simple PDF tasks it turns out that Windows 11 itself can manage the job! Let’s have a look…
EXTRACT SPECIFIC PAGES FROM A PDF
One of the many surprise features of Microsoft Edge is the ability to work with PDF documents. Open one up either locally on your PC or from the Internet and it shows up with a built-in PDF viewer:
You can find the Magna Carta online as a PDF at the National Archives, if you’d like a copy.
It’s subtle, but the PDF toolbar shows that this page 1 of 6. Various tools allow you to highlight content and add text, though actually editing the document is generally not an option within Edge.
But Windows has a secret superpower: It can print to a PDF document instead of sending a printout to a physical printing device!
As a result, page extraction is easy: Just print to PDF and specify which page or pages you want. The print icon is along the top, and a click brings up the Windows print manager:
Notice on the left I’ve selected “Microsoft Print to PDF” as the destination printer, not my HP or Brother printers.
SPECIFYING WHICH PAGE OR PAGES TO INCLUDE
If you’ve never explored the full Windows print dialog you might be surprised at the many options. If I scroll down, here are a few of the key choices:
The even only or odd only are generally for two-sided printing (though most modern printers can figure it out all for themselves). What we’re interested in here is the page range box. Here you can specify a single page by number, a range of pages, even multiple single page or page range options. I’ve added “1-2” to only include the first two pages in the resultant PDF, but could easily have “1,3-4,6” to skip pages 2 and 5, if desired.
Helpful tip: Once you enter your page range, scroll through the preview on the right to ensure that the pages you want are included. If they aren’t, tweak your page range to get things right.
Ready to proceed? Click “Print“.
Since we’re Printing to PDF, Edge will now display a typical Windows File Save dialog window:
In this instance, I’m going to save the resultant PDF in the same folder as the original Magna Carta document. I’ll use the mnemonic name “manga carta pgs 1-2.pdf” as the File Name. A click on “Save” and it’s done. Now File Explorer shows the fourth file:
Interestingly, notice that the two page subset is quite a bit bigger than the six page master document, by an order of magnitude: 47KB vs 699KB. Compressing PDFs to make them smaller is beyond the scope of this tutorial but it is one of the features that Adobe Acrobat Pro offers if it’s critical.
MERGING PDF DOCUMENTS? NOT SO EASY
One of the other tasks that can cause people to search for online tools is the need to merge multiple PDF documents into a new one. This is essentially impossible on Windows without a new program or extension, so while I cringe to suggest it, the easiest is to ask a friend with a Mac system to help out. On the Mac, it’s ridiculously easy: Select all the PDFs, Control-Click and choose Quick Actions > Save PDF:
That’s it. For this particular task, it’s Mac: 1, Windows: 0. If this idea of asking a colleague to assist is abhorent, it’s worth noting that you can sign up for a free 30-day trial of Adobe Acrobat Pro, which will give you access to a merge capability. Cancel before the 30 days are up and you don’t have to pay for the solution and it’s from a trustworthy source.
I hope that helps you out. Good luck; PDFs are generally easy to work with but extracting pages is a bit tricky and merging multiple docs is definitely an advanced task!
Pro Tip: I’ve been using and writing about Microsoft’s online universe for many years. Please check out my Windows 11 help area while you’re visiting! Thanks.