Good reasons to delete pages from PDF files
- Blank scans: scanners often add empty backs of pages. Removing them makes the file shorter and easier to read.
- Sharing less: an employer may need your contract but not the page with your bank details. Remove it before sending.
- Smaller uploads: every page adds weight. Dropping extra pages helps a document fit a size limit.
- Cleaner handouts: take out cover sheets, empty notes pages or old appendices before printing.
- Fixing mistakes: a page scanned twice or a wrong attachment can be removed without scanning everything again.
Keep in mind that deleting a page removes it completely from the new file. If you only want to hide part of a page, deleting is not the right tool.
Delete pages or split the PDF?
Both tools give you fewer pages, but they suit different jobs. The right choice depends on how much of the document you want to keep.
| You want to | Best tool |
|---|---|
| Drop a few pages and keep the rest | Delete PDF Pages |
| Keep only 3 pages out of 80 | Split PDF with a custom range |
| Break one file into many files | Split PDF, every page mode |
A quick rule: if you are deleting more pages than you keep, splitting out the pages you need is usually faster. If you are removing only a handful, clicking thumbnails here wins.
Tidy up the rest of the document
Before downloading, scroll through the grid once more. Highlighted pages are the ones that will disappear, so it is easy to spot a page you clicked by accident.
While the thumbnails are in front of you, look for pages that are sideways. Fix them with Rotate PDF. If the shorter file is still too big for an upload form, Compress PDF reduces the size of the images inside.
