How to Split Scanned PDF Files: A Comprehensive Guide

Portable Document Format (PDF) files are excellent for preserving document integrity, but unlike editable text formats like .doc, they can be quite challenging to manipulate. Often, you might find yourself needing only a portion of a large PDF document, especially when dealing with scanned files. Knowing how to split a PDF file is a valuable skill for anyone working with digital documents.

Fortunately, separating pages from a PDF, even scanned ones, is easier than you might think. Whether you need to extract a single page or divide a large document into multiple smaller files, there are several effective methods available. This guide will walk you through various ways to split your scanned PDF files, both online and offline, ensuring you can efficiently manage your documents.

1. Splitting PDF Files Online Using Smallpdf

Smallpdf is a popular online tool that offers a user-friendly interface for various PDF manipulations, including splitting files. Here’s how to use it to separate your scanned PDF:

• Step 1: Open your web browser and navigate to the Smallpdf Split PDF page: https://smallpdf.com/split-pdf.
• Step 2: Click the “Choose Files” button to upload the PDF file you want to split. You can select a file from your local storage or import it directly from cloud services like Google Drive or Dropbox.

Alt Text: Screenshot of the Smallpdf Split PDF webpage, highlighting the “Choose Files” button for uploading a PDF document.

• Step 3: Once your PDF is uploaded, you’ll be presented with two options: “Extract every page into a PDF” and “Select pages to extract”.

  • “Extract every page into a PDF”: This option will split your PDF into individual pages, each saved as a separate PDF file.
  • “Select pages to extract”: This allows you to choose specific pages or page ranges to extract into a new PDF.

• Step 4: Choose the “Extract every page into a PDF” option to split your scanned PDF into individual pages.

Alt Text: Selecting the ‘Extract every page into a PDF’ option on Smallpdf’s split PDF tool, indicated by a highlighted checkbox and descriptive text.

• Step 5: Click the purple “Split PDF” button to initiate the splitting process.
• Step 6: After the process is complete, click the “Download” button to save your split PDF files. You can download them directly to your computer or save them back to your cloud storage.

Alt Text: The download interface on Smallpdf after splitting a PDF, showing the “Download” button to save the processed files.

2. Splitting PDF Files Online Using PDF Candy

PDF Candy is another excellent online service that provides a range of PDF tools, including a handy split PDF function. Here’s how to use PDF Candy to split your scanned documents:

• Step 1: Open your web browser and go to the PDF Candy Split PDF page: https://pdfcandy.com/split-pdf.html.
• Step 2: Click the “+ Add file” button to upload the scanned PDF you need to split. Similar to Smallpdf, you can upload from your device, Google Drive, or Dropbox.

Alt Text: PDF Candy Split PDF webpage interface with the “+ Add file” button prominently displayed for users to upload their PDF documents.

• Step 3: Once your PDF is uploaded, you will see options for splitting. Select the “Split by pages” option to separate each page of your scanned PDF into individual files.

• Step 4: Click the “Split PDF” button to start the process.

• Step 5: Once completed, click the “Download file” button to download the split PDF pages.

Alt Text: The download screen on PDF Candy after splitting a PDF file, showing the “Download file” button ready for users to retrieve their split documents.

3. Splitting PDF Files Offline Using Nitro PDF Pro

For users who prefer offline solutions or work with sensitive documents, Nitro PDF Professional is a robust desktop application that offers comprehensive PDF editing and splitting capabilities.

• Step 1: If you have Nitro PDF Professional installed, launch the application. If not, you’ll need to download and install it.

• Step 2: Open your scanned PDF document by clicking “File” then “Open” within Nitro PDF.

• Step 3: Navigate to the “Page Layout” tab in the Nitro PDF ribbon.

• Step 4: Click the “Split” button. This will open the “Split Pages” window.

• Step 5: In the “Split Pages” window, under “Splitting Methods”, select “into file of” and ensure “1” is entered in the “pages” column. This setting instructs Nitro PDF to split the document into files of single pages.

• Step 6: Click the “Split” button to execute the splitting process. Nitro PDF will create new PDF files for each page in your scanned document.

4. Splitting PDF Files on Android Using PDF Utils

If you need to split scanned PDFs directly on your Android device, PDF Utils is a convenient mobile application.

• Step 1: Download and install the PDF Utils app from the Google Play Store.
• Step 2: Open the PDF Utils app and locate the scanned PDF file you want to split within the app’s file browser.
• Step 3: Select the PDF file.
• Step 4: Choose the “Split” option.
• Step 5: Specify the pages you want to split, or choose to split all pages.
• Step 6: Select a destination folder for the split files.
• Step 7: The app will automatically save the split pages to your chosen folder.

5. Splitting PDF Files Online Using iLovePDF

iLovePDF is another popular online platform that offers a wide array of PDF tools, including a straightforward split PDF tool.

• Step 1: Go to the iLovePDF Split PDF page in your web browser: https://www.ilovepdf.com/split_pdf.
• Step 2: Click “Select PDF file” to upload your scanned PDF. You can also upload from Google Drive and Dropbox.

Alt Text: iLovePDF Split PDF webpage interface with a clear “Select PDF file” button for initiating the PDF upload process.

• Step 3: Once your PDF is uploaded, on the right toolbar, choose the ‘Extract pages’ mode. You can select ‘Split into pages’ to separate all pages or ‘Select ranges’ for specific pages.

• Step 4: If you choose ‘Split into pages,’ simply click the “Split PDF” button at the bottom. For specific ranges, enter the desired page ranges in the provided columns.

• Step 5: After processing, your split files will automatically download to your device.

Alt Text: The download interface on iLovePDF after splitting a PDF, featuring a prominent download button to retrieve the split PDF files.

These methods provide you with a variety of options to split your scanned PDF files efficiently, whether you are working on a computer or a mobile device, online or offline. Choose the method that best suits your needs and start managing your PDF documents with greater ease.