How to use the command pdfseparate (with examples)

The pdfseparate command is a utility tool that allows you to extract specific pages from a PDF file and create separate PDF files for each of those pages. This can be useful in various scenarios where you need to extract specific pages from a larger PDF document.

Use case 1: Extract pages from PDF file and make a separate PDF file for each page

Code:

pdfseparate path/to/source_filename.pdf path/to/destination_filename-%d.pdf

Motivation:

Extracting pages from a PDF file and saving them as separate files can be beneficial when you want to distribute or share specific information contained in different pages. By saving each page as a separate PDF, you can easily manage and distribute the relevant pages without the need for the entire document.

Explanation:

• pdfseparate is the command itself.
• path/to/source_filename.pdf is the path to the source PDF file from which pages will be extracted.
• path/to/destination_filename-%d.pdf is the path where the extracted pages will be saved. The %d specifies that each page will be saved as a separate file with an incremented number.

Example output:

If the source PDF file contains 5 pages, running the command:

pdfseparate path/to/source_filename.pdf path/to/destination_filename-%d.pdf

will result in 5 separate PDF files named destination_filename-1.pdf, destination_filename-2.pdf, destination_filename-3.pdf, destination_filename-4.pdf, and destination_filename-5.pdf, each containing one page from the source file.

Use case 2: Specify the first/start page for extraction

Code:

pdfseparate -f 3 path/to/source_filename.pdf path/to/destination_filename-%d.pdf

Motivation:

Sometimes, you may want to start extracting pages from a specific page onward. For instance, if a document has a title page or table of contents that you don’t need, you can skip those pages by specifying the first page you want to extract.

Explanation:

• -f 3 is the argument that specifies the first page to be extracted. In this example, page number 3 is specified.
• path/to/source_filename.pdf is the path to the source PDF file from which pages will be extracted.
• path/to/destination_filename-%d.pdf is the path where the extracted pages will be saved, with each page saved as a separate file.

Example output:

Assuming the source PDF file contains 10 pages, running the command:

pdfseparate -f 3 path/to/source_filename.pdf path/to/destination_filename-%d.pdf

will result in 8 separate PDF files named destination_filename-1.pdf, destination_filename-2.pdf, destination_filename-3.pdf, destination_filename-4.pdf, destination_filename-5.pdf, destination_filename-6.pdf, destination_filename-7.pdf, and destination_filename-8.pdf, with each file containing one page starting from page 3 of the source file.

Use case 3: Specify the last page for extraction

Code:

pdfseparate -l 10 path/to/source_filename.pdf path/to/destination_filename-%d.pdf

Motivation:

There might be cases when you only need to extract a subset of pages from the end of a PDF document, such as when you want to exclude supplementary information or appendices. By specifying the last page to be extracted, you can easily achieve this.

Explanation:

• -l 10 is the argument that specifies the last page to be extracted. In this example, page number 10 is specified.
• path/to/source_filename.pdf is the path to the source PDF file from which pages will be extracted.
• path/to/destination_filename-%d.pdf is the path where the extracted pages will be saved, with each page saved as a separate file.

Example output:

If the source PDF file contains 15 pages, running the command:

pdfseparate -l 10 path/to/source_filename.pdf path/to/destination_filename-%d.pdf

will result in 10 separate PDF files named destination_filename-1.pdf, destination_filename-2.pdf, destination_filename-3.pdf, destination_filename-4.pdf, destination_filename-5.pdf, destination_filename-6.pdf, destination_filename-7.pdf, destination_filename-8.pdf, destination_filename-9.pdf, and destination_filename-10.pdf, each containing one page from the last 10 pages of the source file.

Conclusion:

The pdfseparate command provides a simple and efficient way to extract pages from a PDF file and save them as separate PDF files. Whether you need to distribute specific information, skip unnecessary pages, or focus on a subset of pages, pdfseparate gives you the flexibility to achieve your desired results.