Rotate, move, delete, and renumber PDF pages Part 1

Rotate, move, delete, and renumber PDF pages Part 1

To manipulate pages in a PDF, ensure that you have permission to edit the PDF. Select Document properties from the hamburger menu  (Windows) or File menu in macOS, then select the Security tab in the dialog. Review your permissions for the document under Document Restrictions Summary.

Rotate pages in a PDF

You can rotate all or select pages in a document. Rotation is based on 90-degree increments. You can rotate pages using the rotate tools in the Page Thumbnails pane or the Rotate option.

  1. 1. Open the PDF in Acrobat, choose All tools > Organize pages.

  2. 2. From the left pane, specify the page range on which you want to apply the rotation. Select the drop-down menu under PAGES SELECTED, then select the appropriate option. Alternatively, you can enter the page number you want to operate on.

  3. 3. After specifying the page range, for Direction, select either Rotate page left for counterclockwise 90° rotation or Rotate page right° for clockwise 90° rotation.

  4. 4. You can also apply the page rotation on a specific page by selecting the buttons in the right pane.

    Page Thumbnail View
    Page rotation in the page thumbnail view.

    Note

    To temporarily change your view of the page, from the hamburger menu   (Windows) or the View menu (macOS), choose View > Rotate view > Rotate view right or Rotate view left. The original page orientation is restored the next time you open the PDF.

Extract pages from a PDF

Extraction is reusing selected pages of one PDF in a different PDF. Extracted pages include the content and the form fields, comments, and links of the original document.

You can leave the extracted pages in the original document or remove them during extraction.

Note

Any bookmarks or article threadings associated with pages aren't extracted.

  1. 1. Open the PDF in Acrobat. From the upper left, select All Tools > Organize pages.

  2. 2. Specify the page range or the pages you want to extract. Select the drop-down menu under PAGES SELECTED, then select the appropriate option. Alternatively, you can enter the page number you want to operate on.

  3. 3. Select Extract pages   under PAGE OPTIONS.

  4. 4. In the dialog, select one or more of the following before you select Extract:

    • To remove the extracted pages from the original document, select Delete pages after extracting.
    • To create a single-page PDF for each extracted page, select Extract pages as separate files.
    • To keep the original pages intact and create a single PDF for the extracted pages, deselect both options.

The extracted pages are placed in a new document.

Note

The creator of a PDF document can set the security to prevent the extraction of pages. To view the security settings for a document, choose Document properties from the hamburger menu  (Windows) or File menu in macOS and then select the Security tab in the dialog.

Extract random pages from a PDF

You can also select and extract discontinuous pages from the page thumbnails in the right navigation pane of Acrobat.

  1. 1. Open the PDF in Acrobat. From the upper left, select All Tools > Organize pages.

  2. 2. Specify the pages which you want to extract separated with a comma. For example, if you want to extract pages 3 and 5, enter 3, 5 in the pages field under PAGES SELECTED.

    Select the Extract pages   under PAGE OPTIONS.

    Extract pages from a PDF option is shown in Acrobat interface.

  3. 3. In the dialog, select one or more of the following before you select Extract:

    • To remove the extracted pages from the original document, select Delete pages after extracting.
    • To create a single-page PDF for each extracted page, select Extract pages as separate files.
    • To keep the original pages intact and create a single PDF for the extracted pages, deselect both options.

The extracted pages are placed in a new document.

Split PDFs into multiple documents

You can split one or more PDFs into multiple smaller PDFs. When splitting a PDF, you can specify the split by the maximum number of pages, maximum file size, or top-level bookmarks.

  1. 1. Open the PDF in Acrobat. From the upper left, select All Tools > Organize pages.

  2. 2. In the left pane, under PAGE OPTIONS, select Split. A command dialog appears for the Split operation.

  3. 3. In the Split By list, select the criteria for dividing the document:

    Number of pages Specify the maximum number of pages for each document in the split.

    File Size Specify the maximum file size for each document in the split.

    Top-level Bookmarks If the document includes bookmarks, it creates one document for every top-level bookmark.

  4. 4. To specify a target folder for the split files and filename preferences, select Output Options. Specify the options as needed, and then select OK.

  5. 5. Select Split.

Split multiple PDFs

  1. 1. Open the PDF in Acrobat. From the upper left, select All Tools > Organize pages.

  2. 2. In the left pane, under PAGE OPTIONS, select Split. A command dialog appears for the Split operation.

  3. 3. In the Split by list, select the criteria for dividing the document:

    Number of pages Specify the maximum number of pages for each document in the split.

    File Size Specify the maximum file size for each document in the split.

    Top-level Bookmarks If the document includes bookmarks, it creates one document for every top-level bookmark.

  4. 4. To specify a target folder for the split files and filename preferences, select Output Options. Specify the options as needed, and then select OK.

  5. 5. Select Split multiple files. Select Add Files, and choose Add Files, Add Folders, or Add Open Files. Select the files or folder, and then select OK. Select Split.

Move, copy, or set page as a template in a PDF

To copy or move pages within a document, use the page thumbnails in the right navigation pane or the document area. You can also transfer pages between documents using these thumbnails. In the Organize Pages view, drag and drop thumbnails to rearrange pages, or select a thumbnail and copy it as needed.

Move or copy a page

  1. 1. Open the PDF in Acrobat, and select All tools > Organize pages.  The page thumbnails are displayed in the Document area.

  2. 2. Select one or more page thumbnails.

  3. 3. Do one of the following:
    • To move a page, drag the corresponding page thumbnail to the new location. A bar will appear to show the new position of the page thumbnail. The pages will be renumbered.
    • To cut or copy a page, select the page, and then select the ellipsis icon   in the context menu bar displayed next to it. Select Cut or Copy from the context menu. Select between the page thumbnails where you want to paste the page. A blue horizontal marker shows the selected location where you want to paste. Select Paste from the context menu. You can paste the pages in another PDF as well.
    Note

    You can also move or copy pages by selecting the Page Thumbnails  button from the right pane. 

Set page as a template 

  1. 1. Select All tools > Organize pages. 

  2. 2. Select the page you want to use as a template and then select Page templates from the left pane. 

  3. 3. In the dialog box that opens, add a name for the template in the Name field and then select Add. 

  4. 4. Select Yes in the confirmation dialog box. 



    • Related Articles

    • Rotate, move, delete,, and renumber PDF pages Part 2

      Copy a page between two PDFs 1. Open both PDFs and display them alongside each other. To display the PDFs side by side, select Window from the hamburger menu (Windows) or the Window menu (macOS). Then select Tile > Vertically. 2. Select All tools > ...

    • Combine or merge files into single PDF Part 2

      File size options for combining files 1. Once you add the files you want to combine, you'll see the added files in the Combine files window. You can decrease or increase the size of the combined file using Options. Select Options, and select one of ...

    • Crop PDF pages

      To crop a page: 1. From the top tools bar, select Edit. Alternatively, select the All tools menu > Edit a PDF. It displays the Edit toolset in the left panel. 2. From the Edit tools menu, select Crop page . 3. Drag a rectangle on the section that you ...

    • Delete pages from a PDF

      To delete pages from a PDF, ensure you have permission to edit the PDF. To check in Acrobat, select the hamburger menu (Windows), or File menu (macOS), choose Document Properties, and then select the Security tab. Review the Document Restrictions ...

    • Navigating PDF pages

      Navigate through pages To navigate efficiently through a PDF document in Acrobat Reader, you have various options. Here are the commonly used methods: Next and Previous: The Page Navigation toolbar includes the Up and Down arrows to navigate through ...