How to delete pages from a PDF before you send it
By the PdfDady team · Updated · 7 min read
To delete pages from a PDF, open it in a page remover, mark the pages you don't want and save a new copy without them. In our Remove PDF pages tool you tap the unwanted pages (they get crossed out in red) or type their numbers, then download. The new file is built only from the pages you keep, so the deleted ones are not hidden inside it somewhere.
There are two common reasons to do this before sending a file: blank pages that make a scan look careless, and pages the recipient has no business seeing.
Decide what should go
Go through the PDF once and note the page numbers. Typical candidates:
- Blank pages. A scanner set to two-sided produces a blank for the empty back of every sheet.
- Pages nobody asked for. The landlord wants your last three salary slips, and your PDF has twelve. The bank wants the first and last page of your passbook, not every transaction.
- Other people's details. A scanned result sheet with thirty students on a page you don't need, or a family document where only one member's page is required.
- Cover sheets and adverts. Fax-style cover pages, "this page is intentionally left blank", terms and conditions at the end of a statement.
- Duplicates. The same page scanned twice.
A useful rule is to send what was asked for and nothing more. Every extra page with your address, account number or signature on it is one more copy of that detail sitting in someone's inbox.
Delete the pages
- Open Remove PDF pages and add your file. It takes one PDF of up to 100 MB and shows the pages as thumbnails.
- Tap each page you want gone. A marked page is crossed out in red. Tap again to unmark it.
- Or type the page numbers and ranges, such as
2, 5-7. A range like5-7removes pages 5, 6 and 7. The thumbnails update to match what you typed, and the other way round. - Check the page count shown for the new PDF. If you expected 6 pages and it says 5, look again.
- Download. The file is saved as
pages-removed.pdf.
Typing is quicker for long files. If the blanks in a 40-page scan are all the even pages, typing them beats tapping twenty thumbnails.
The tool won't let you remove every page by mistake, and Clear unmarks everything if you want to start again.
Delete or extract: pick the shorter list
If you are keeping most of the file, delete the few pages you don't want. If you are keeping only a few pages out of many, it is quicker to do the opposite and pull out the ones you want.
| Your file | What you want to send | Easier way |
|---|---|---|
| 12 pages | 10 of them | Delete 2 pages |
| 12 pages | Pages 3 and 4 only | Extract 2 pages |
| 60-page statement | One month's page | Extract 1 page |
| 8-page scan with 3 blanks | The 5 real pages | Delete 3 pages |
Extract PDF Pages works the same way in reverse: you tap the pages to keep. We cover that in how to save one page of a PDF.
Check that the pages are really gone
This is the step people skip, and it matters when the reason for deleting was privacy.
- Open the new file, not the old one. Your original is still on your device, unchanged, under its original name. The cleaned copy is
pages-removed.pdf. - Count the pages and scroll through all of them.
- Search for something that was only on the deleted page, such as an account number or a name, using your PDF reader's find function. It should not be found. (Search only works on PDFs with real text. In a scanned PDF every page is a picture, so check by eye.)
- Rename the file to something clear, and send that one.
The most common mistake is not a technical one. People delete the pages correctly and then attach the original file from the same folder. Renaming the clean copy to something like Salary_Slips_Aug-Oct.pdf right away makes that much less likely.
What deleting a page does not do
It doesn't hide details on the pages you keep
Removing page 4 does nothing about the account number printed on page 1. To black out part of a page that you are keeping, use Redact PDF, which redraws the marked pages as images with those areas filled black, so the original text under the box isn't in the new file. Drawing a black rectangle over text in an ordinary editor is not the same thing.
It doesn't renumber what is printed on the paper
If each page says "Page 2 of 8" at the bottom, the recipient will be able to see that pages are missing. Often that is fine. Sometimes it invites a question, so be ready to explain, or say in your message that you are sending selected pages.
It doesn't keep bookmarks or form fields
The kept pages are copied into a new document, and bookmarks and fillable form fields are not carried over. Page content is copied as it is, not re-rendered, so the pages look the same and text stays selectable.
When you should not delete pages
Some recipients need the complete document, and a shortened one will be sent back.
- Statements asked for "in full", for a loan or visa file, for example. If the request says complete statement for six months, send every page, including the dull ones.
- Agreements and affidavits. Every page is part of the document. Removing one changes what the document says.
- Anything you are asked to submit "as issued", like a certificate or order downloaded from an official portal.
If you are unsure, ask the recipient whether selected pages are acceptable. And never remove a page to change what a document appears to say. That is not tidying a file; it is misrepresenting it.
Problems and fixes
The tool refuses my PDF
Password-protected PDFs are not supported and are refused with a message. Statements and salary slips are often sent locked. If you know the password, Unlock PDF saves a copy that opens without it, and you can remove pages from that copy.
I deleted the wrong page
Before downloading, tap the page again to bring it back. After downloading, start over from your original PDF, which was never changed.
The remaining pages are in the wrong order
Deleting keeps the remaining pages in their existing order. To move them around as well, use Organize PDF, which lets you drag, rotate and delete in one place. See how to rearrange PDF pages.
Doing it on a Mac without a tool
Preview can delete pages: choose View > Thumbnails, select the pages and press Delete. Two cautions from Apple's guide: deleting a page also removes the annotations on it, and Preview saves changes into the file automatically. Make a duplicate first so you still have the full original.
Questions people ask
Is a deleted page really removed from the file?
Yes. The new PDF is built only from the pages you keep, so a removed page is not in it. Your original file on your device is not changed, so look after that one too.
Can I delete several pages at once?
Yes. Tap each one, or type them, for example 2, 5-7, 12.
Will the file get smaller?
Usually, since there are fewer pages in it, but by how much depends on what was on the removed pages. A blank page adds very little; a full-colour scan adds a lot.
Is my PDF uploaded?
No. Pages are removed in your browser. That is worth knowing when the file is a bank statement or a set of salary slips.