PDF Page Ranges Explained: 1-3, 7, 10- and Other Tricks

A page range is a short list that tells a tool which pages to take and in what order: 5 means page 5, 2-4 means pages 2 through 4, 10- means page 10 to the end, and commas join them, so 1-3, 7, 10- keeps pages 1, 2, 3, 7 and everything from 10 on. When extracting pages, those pages become a new PDF in exactly the order you typed, and the original file isn't changed.

That syntax is more powerful than it looks. Here's the full reference with worked examples.

The building blocks

You type	Meaning
5	Page 5
2-4	Pages 2, 3, 4
10-	Page 10 to the last page
-3	Page 1 to page 3
1-3, 7	Pages 1, 2, 3 and 7
odd	Pages 1, 3, 5, …
even	Pages 2, 4, 6, …
all	Every page

Separate items with commas, spaces or semicolons; 1-3, 7, 1-3 7 and 1-3;7 are equivalent. The keywords odd, even and all work on their own, not mixed with numbers.

Order is what you type

This is the feature most people miss. Pages are added to the new PDF in the order they appear in your list, not sorted. So:

• 3, 1, 2 gives a PDF that starts with page 3.
• 10-12, 1-9 moves the last three pages of a 12-page document to the front.

Reverse ranges

A range can run backwards. 5-1 gives pages 5, 4, 3, 2, 1. To reverse an entire 24-page document, type 24-1. That's useful when a scanner fed a stack in reverse order.

Repeating a page

When extracting, the same page can appear more than once. 1, 2-8, 1 puts the cover page at both the start and the end, and 4, 4, 4 makes three copies of a form page to fill in by hand.

Worked examples

Assume a 20-page PDF.

Goal	Type	Resulting pages
Just the signature page	20	20
Drop the cover and the last page	2-19	2–19 (18 pages)
First three pages	-3 or 1-3	1, 2, 3
Summary first, then the rest	18-20, 1-17	18, 19, 20, 1, 2, … 17
Pages 1–5 and 11–15 only	1-5, 11-15	10 pages
Every right-hand (odd) page	odd	1, 3, 5, … 19
Whole document backwards	20-1	20, 19, … 1

What happens with mistakes?

The tool checks every item before creating anything:

• 25 in a 20-page PDF: "Page 25 does not exist — this PDF has 20 pages."
• 3-x or p5: "“3-x” is not a valid page or range. Use numbers like 1-3, 5, 8-."

Fix the item mentioned and run it again.

How to extract pages step by step

1. Open Extract PDF Pages and choose a PDF. The page count appears next to the file name.
2. In Pages to keep, type your range. It starts pre-filled with 1-3 as an example.
3. Click Extract pages.
4. Download the new PDF. It's named with -extracted and shows how many pages it contains.

Pages are copied as they are, so text stays searchable and images keep their quality. Everything happens in your browser; the PDF isn't uploaded.

Extract, split or reorder?

These three tools overlap, so here's the quick distinction:

• Extract makes one new PDF from the pages you list, in your order.
• Split PDF makes several PDFs at once, for example one per chapter.
• Reorder PDF Pages shows thumbnails so you can move and remove pages visually. It's better when you can't remember which page is which.

If you know the page numbers, Extract with a typed range is usually the fastest of the three. It can even reorder a whole document in one line.

FAQ

Does extracting delete pages from my original file?

No. The original stays as it is on your device; you get a separate new PDF.

Can I extract pages from several PDFs into one?

Extract from each file separately, then combine the results with Merge PDF.

Where do I find the right page numbers?

Use the page numbers your PDF viewer shows in its toolbar, not the numbers printed on the pages. A report whose first printed "page 1" comes after a cover and a table of contents might really be page 3 of the file.

Copy a range from the tables above and try it in Extract PDF Pages.