← All guides

How to split a PDF into one file per page on a Mac

Turn a PDF into one file per page on a Mac with Automator's built in Split PDF action or one Terminal command, and name the files so they stay in order.

The problem

An upload form wants each page as its own file, and dragging pages out of Preview one at a time is slow and easy to get wrong.

How do I save every page of a PDF as a separate file on a Mac?

Make a Quick Action with Automator, which comes with macOS and includes a Split PDF action:

  1. Open Automator from Applications and choose Quick Action.
  2. At the top, set it to receive PDF files in Finder.
  3. Search the actions for Split PDF and drag it into the workflow.
  4. Save it with a name such as Split into pages.

Now Control click any PDF in Finder and choose Quick Actions > Split into pages. You get one PDF per page.

How do I split a PDF into pages in Terminal?

brew install poppler
pdfseparate statement.pdf statement-%d.pdf

%d becomes the page number. We ran it on a two page test file: it wrote page-1.pdf and page-2.pdf.

Why are the split pages in the wrong order in Finder?

With ten or more pages, Finder sorts statement-10 before statement-2. Sort by Date Created instead, or rename with leading zeros.

Our take

Split only when the receiver insists. A form that takes one file per page is rare; most take one PDF, and a single file is easier for everyone after you to keep in order. Check the form before you make twenty files to upload.

Splitting into a few parts rather than single pages: split a PDF. Simply PDF's Organise Pages, with a key, splits into files of any number of pages and puts them in a folder named after the original.

Questions

How do I save every page of a PDF as a separate file on a Mac?

Use Automator's Split PDF action as a Finder Quick Action, or run pdfseparate in Terminal. Both make one file per page.

Is there a built in way without installing anything?

Yes. Automator and its Split PDF action come with macOS.

More guides