On your device
How to delete pages from a PDF on a Mac
By DeckleUpdated
To delete pages from a PDF on a Mac, open Organize PDF pages in your browser, drop the PDF onto the page, select the pages you don't want, choose Remove, then choose Save pages. Deckle creates a new PDF without those pages and leaves your original file as it was. Preview, the PDF viewer built into macOS, can delete pages too; both methods are below.
How to delete PDF pages on a Mac with Deckle
- Open Organize PDF pages in Safari, Chrome or Firefox.
- Drag the PDF from the Finder onto the page, or choose Select a file. Every page appears as a thumbnail.
- Select a page you want to delete and check the large preview to make sure it is the right one.
- Choose Remove. The page is marked as removed but stays visible, so you can restore it before saving.
- To remove several pages at once, Shift-click or Command-click them, or tick them, then choose the × (remove) button in the selection toolbar above the pages.
- Choose Save pages.
- Download the new PDF, which has "(organised)" added to its name, and check the pages either side of each removal.
The result screen tells you how many pages the new PDF has: the original count minus the pages you removed.
Before you remove a page
A small thumbnail can hide faint notes, a signature or a stamp. Open the large preview of each page before you remove it. If you might need the page later, keep the original file; Deckle never changes it, so the page is still there.
Removing a page does not update a table of contents, bookmarks or links that pointed to it, and printed page numbers on the remaining pages stay as they were. A contents page that says "Appendix, page 12" may point to the wrong page afterwards. Check those if the document relies on them.
For more detail, see how to delete pages from a PDF.
Delete pages in Preview
Apple describes page deletion in Add, delete, or move PDF pages in Preview on Mac:
- Open the PDF in Preview.
- Choose View > Thumbnails or View > Contact Sheet.
- Select the pages you want to delete. Command-click to select several.
- Press the Delete key, or choose Edit > Delete.
Deleting a page in Preview also deletes any annotations on it. Preview saves changes to a document automatically, so the file you opened is the one that changes. Choose File > Duplicate first if you want to keep the full version.
Deckle or Preview?
| Deckle | Preview | |
|---|---|---|
| Original file | Unchanged; you get a new copy | Changed, unless you duplicate it first |
| Undo before saving | Undo, or restore a removed page | Edit > Undo while the file is open |
| Same steps on other devices | Yes, on Windows, iPhone, Android and Chromebook | Mac only |
Tips
- Remove blank scanned pages in one pass. Select every blank page, then choose the × (remove) button once in the selection toolbar.
- Extract rather than delete when you need both versions. To share some pages and keep everything, use Split PDF to make a copy with only the pages you want. See how to split a PDF on a Mac.
- At least one page must stay. Deckle won't save a PDF with every page removed.
- Fix order and orientation in the same run. Organize PDF pages also moves and turns pages, so you can tidy the whole document before saving once.
Frequently asked questions
How do I delete one page from a PDF on a Mac?
Open the PDF in Organize PDF pages, select the page, choose Remove and choose Save pages. In Preview, select the thumbnail and press Delete.
Can I get a deleted page back?
Before saving in Deckle, yes: select the removed page and restore it, or use Undo. After saving, the page is still in your original file.
Does deleting pages reduce the quality of the rest?
No. The pages you keep are copied as they are.
Can I delete pages from a password-protected PDF?
Unlock a copy first with Unlock PDF, using the password you were given.
Related tools
- Organize PDF pages to remove, reorder and turn pages
- Split PDF to copy selected pages into a new file
- Merge PDFs to combine the result with other files