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How to split a report into separate PDFs for reviewers

By DeckleUpdated

To split a report into separate PDFs for reviewers, open Split PDF, choose Page ranges I choose, add one range for each reviewer's section, then choose the action button, such as Create 3 PDFs. Each range becomes its own PDF, ranges may share pages, and pages outside every range are left out. The full report is not changed.

Split PDF

One intended range for each reviewer

First reviewer

Example range: pages 1–4

Second reviewer

Example range: pages 5–8

Choose the part explicitly before continuing to edit

Example split plan · ranges are inclusive; overlapping ranges repeat pages and gaps omit them.

How to split a report for reviewers with Deckle

  1. Write down each reviewer, their section and its first and last PDF page position.
  2. Open Split PDF and choose the report, or drop it onto the page.
  3. Under How to split it, choose Page ranges I choose.
  4. Enter the first reviewer's section in From page and To page.
  5. Choose Add range for each other reviewer and enter their pages.
  6. Check the Planned files list against your notes: one file per reviewer, with the right page count.
  7. Choose Create 3 PDFs (the number matches your ranges), then Download all 3 as a zip, or select one file and choose Download selected PDF.

The result screen tells you how many PDFs were made and how many pages went into them, which counts shared pages once for each file they appear in.

Plan the ranges from the report

Work from the report's contents page, but enter page positions in the file rather than the printed numbers. A cover and a contents page push printed page 1 to position 3.

Example: a 24-page project report goes to three reviewers.

Reviewer Section Positions Pages
Finance Budget and costs 3–8 6
Engineering Design and build 9–15 7
Operations Rollout and support 16–24 9

The three files hold 22 pages. Positions 1–2, the cover and contents, are left out, and the Planned files panel says "Pages 1–2 are left out." If the finance reviewer should see the cover and contents too, start their range at 1 instead of 3. A range can't skip pages, so the other reviewers can only get the cover as a separate file, and most of them won't need it.

Give two reviewers the same page

Ranges can overlap. If the finance and engineering reviewers both need the cost summary on page 8, make the ranges 3–8 and 8–15. Page 8 then appears in both files, and Deckle notes that "Overlapping ranges duplicate 1 page across files."

Overlap only works for pages next to a section. A range always takes every page between its ends, so to add a glossary on page 23 to the finance packet you would need a second file. Extract the glossary as its own range and send it with the packet, or join the two with Merge PDFs after you split.

Send and track the packets

Deckle names the files after the report with a number, in the order of your ranges: report (1).pdf is the first range you entered. Rename each download for its reviewer, such as report-finance-p3-8.pdf, and keep a short list of who has which pages. When comments come back as "page 4", you'll know whether they mean page 4 of their packet or of the report: in the finance packet, page 4 is report position 6.

Printed page numbers don't change, so a reviewer who quotes the footer number is quoting the report's own numbering, which is usually the easiest to work with.

To split one of the packets further, open that downloaded file in Split PDF again. Its positions count from its own first page, not from the report's.

Tips

  • Add up the planned page counts. Without overlaps, they should equal the report's page count minus any pages you meant to leave out.
  • Check the boundary pages. A section that ends half-way down a page still owns that page. Look at the first and last page of each planned file in the preview before you create them.
  • Use Undo rather than retyping. Undo and Redo step through range changes, and Reset split options clears them.
  • Lock sensitive sections. Add a password to a packet with Password protect PDF before you send it.

Other ways to send reviewers their sections

  • Send the whole report with a page list. Simple, but every reviewer sees everything and comments are spread across one large file.
  • Adobe Acrobat. The paid desktop app splits a PDF by page count, file size or top-level bookmarks. Splitting by bookmarks suits reports with one bookmark per section; see Adobe's split guide in the sources.

Frequently asked questions

Do page ranges include both the first and last page?

Yes. A range from 3 to 8 contains six pages: 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 and 8.

Can one page go to more than one reviewer?

Yes. Include it in each reviewer's range. The page is copied into every file that needs it.

Can I send every page as a separate file instead?

Yes. Choose One file per page. See how to split a PDF into single pages.

How do I put the reviewed sections back together?

Open the returned files in Merge PDFs, arrange them in report order and choose Merge PDFs. Remove any overlapping pages first so they don't appear twice.

Related tools

Sources