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Summary
Learn how to crop a pdf and remove unnecessary pages using our comprehensive guide on the best PDF cropping tools for desktop and mobile.



If a document has many blank pages or large borders, users can adjust it in an editable application like Microsoft Word. But if the document is in a non-editable PDF format, a professional PDF cropping tool is needed to remove unwanted areas or pages. Various computer-side, online, and mobile PDF cropping tools are available.
how to crop a pdf

I. Recommended PDF cutting software for PC

The best solution for cropping a PDF is to use PDF cropping software, which offers comprehensive features and technical support. Various types of PDF cropping software are available for Windows and Mac. Here are 5 commonly used software options and their specific operation methods:

1. Renee PDF Aide

If you have unwanted pages in your PDF file, use Renee PDF Aide. The segmentation tool in the software cuts off unnecessary pages. It is an easy-to-use PDF editing software and the best alternative to Adobe Acrobat DC. It can edit, encrypt, decrypt and convert PDF files. The software provides a “use generator” tool, you can preview all pages when you want to crop pages, check the pages you want to keep, and other pages will be cut off. Renee PDF Aide supports batch adding multiple PDF files with one click, and can crop multiple PDF files at the same time. The document processing speed of this software is fast, which can greatly improve your work efficiency.
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The specific operation steps are as follows:
① After installing and opening the software, click (PDF Tools).
select pdf tools in renee pdf converter
② Click (Split) > (Add Files) to import the PDF file. The software supports batch editing, and you can import multiple PDF files at the same time.
how to combine files into one pdf with renee pdf aide
③ Select the Keep specified pages (remove unnecessary) option. Choose using the generator in the Pages to keep menu, then select the desired pages in the PDF Preview window. The software offers various methods to quickly select pages, pick one and click Select. If processing files in batches, choose apply to all on the main interface to avoid cropping each one individually.
how to merge pdf pages with renee pdf aide
④ Finally, click (Convert) to export the cropped PDF file.

2. Adobe Acrobat DC software

Adobe Acrobat DC is an electronic word processing software set developed by Adobe for reading, editing, managing, and sharing PDF documents. It allows for quick cropping of PDF pages with a simple operation.
The steps are as follows:
① Open the PDF file in Adobe Acrobat DC, then click (Tools) on the upper menu bar and select (Edit PDF).
Adobe Acrobat Pro DC
② In the editing toolbar, click (Split PDF), frame the area to be cropped using the mouse, double-click the cropped area box, set the cropping rectangle and page margin in the “Set Page Frame” dialog box. Click (All) on Page Range to apply changes to all pages, then click (OK) to complete the cropping operation.
adobe acrobat split pdf pages

3. Mac preview program

If you are using a Mac computer, you can use the preview program that comes with the system to crop the PDF without downloading. Simply select the area you want to keep, discard the rest, and view dimensions by choosing (Tools) > (Show Inspector), then clicking the (Crop Inspector) button to choose the units of measurement.
The steps are as follows:
① First, you need to open the PDF file in Mac’s preview application and display the toolbar. If the toolbar is not displayed, click the (Show Markup Toolbar) button.
show markup toolbar in mac
② Next, click the graphic selection button in the upper left corner to choose a cropped shape like rectangle, ellipse, lasso, or smart lasso. Select the page area on the PDF page and click the Crop button. To undo cropping, tap Edit > Undo Crop.

4. Windows Snipping Tool

Introducing the free PDF cropping tool for Windows users – Windows Snipping Tool. Built into the Windows operating system, it allows you to capture PDF pages and content without downloading. However, you will need to merge and organize them using Microsoft Word software after capturing.
The steps are as follows:
① First, you need to open the PDF document on a PDF reader. The PDF reader can be a browser or other software such as Adobe Reader. Click on (Windows logo), search for and open (Snipping Tool).
Search Snipping Tool
② In the Snipping Tool window, select (Mode) > (Rectangular Screenshot) to choose the page content for the PDF file. After selecting the area, the cropped page will appear in a new window. Click the (Save) button to finish cropping. Repeat for additional page content.
snipping tool gui
③ After all the pages are cropped, open the Microsoft Word application and insert the cropped document as a picture. You can adjust the photo’s size, border, spacing and margins etc. according to your needs. Finally, click (File) > (Save As), in the “Save As” window, select the save type (PDF (*.pdf)).

II. Recommended online PDF cropping tools

Download professional PDF cropping software for efficient and comprehensive support, or use the online PDF cropping tool for simple cropping needs.

1. PDFResizer

PDFResizer is a free tool for visually cropping PDF documents or changing canvas size. It offers options to manually crop pages or use the “Autocrop” function to remove margins automatically. Users can also extend margins for adding space for comments. The tool has a batch processing limit of 50 files and a total file size limit of 100MB. PDFResizer also supports DOC, DOCX, ODT, PPT, and PPTX file types.
Online cropping tool link: https://pdfresizer.com/crop
The steps are as follows:
① Open the PDFResizer link in the browser, click (select file) to select the PDF file to be cropped, and then click (Upload files) to upload the file. If you have multiple files with the same size and margins and you want them all to be cropped, you can upload multiple files at once.
Crop PDF online
② In the new page that jumps, you can see the preview page of the PDF document. If you want to manually select the part of the document to be cropped, select the area to be cropped, then select (Crop to selection), and click (Crop it!) after cropping is complete. You can also select (Autocrop) to automatically crop all white margins.
Select PDF cropping area

2. DeftPDF

Use the DeftPDF online tool to crop PDF pages and trim PDF margins for free, and the operation is relatively simple. In addition, this cropping tool supports batch processing of PDF documents.
Online cropping tool link: https://deftpdf.com/crop-pdf
The steps are as follows:
① Access the DeftPDF link in the browser, click (UPLOAD PDF FILE) to upload the PDF document in the local folder. You can also upload files from Dropbox, Google Drive, or from online file links (URLs).
DeftPDF
② After uploading the PDF file, select (Crop entire document) or (Crop pages individually). Select (Crop Entire Document) if you want all pages to be cropped the same way. On the preview page, you can use the crosshairs to select the area of the page you want to keep. After making sure the area you want to crop is selected, click (Crop PDF tool). Then click (Download) to save the document to your computer when it is finished processing. Of course, you can also save it to online storage services such as Dropbox or Google Drive.

3. PDF Candy

PDF Candy is a free PDF editing tool that allows users to crop PDF files online without creating an account. The website is simple and free of pop-up windows and advertisements. Users can preview the first page of the document while cropping, and other pages will be automatically cropped accordingly. However, manual cropping of individual pages is not supported by this tool.
Online cropping tool link: https://pdfcandy.com/crop-pdf.html
The steps are as follows:
① Open the online cropping link of PDF Candy in the browser, click the (Add File) button to upload the PDF file, or directly drag and drop the PDF file. Plus, it lets you import files from Google Drive and Dropbox.
② Move the crop border on the preview page to set a new boundary for the document, and click the (Crop PDF) button. After cropping, you can directly click the (Download File) button to save the converted PDF file to a local folder.

III. Recommended PDF cropping tool for mobile version

The PDF cropping tools introduced above all need to be used on a computer, but sometimes there is no computer around, and the only way to crop PDF files is through mobile phone software. The following will introduce two PDF cropping tools that can be used on mobile phones.

1. PDF Expert

If you are looking for a very efficient way to read, edit, and annotate PDF documents on your iPhone or iPad, consider PDF Expert software. This iOS application offers a comprehensive set of editing tools including cropping, merging, creating blank PDFs, compressing, signing, and modifying text. After editing, easily share the PDF via email, iCloud, Google Drive, or Dropbox. The user-friendly interface and simple operation make cropping PDFs a breeze. PDF Expert also supports various file formats such as spreadsheets, videos, images, office files, audio, and presentations.
PDF expert mobile version

2. Foxit Reader (mobile version)

The mobile version of Foxit Reader offers a comprehensive set of PDF tools for document management. It supports Android, iOS, and Chromebook devices, allowing quick cropping and advanced editing features. Users can edit tables, images, and text, annotate, rotate, compress, and encrypt PDF files. Foxit Reader is fast, flexible, and stable, with enterprise-level features for team collaboration. It provides commenting, sharing, and collaborative processing of PDF documents. The software offers advanced technical support and ease of use, allowing users to easily share edited PDF files via Bluetooth and email.

Bonus Tip: How to Convert PDF and Edit PDF

In the process of using PDF, you may also need to convert PDF to other document or image formats, or need to edit PDF, all of which can be realized through Renee PDF Aide.
1 , Convert PDF format
Renee PDF Aide efficiently converts PDF to multiple image and document formats including Word, Excel, PowerPoint, ePub, Text, HTML, PNG, JPG, TIFF, and more. With a conversion speed of up to 80 pages per minute, it saves valuable time in daily office tasks.
Hot Topic - ADsRenee PDF Aide - Powerful PDF Editing Tool

Easy to use Friendly to computer beginners

Multifunctional Encrypt/decrypt/split/merge/add watermark

Safe Protect PDF with AES256 algorithms

Quick Edit/convert dozens of PDF files in batch

Compatible Convert PDF to Excel/PowerPoint/Text, etc.

Easy Use with simple steps

Functional Encrypt/decrypt/split/merge/watermark

Safe Protect PDF with AES256 algorithms

Free TrialFree TrialNow 800 people have obtained the free version!
The specific operation steps are as follows:
① After installing Renee PDF Aide, open it. Then, select (Convert PDF).
select to convert pdf with renee pdf converter
② Various conversion formats can be selected in the menu bar above the software, such as Word, Excel, PowerPoint, image, etc.
convert pdf to the others with renee pdf aide
Click the (Add Files) button to open the PDF file for conversion. Once successfully added, the file information will be displayed in the conversion list, where the conversion page can be selected from the drop-down menu.
how to edit a scanned pdf set before converting with renee pdf converter
④ Click the Convert button to convert. The software will prompt the total number of converted files and the number of successfully converted files. The PDF file has been successfully converted into the desired picture or document format.
2 , common PDF editing operations
For more efficient editing, consider using Renee PDF Aide which offers various editing functions including merging, splitting, adding watermark, and rotating PDFs in addition to format conversion. The “PDF Toolset” module can meet most of your editing needs.
Open Renee PDF Aide, access the PDF tools to select various functions for personalized editing. Options include repair, optimization, split, merge, rotate, encrypt/decrypt, watermark, and image to PDF. Edit multiple PDF files simultaneously with batch operations for convenience and speed.
use the pdf functions to edit with renee pdf aide
PDF tools function:

  • Repair: Repair damaged or unopenable PDF files.
  • Optimization: Optimize PDF files for faster loading and compress large PDF files.
  • Split: Divide a multi-page PDF file into multiple files or one as needed.
  • Merge: Combine multiple PDFs into one PDF, with the option to specify pages to merge.
  • Rotation: Adjust the display angle of the PDF file.
  • Encryption & Decryption: Encrypt or decrypt password-protected PDF files.
  • Watermark: Add foreground or background watermarks to PDF files, with the option to choose a picture or PDF document.
  • Image to PDF: Merge and convert images into one file, or create a PDF file from a single image.
download software button win