Split PDF by Bookmarks, Free
Split a PDF by bookmarks free: every chapter or section in the outline becomes its own file, named after its bookmark. Choose top-level chapters only, or go a level deeper.
Split PDF by Bookmarks
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Every request this page makes is listed as it happens. You’ll see our own code loading, and for some formats a codec engine, but never your file going out.
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Check it yourself: open your browser’s developer tools on the Network tab, or turn off Wi-Fi once the page has loaded. The tools keep working.
- 100% private Your PDF never leaves this device. Everything runs in your browser.
- No limits No file-size cap, no watermark, no sign-up and no daily quota. Free.
- Works offline Once this page has loaded, the tool keeps working without a connection.
How to split a PDF by bookmarks
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Add your PDF: Drop the PDF. Its bookmarks are listed with the page each one starts on.
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Check the settings: Choose how deep to split: top-level chapters, or sections inside them too.
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Save the result: Save one PDF per bookmark, named after it — separately or as a ZIP.
Why it doesn’t upload
Books, manuals and reports split by chapter are often internal or licensed documents. Splitting them in your browser keeps them off other people’s servers.
Check it in your browser’s Network tabWorth knowing
- The PDF needs bookmarks (an outline). Scanned books usually don’t have any — split them by page ranges instead.
- Pages before the first bookmark become a “front matter” file.
- Two bookmarks on the same page produce one file, named after the first.
- Each part is named after its bookmark, but the bookmarks inside a chapter aren’t copied into its file.
Under the hood
What happens to your file
The bookmarks (the PDF outline) are read down to three levels with the page each one opens, and every chosen bookmark starts a new file named after it. The pages themselves are copied unchanged. A PDF without an outline has nothing to split on, and the tool says so.
Reference: ISO 32000-2 (PDF 2.0)
Why split a PDF by its bookmarks?
If a long PDF has bookmarks, like most books, manuals and sets of minutes do, it already knows where each chapter starts. Split at the bookmarks and you get one file per chapter, each named after its heading, without typing a single page number.
The pages are copied exactly as they are, and the split happens in your browser. A confidential report or a book you paid for never gets uploaded just to be cut up.
Common uses for splitting a PDF by chapters
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Ebooks and textbooks
Get each chapter as its own PDF, so it’s easier to read or annotate.
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Manuals and handbooks
Send each team only the sections they need.
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Meeting packs and board papers
Turn one big bundle back into separate papers, named after each agenda item.
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Course packs
Break a semester’s readings into one file per week.
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Legal bundles
Pull a bookmarked bundle apart into its separate documents again.
Tips for splitting by bookmarks
- Choose Top-level bookmarks for chapters. Go down to level 2 or 3 if you want sections.
- Any pages before the first bookmark go into a "front matter" file, so nothing goes missing.
- This only works if the PDF has bookmarks, and scanned books usually don’t. For those, use Split PDF with page ranges.
- Each file is named after its bookmark, so tidy bookmark titles give you tidy file names.
- If two bookmarks point to the same page, you get one file, named after the first one.
Questions
How do I split a PDF into chapters?
If the PDF has bookmarks, drop it here and press Split by bookmarks — each chapter becomes its own file named after it. Without bookmarks, use page ranges.
How do I know if my PDF has bookmarks?
Drop it here: the bookmarks are listed straight away. In most readers they also appear in a side panel called Bookmarks or Outline.
Can I split by sub-chapters?
Yes — choose Down to level 2 or level 3 to split at sections inside chapters too.
Do the split files keep their bookmarks?
No. Each file holds its chapter’s pages and is named after its bookmark, but the bookmarks inside that chapter aren’t copied into it. If you need them, split by level 2 or 3 so each section becomes a file of its own.
Can Adobe Acrobat split a PDF by bookmarks?
Acrobat Pro can, from its Organize Pages tool, splitting at top-level bookmarks. The free Acrobat Reader can’t split PDFs at all. This page does it in any browser, at any bookmark level, with no subscription.