Guide
Splitting by chapters, or separating a batch scan automatically
Splitting by page numbers works when you know where every part starts. Often you don’t, or there are too many parts to type. A 400-page manual has 30 chapters; a morning’s batch scan has 20 letters in one file. This tool finds the split points for you, either from the PDF’s bookmarks or from the blank sheets you put between documents.
Method 1: split at bookmarks
Many PDFs exported from Word, LaTeX, InDesign or e-book software have a bookmark outline: the clickable table of contents in your reader’s sidebar. Open such a file and the tool lists the parts it would create, each with its title and page range.
Choosing the level. The top level is usually chapters. Choosing a deeper level splits at sections too, including the chapter starts above them. A thesis split at level 2 gives one file per section, which is useful when different people review different sections.
Front matter. Title pages, contents and prefaces often come before the first bookmark. They are saved as a separate Front matter file unless you switch that off.
Inside each part. Sub-bookmarks are kept in each chapter file and point at the right pages, so a long chapter remains easy to navigate.
If your PDF has no bookmarks, the tool says so. You can add them with the PDF Bookmark Editor, including generating them from the headings, and come back.
Method 2: split a batch scan at blank pages
Office scanners are fastest with one big stack. The trick is to put a blank sheet between documents, scan everything in one go, and split afterwards. Choose Blank separator pages and click Find blank pages. Each page is checked for ink, ignoring the outer edges where scanners leave shadows and punch-hole marks. The tool then lists which pages it considers blank and the files it would create.
Sensitivity. Scanned blank paper is rarely perfectly white:
- Only completely empty for clean digital PDFs or very clean scans.
- Normal tolerates specks and dust; the right choice for most scanners.
- Generous also accepts faint marks or text showing through from the back of thin paper.
Leave the separators out. On by default, so the separator sheets don’t end up in your files.
Checking the result before splitting
Read the list of parts: the titles, page ranges and page counts. A part with an unexpected size usually points to a bookmark on the wrong page or a document page with almost no text. Fix the outline, adjust the sensitivity, or fall back to manual ranges with Split PDF.
File names that sort correctly
Every file starts with a two-digit number, followed by the title turned into a safe file name: 01-introduction.pdf, 02-methods.pdf. The numbers keep the chapters in order in any file manager. All files are downloaded together as a .zip.
Batch scans contain private mail
A stack of incoming post or supplier invoices is full of names, account numbers and addresses. Detecting blank pages and splitting both happen inside your browser: the scan is read from your disk, analysed on your device and written back as separate files. Nothing about the documents is sent to openWorkstand or any other service, which also makes the tool usable for client files under a confidentiality agreement.
Examples
- A textbook: split at the top level and share one chapter per week with a class.
- A product manual: split at level 2 so each team receives just their sections.
- A day of incoming mail: scan everything with blank separators, split, then rename each file and file it.
- Invoices from a supplier: one scan, one blank sheet between invoices, one PDF per invoice for your accounting software.
After splitting, combine selected parts again with Merge PDF, or pull out single pages with Extract PDF Pages.
Checked against the current version of the Split PDF by Bookmarks on .