[2024] Top Recommended Choice on How to Crop A PDF

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.

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.

① After installing and opening the software, click (PDF Tools).

② Click (Split) > (Add File) to import the PDF file. The software supports batch editing, and you can import multiple PDF files at the same time.

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.

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.

① Open the PDF file in Adobe Acrobat DC, then click (Tools) on the upper menu bar and select (Edit PDF).

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.

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.

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.

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.

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).

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.

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)).