How to crop a PDF
- 1 Drop your PDF on the box, or click browse to choose it.
- 2 Drag on the page preview to draw the area to keep, type the margins, or press Auto: remove white margins.
- 3 Use the arrows to check other pages, and choose whether to crop all pages or this page only.
- 4 Press Crop and download.
Cropping tips
Use auto crop for scanned books and slides, then check a few pages. To change the paper size instead, use Resize PDF; to turn sideways pages first, use Rotate PDF.
- Cropping hides content but does not delete it.
- Crop one page at a time for mixed layouts.
- Leave a small border so text is not cut.
Features
Three ways to crop
Draw, type exact margins, or trim white space automatically.
Live preview
See exactly what will be kept on each page.
All pages or one
Crop the whole document or a single page.
When to use it
Reading on phones and e-readers
Remove wide margins so text is larger on small screens. To change the paper size instead, use Resize PDF.
Scanned documents
Trim dark scanner edges and uneven borders.
Slides and figures
Cut a chart or diagram out of a page for a presentation. To turn it into an image, use PDF to PNG.
Removing headers and footers
Crop away running headers, page numbers or watermarks at the edges.
Related PDF tasks
Frequently asked questions
Does cropping delete the hidden content?
Cropping sets a new visible area, so the parts outside are hidden in every reader and when printing. The original content still exists inside the file, so do not use cropping to hide private information. Use the white-out tool in Edit PDF or flatten to images instead.
How does auto crop work?
It looks at the page you are viewing and finds where the non-white content starts and ends, then leaves a small border. Check other pages, because some may have content closer to the edge.
Can I crop just one page?
Yes. Go to the page, set the area, and choose This page only.
Will cropping reduce the file size?
Usually not, because the hidden parts remain in the file. Use Compress PDF to make it smaller.
Does it work with rotated pages?
Yes. Margins are measured on the page as you see it, and the crop is adjusted for pages that are rotated.
Can I undo a crop?
Keep your original file. Some PDF editors can reset the crop box, but it is simplest to crop the original again.
What unit are the margins in?
Millimetres. One inch is 25.4 millimetres.
Will text stay selectable?
Yes. Cropping does not change the content, so text stays sharp and selectable.
Can I crop a PDF to a specific paper size?
Cropping removes margins by the amount you choose. To change the page to an exact paper size such as A4 or Letter, use Resize PDF, which scales the content to fit the new size.
Is my PDF uploaded?
No. Cropping happens in your browser, so your document stays private.
How this tool works. These PDF tools run entirely in your browser using two widely used open-source libraries: PDF.js, the PDF engine built into Firefox, to read and render pages, and pdf-lib to create and edit files. Each tool is tested with typed documents, phone scans and photo-heavy files before it goes live, and nothing you open is sent to a server.
Built and reviewed by Hamza Farooq, founder and lead developer
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