pdfMB

Crop PDF

Trim margins or cut pages down to the part you need. Your file stays on this device.

  • No uploadYour file stays on this device.
  • Your original stays as it isYou download a new copy. Your file is never changed.
  • Free, no sign-upNo account and no daily limit.

What happens to your file

Everything below happens inside your browser, on your own device. The PDF is never uploaded, so nobody else, including us, can see it.

  1. Your browser reads the PDF into memory. Nothing is sent over the network.
  2. The preview and the white-margin check are drawn on your device with pdf.js, the PDF viewer built into Firefox.
  3. Cropping changes only the page boxes that tell a PDF viewer which part of the page to show (the crop box and media box). The text, pictures and drawings on the page are not touched or redrawn.
  4. Because nothing is redrawn, text stays sharp and selectable, and the file stays about the same size.
  5. Links, bookmarks and form fields keep working.
  6. Pages that were already turned are cropped the way you see them on screen.
In short
  1. Choose a PDF
  2. Drag the frame or auto-trim
  3. Pick the pages
  4. Press “Crop” and download

How to crop a PDF

  1. Choose a PDF. The first page appears large, with a red frame around it.
  2. Drag the round handles on the corners and sides of the frame, or type the margins in millimetres. The frame and the numbers follow each other.
  3. Or press “Auto-trim white margins” to fit the frame to the printed area. With several pages, choose one frame for all of them, or a separate frame for each page.
  4. Choose which pages to crop: all pages, only the page you see, or a list such as 1-3, 8.
  5. Press “Crop” and download the new PDF. Use “Adjust the frame again” if you want to change something.

When people use it

Read papers on a phone or e-reader

Wide white margins make the text tiny on a small screen. Trimming them makes the text larger.

Tidy up scans

Scans often have a dark edge or the scanner lid around the page. Crop to the paper itself.

Fit a page to a slide or report

Crop to just a chart or a table before placing the page somewhere else.

Even out pages

Give every page of a document the same frame so they look consistent when printed or viewed.

What it can’t do

  • Cropping hides content but does not take it out of the file. Anyone with a PDF editor can show the hidden part again. Do not use it for private information such as account numbers or ID details.
  • Auto-trim looks for a white background. On scans with a grey or coloured background it may find nothing to trim.
  • The frame is always a rectangle. Pages cannot be cut into shapes or split into two halves.
  • Password-protected PDFs cannot be opened. Remove the password first.
  • Some print shops expect the original page size. Keep the original file if you need it for printing.

Questions about cropping PDFs

Is the cut-off part really gone?

No. Cropping hides it. The content outside the frame is still in the file, and a PDF editor can show it again. To share a page without private details, do not rely on cropping.

Does cropping lower the quality?

No. The pages are not redrawn. Only the visible area changes, so text stays sharp and can still be selected and searched.

Can I crop just one page?

Yes. Choose “This page” to crop only the page you are looking at, or “Choose pages” and type page numbers such as 2, 5-7.

Why does the frame of a sideways page look different?

It doesn’t. pdfMB applies the frame the way you see the page on screen, including pages that were turned, so what you see is what you get.

Will the file get smaller?

Usually not by much, because everything outside the frame stays in the file. To make it smaller, use Compress PDF afterwards.