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TheoDalton's avatar
TheoDalton
Iron Contributor
Jul 23, 2026

How to delete pages from pdf on mac without using Preview?

Hi,

I have a PDF file on my Mac that contains some unnecessary pages, and I want to remove them before sharing the document. I only need to delete a few specific pages while keeping the rest of the PDF unchanged.

Not very familiar with PDF editing on macOS, so I'm wondering what the easiest method is. Can this be done with built-in apps like Preview, or is a dedicated PDF app required? What is the best way to delete pages from a PDF on Mac while keeping the original quality and formatting?

Thank you!

9 Replies

  • Actually, I think you can use Skim because it’s an open-source PDF tool. It’s a lightweight offline application that allows users to delete pages from pdf on mac free without having to upload the file to a third-party server.

    Instructions: Open your PDF file in the software.

    Go to View → Show Thumbnails, select the pages you want to delete, press the Delete key, and then save the file via the File menu.

    This is a reliable option when you need to delete pages from pdf on mac free and prefer to work offline.

    Pros: Open-source, lightweight, and all operations are performed locally on your Mac.

    Cons: The interface isn’t as polished or sophisticated as Apple’s native Preview app, and it lacks some convenient features.

    Notes

    • Before deleting any pages, back up the original PDF file.
    • Be sure to check the output document after saving to avoid any unexpected page loss.
    • If you are working with highly confidential PDF files, using offline tools such as software is safer than online web services.

    This software is suitable for users who need additional PDF annotation features in addition to simple page deletion.

  • LiaBrown's avatar
    LiaBrown
    Tin Contributor

    Preview supports deleting PDF pages.

    1. Open your PDF with Preview.
    2. Show Thumbnails: To see all your pages, go to the top menu and click `View` > `Thumbnails`. A sidebar with small previews of each page will appear on the left.Select and Delete:
    3. Click on the thumbnail of the page you want to remove. To select multiple pages, hold down the `Command (⌘)` key while clicking each one. Once selected, press the `Delete` key on your keyboard. You can also go to `Edit` > `Delete` in the top menu bar.

    If you'd prefer not to use Preview, PDFgear is an excellent alternative that's completely free and surprisingly powerful. It's often described as the closest thing to a free version of Adobe Acrobat for Mac.

    1. Open your PDF in PDFgear and click the Pages tab at the top.
    2. You'll see thumbnail previews of all your pages.
    3. Select the page(s) you want to remove (hold `Command` to select multiple).
    4. Click the Delete button (trash bin icon) to remove them instantly.

    It's a solid, free alternative if Preview doesn't quite meet your needs!

  • Lukaeer's avatar
    Lukaeer
    Tin Contributor

    Since you asked specifically about pdftk this time, let's dive into that. And hey, if you're wondering how to delete pages from PDF on Mac, pdftk is actually a killer command-line tool that gets the job done without any of that fancy GUI bloat.

    Before we get into it, full disclosure: pdftk hasn't been updated for macOS in a while, so the official version might give you compatibility headaches on newer Macs. But don't worry—there's a community-maintained fork called pdftk-java that works perfectly. You can grab it via Homebrew with brew install pdftk-java.

    Open your Terminal app and type something like this:

    bash

    pdftk input. pdf cat 1-3 5-10 12-end output output. pdf

    If you're the type who likes to delete specific single pages (say, pages 3, 7, and 15), you'd do:

    bash

    pdftk input. pdf cat 1-2 4-6 8-14 16-end output output. pdf

    If you're cool with the command line and want a free, lightweight tool that doesn't phone home or collect your data, pdftk is solid. It's fast, reliable, and works offline. Just install pdftk- java via Homebrew, practice on a copy of your PDF, and you'll be deleting pages like a pro in no time.

    Honestly, pdftk is super powerful, but it's not the most beginner-friendly if you're not comfortable with Terminal. Also, if you're wondering how to delete pages from PDF on Mac and want something more visual, pdftk won't give you that—it's all text-based. And yeah, you'll need to remember the page numbers you want to keep rather than the ones you want to delete, which trips people up sometimes.

  • GeraldMartin's avatar
    GeraldMartin
    Iron Contributor

    PDF24 Creator offers a convenient web-based method to delete pages from pdf on mac free without installing software, but please avoid using it for confidential files since they will be uploaded to an external server.

    How to Delete Pages from PDF on Mac Free

    1. Open your browser and go to the official website.
    2. Find and click the feature labeled Delete PDF Pages.
    3. Upload the target PDF file to the webpage.
    4. Select all the pages you want to delete.
    5. Confirm the changes and download the newly generated PDF file.

    Disadvantages

    • Files will be uploaded to a third-party server, posing a risk to data privacy.
    • Does not support password-protected, encrypted PDF files.
    • Processing speed depends on your internet connection.

    This browser-based software tool allows users to delete PDF pages on a Mac without installing any programs. However, since the files are transferred to a cloud server, there are security risks; therefore, it should only be used for public, non-confidential PDF files.

    ps

    • Before closing the webpage, be sure to check the output file to confirm that all unwanted pages have been removed.
    • If privacy is your top priority, please switch to a native offline tool
    • to avoid repeatedly uploading important files to online PDF services.
  • If you only want to delete pages and want to create a new PDF without modifying the original, this method is perfect for figuring out how to delete pages from pdf on mac. Open the PDF in Preview, then go to File → Print . Under the Pages section, select From: and enter the specific page range you want to keep . Click the PDF button in the bottom-left corner and select "Save as PDF", then name the new file and save it.

    This creates a new PDF with only the pages you specified, leaving the original file completely untouched. By essentially printing only the desired pages back into a new document, you can easily manage how to delete pages from pdf on mac without needing any third-party software.

  • Lanesy's avatar
    Lanesy
    Brass Contributor

    let's talk about Every PDF! If you're looking for a completely free way to figure out how to delete pages from PDF on Mac, this little open-source gem might be exactly what you need. It's a desktop app that does all its work offline, which is a nice touch for privacy, and it has a surprising number of tools packed into it .

    Every PDF is an open-source toolkit, which means it's free and built by a community. You can grab it right from its GitHub page, and it runs on both Intel and Apple Silicon Macs. Now, when you're trying to figure out how to delete pages from PDF on Mac with Every PDF, you'll actually use the "Split" function. It might sound a little counterintuitive, but here's the deal:

    1. Open your PDF in Every PDF.
    2. Look for the "Split Pages" tool or function .
    3. You'll specify the range of pages you want to keep. For example, if you have a 10-page PDF and want to delete pages 6-10, you'd type in 1-5 as the page range .
    4. Then you just hit the split button and save a new PDF that only contains the pages you kept. Boom, the other pages are effectively gone.

     

    It's a clean and straightforward way to handle the task. Plus, it’s got other stuff like merging, watermarking, and converting files, all without sending your documents anywhere online.

    So, if you want a straightforward, privacy-focused desktop app that's completely free, Every PDF is a solid choice to master how to delete pages from PDF on Mac. Just remember to grab the latest version directly!

  • Rianipper's avatar
    Rianipper
    Tin Contributor

    For anyone trying to figure out how to delete pages from PDF on Mac, Open PDF Studio is a solid, free option. It's open-source and works on macOS, so no need to stress about a subscription.

    Method 1: The "Pages" Menu

    This is the "official" way if you like menus.

    1.  Open your PDF.
    2.  Go to the Pages tab on the top ribbon.
    3.  Click the Delete button. This pops up a dialog box where you can choose exactly which pages to scrap (single pages, a range, or even just the blank ones).

     

    Method 2: Thumbnail View

    This is probably the easiest and most visual way if you're just trying to delete a few pages here and there.

    1. Open the Page Thumbnails pane on the side of the window.
    2. Select the page(s) you want to get rid of. You can click and drag to select multiple.
    3. Just hit the Delete key on your keyboard, or right-click (or Ctrl+Click on a Mac) and choose "Delete Pages".

     

    That's all there is to it! So, if you're looking for a free way to handle how to delete pages from PDF on Mac, give Open PDF Studio a shot. It handles page management really well, plus you can also reorder or extract pages if you need to.

    Hopefully, that clears up how to delete pages from PDF on Mac with this tool! It's nice having a capable freebie like this around.

  • JerryParker's avatar
    JerryParker
    Iron Contributor

    The built-in Preview app on Mac is very easy to use. It’s the default app included on all Mac devices, so there’s no need to download anything extra. It provides a native way to delete pages from a PDF on your Mac without the need for third-party software. All operations are performed locally, ensuring file security.

    How to Delete Pages from PDF on Mac

    Step 1: Open the target PDF file in Preview.

    • Double-click the file, or right-click the file → Open With… → Preview

    Step 2: Display the Thumbnails sidebar: Click View → Thumbnails, or use the keyboard shortcut Cmd + Option + 2

    Step 3: Select the PDF pages you want to delete:

    • Click a thumbnail to select a single page
    • Hold down the Shift key and click to select consecutive pages
    • Hold down the Command key and click to select non-consecutive pages

    Step 4: Delete the selected pages using any of the following methods:

    • Press the Delete key on your keyboard
    • Right-click the selected thumbnails → Delete
    • Go to Edit → Delete

    Finally, save the modified document: File → Save, or use the keyboard shortcut Cmd + S

    how to delete pages from pdf on mac? The Preview app lets you permanently delete unwanted PDF pages while preserving the original file’s quality.

    Pros

    • Pre-installed on macOS—no download or installation required
    • All processing is done offline, eliminating the need to upload confidential files to the internet and minimizing security risks
    • Preserves the original quality of PDF documents
    • Supports flexible selection of single pages, consecutive pages, and non-consecutive pages

    Cons

    • Limited PDF functionality; supports only basic page editing
    • Cannot edit encrypted PDFs that require a password to open
    • PDFs containing complex annotations may experience formatting issues after modification
    • Does not support batch processing of multiple separate PDF files