Split PDFs



String html = "<p> Hello Iron </p>"
    + "<p> This is 1st Page </p>"
    + "<div style = 'page-break-after: always;' ></div>"
    + "<p> This is 2nd Page</p>"
    + "<div style = 'page-break-after: always;' ></div>"
    + "<p> This is 3rd Page</p>";
PdfDocument pdf = PdfDocument.renderHtmlAsPdf(html);

// take the first page
PdfDocument page1doc = pdf.copyPage(0);
page1doc.saveAs("Split1.pdf");

// take the pages 2 & 3
var page23doc = pdf.copyPages(1, 2);
page23doc.saveAs("Split2.pdf");

mvn install

<dependency>
    <groupId>com.ironsoftware</groupId>
    <artifactId>ironpdf</artifactId>
    <version>2026.8.2</version>
</dependency>

Split PDFs

This code example shows how Java developers can leverage IronPDF's PDF editing functionality to achieve a very common use case: splitting a PDF into smaller PDFs.

Using the copyPages method, developers can quickly produce a new PDF document containing an inclusive set of pages from the source document.

The featured example uses this approach to produce two new PDF documents containing the first page and the second and third pages, respectively, of a newly-rendered PDF document. This preserves the content and structure of the source document in its original form, while copying portions of its contents to separate files - effectively "splitting" the file for all intents and purposes. This approach is useful in situations where the developer must retain the source file in its original form for backup purposes.

A slightly different approach to splitting a PDF document (one that doesn't keep the original file) can be accomplished with the copyPages method in conjunction with the removePages method.

How to Split PDF Files in Java

Install IronPDF Java library to split PDF documents
Import existing PDF or render a new PDF in Java
Split PDF by using the copyPages method to copy the PDF pages to another PdfDocument object
Export the PdfDocument with saveAs method
Perform step 3 in just 1 line of Java code

Learn more about the copyPage method in Java.

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