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PPDF123

Split PDF Pages Into Sections

Split by Sections divides every page of a PDF into a grid of rows and columns and places the pieces on new pages of one PDF. It is geometric tiling, not chapter or content detection.

Drag and drop a file here, or click to choose

Accepts PDF · up to 500.0 MB per file

You can also paste a file with Ctrl/Cmd+V, or from the clipboard menu.

Split by Sections tiles each page into a grid of `(horizontalDivisions+1)` by `(verticalDivisions+1)` cells, then places those cells as scaled Form XObjects onto new pages in a single PDF. Default 0 and 1 on the form means 1×2 tiles per page if those defaults are sent.

`pageNumbers`, `splitMode`, and `merge` are ignored. Output is one PDF, not a ZIP of pieces, and not a merge toggle.

This is geometric tiling, not chapter detection. Password-protected files are unlocked for you on this page once you enter the password; API callers run Unlock first.

If you meant chapter files, use Split by Chapters. If you meant page-count chunks, use Split by Size.

Features

  • Grid tiling via Form XObjects into one PDF
  • Uses horizontalDivisions and verticalDivisions only
  • pageNumbers, splitMode, and merge are dead fields
  • Anonymous API at /api/v1/general/split-pdf-by-sections

When to use this tool

  • Cut a 2-up scanned spread into two portrait pages
  • Tile a poster-sized page into a grid for reading
  • Ignore the merge control and expect one file

How do I split each PDF page into sections?

  1. Upload a PDF.
  2. Set how many extra horizontal and vertical cuts you want (0 means no extra cut on that axis).
  3. Ignore splitMode and merge; they are not applied.
  4. Download the single PDF and count pages (pages × rows × cols).

Limits and edge cases

  • Single PDF output only
  • No splitMode filter
  • Not chapter or OCR split
  • At most 5000 tiles (pages × rows × columns); larger jobs are rejected
  • Upload limit on this website: 500 MB per file, sent in chunks above about 95 MB. A single direct API request body is capped at 100 MB.

Examples

  • 1 page, horizontal 0, vertical 1 yields 2 pages
  • 3 pages, 1×1 extra divisions (2×2 grid) yields 12 pages

Privacy for this tool

Files are uploaded over HTTPS, processed in memory or a short-lived temporary directory on our servers, and deleted when your result is ready. We do not keep copies for later browsing, training, or advertising profiles. See the Privacy Policy for retention details and AdSense cookie disclosures.

Frequently asked questions

Why is the result one PDF?
The op always writes one document of tiled pages. merge=false does not produce a ZIP.
Does SPLIT_ALL_EXCEPT_FIRST skip page 1?
No. splitMode is ignored. Every page is tiled.
What does verticalDivisions=1 mean?
cols = 1+1 = 2. Each page is split into two vertical bands (plus horizontalDivisions on the other axis).
Is this OCR of sections?
No. It is a geometric grid.

Last updated:

Call this from code

Every tool on this site is a plain REST endpoint - no account or API key needed for anonymous use. Built for AI agents and developers as much as for browsers.

curl -X POST "https://pdf123.xyz/api/v1/general/split-pdf-by-sections" \
  -F "[email protected]" \
  -F "pageNumbers=SPLIT_ALL" \
  -F "horizontalDivisions=0" \
  -F "verticalDivisions=1" \
  -o output.pdf

Also available as an MCP tool for agent clients that speak Model Context Protocol (JSON-RPC 2.0 over POST /mcp). Full API reference

Use it from an AI agent

Skill

Claude Code, Codex, Cursor and other AI agents can run Split PDF by Sections for you with this skill: /skills/pdf123-split-by-sections.md

All agent skills

Files are used only for this processing job and deleted automatically afterward.