18 Split PDFs

18.1 Description

The Split PDFs task divides a multi-page PDF document into multiple individual files. Splitting can be done according to various criteria: page count, file size, bookmarks, keywords, barcodes, blank pages, or separator pages.

Typical Use Cases

Batch Processing: Split large scan files into individual documents
Invoice Separation: Divide combined PDFs into individual invoices
Archiving: Save documents by bookmark into separate files
Form Processing: Split multi-page forms based on separator pages

Important: This task creates new files in the configured target folder. The original file remains unchanged. Further tasks contained in the current profile all refer to the original file. The partial documents created by this task must be further processed with a separate profile that monitors the corresponding output folder if needed.

18.2 General Settings

Enabled

Enable this option so the task is executed for matching PDF files. Disabled tasks are skipped.

18.3 Splitting Method

Choose the criterion by which the PDF should be split:

Method	Description
Page Count	Split after a fixed number of pages
File Size	When a certain file size is exceeded
Top-Level Bookmarks	At each bookmark of the top level
Keywords	When certain texts are present or not present on pages
Barcode	Based on QR codes or barcodes
Placeholder (Value Change)	When an extracted value changes
Separator Page with Text	At pages with specific text content
Blank Pages	At blank pages

18.4 By Page Count

Pages per Document

Specify after how many pages a new partial document should begin.

Example: With a 10-page PDF and setting “3 pages”, the result is: - Partial document 1: Pages 1-3 - Partial document 2: Pages 4-6 - Partial document 3: Pages 7-9 - Partial document 4: Page 10

18.5 By File Size

Maximum File Size (MB)

Specify the maximum size per partial document in megabytes. When adding another page would exceed the limit, a new partial document begins.

Note: Actual size may vary depending on PDF content. The setting is a guideline.

18.6 By Top-Level Bookmarks

With this method, a new partial document is created at each top-level bookmark. This is particularly useful for structured documents like manuals or reports.

Prerequisite: The PDF must contain bookmarks.

Special Placeholder

When splitting by bookmarks, an additional placeholder is available for the filename: - <SplittingBookmarkTitle> - The title of the bookmark

Example: - Filename template: <FileName>_<SplittingBookmarkTitle> - Result: Manual_Chapter1.pdf, Manual_Chapter2.pdf, etc.

18.7 By Keywords

Splits the document when certain texts are found on a page.

Start New Document at Pages With

Enter the text that should trigger a split. When this text is found on a page, a new partial document starts there.

Example: “Invoice No.” - Each page containing this text starts a new document.

Start New Document at Pages Without

Enter text that is not present on separator pages. Useful when separator pages are blank pages or special pages.

End New Document at Pages With

Optional: Text that marks the end of a partial document.

End New Document at Pages Without

Optional: Ends partial document at pages that don’t contain this text.

Trigger Error if Keyword Not Found

Enable this option if processing should fail when the keyword is not found anywhere in the document.

18.8 By Barcode

Splits the document based on QR codes or barcodes.

Barcode Format

Select the format of the barcode to recognize: - QR Code - Code 128 - Code 39 - EAN-13, EAN-8 - Data Matrix - PDF417 - Aztec - UPC-A, UPC-E

Image Noise Suppression and Rotation Correction

Determines how thoroughly to search for barcodes: - Low - Fast recognition, lower accuracy - Medium - Balanced setting (default) - High - Thorough search - Very High - Maximum accuracy, slowest processing

Trigger

Choose when a new split should occur:

Trigger	Description
All Occurrences of Barcode	At every found barcode
Change in Barcode Data	When barcode content changes
Barcode Data with Text	When barcode contains specific text

Additional Options

Skip Pages Before First Valid Barcode - Pages without barcode at the beginning are not included in partial documents
Skip Pages After Last Valid Barcode - Pages without barcode at the end are not included
Exclude Separator Pages - Pages with the triggering barcode are not included in partial documents

18.9 By Placeholder (Value Change)

Splits the document when an extracted value changes from page to page.

Select Extraction Rule

Select a previously defined extraction rule. When the extracted value changes between two pages, a new partial document begins.

Example: You have a rule “CustomerNumber” that extracts the customer number from each page. With a combined invoice containing pages for different customers, it automatically separates at each new customer number.

Skip Pages Until First Valid Extraction

Enable this option to skip pages at the beginning where no data can be extracted.

18.10 By Separator Page with Text

Recognizes special separator pages based on defined keywords.

Page Contains

Enter the text present on separator pages (e.g., “— SEPARATOR —”).

Page Does Not Contain

Optional: Text that must not be present on separator pages.

18.11 By Blank Pages

Splits the document at blank pages. A page is considered blank if it contains no text (0 characters).

Use Case: Scanned documents are often separated by blank pages between individual documents.

18.12 Page Exclusion

Timing of Exclusion

After Splitting - Exclusion rules are applied to partial documents
Before Splitting - Exclusion rules are applied to the entire document before splitting

Exclude Pages with Less Than X Characters

Removes pages with fewer than the specified character count. Useful for removing blank or separator pages.

Exclude Pages with Text

Excludes pages containing the specified text.

Exclude Pages Without Text

Excludes pages that don’t contain the specified text.

18.13 Source for New Documents

Start Partial Documents with Empty Document

Partial documents are created as new, empty PDFs and only relevant pages are inserted. This is the default setting and creates smaller files.

Start Partial Documents with Original’s Structure and Metadata

Partial documents retain the PDF structure and metadata (author, title, etc.) of the original. Choose this option when this information is important.

18.14 Storage Location

Filename

Set the naming scheme for partial documents. In addition to standard placeholders, special placeholders are available:

Placeholder	Description	Example
`<SplittingNumber>`	Sequential number of partial document	1, 2, 3, …
`<SplittingNumberWithLeadingZeros{N}>`	Number with leading zeros (N digits)	001, 002, …
`<SplittingBookmarkTitle>`	Bookmark title (only with bookmark splitting)	Chapter1

Examples:

Input	Result
`<FileName>_Part<SplittingNumber>`	`Invoice_Part1.pdf`, `Invoice_Part2.pdf`
`<FileName>_<SplittingNumberWithLeadingZeros{3}>`	`Invoice_001.pdf`, `Invoice_002.pdf`
`<SplittingBookmarkTitle>`	`Introduction.pdf`, `MainPart.pdf`

Name Collisions

Choose what should happen if a file with the target name already exists:

Option	Description
Overwrite	Existing file is replaced
Append number	Adds a number
Append date	Adds processing date
Append date and time	Adds date and time
Cancel operation	Split is not performed

18.15 File Date

Adjust Creation and Modification Date

Optionally, you can change the file date of partial documents:

Option	Description
Do not change	Files automatically receive current date
Creation date of original file	Uses original creation date
Modification date of original file	Uses modification date
PDF creation date	Date from PDF metadata
Extracted date	A date obtained with an extraction rule
Current date	Sets today’s date

18.16 Afterwards

Call External Program

After splitting, an external program can be started automatically for each partial document.

Program: Path to executable file

Parameters: Command line parameters. Available placeholders: - <PathIncludingFilename> - Full path of partial document - <ParentDirectory> - Path of parent folder - <Filename> - Filename of partial document

18.17 Example: Split Combined Invoice by Customer

Initial Situation

You receive a monthly combined invoice as PDF containing invoices for multiple customers. Each customer invoice starts with the text “Invoice for:”.

Configuration

Enabled: Yes
Splitting Method: Keywords
Start new document at pages with: Invoice for:
Directory: D:\Invoices\Split
Filename: Invoice_<SplittingNumber>_<TodaysYear4><TodaysMonth>
On name collision: Append number

Result

Original File	Partial Documents
`CombinedInvoice_December.pdf` (30 pages)	`Invoice_1_202412.pdf`, `Invoice_2_202412.pdf`, etc.

18.18 Example: Split Manual by Chapters

Initial Situation

A manual with bookmarks for each chapter should be split into individual chapter PDFs.

Configuration

Enabled: Yes
Splitting Method: Top-Level Bookmarks
Directory: D:\Documents\Chapters
Filename: <FileName>_<SplittingBookmarkTitle>
On name collision: Append number

Result

Bookmark	Partial Document
“Introduction”	`Manual_Introduction.pdf`
“Chapter 1 - Installation”	`Manual_Chapter 1 - Installation.pdf`
“Chapter 2 - Configuration”	`Manual_Chapter 2 - Configuration.pdf`

18.5 Tips and Notes

Further Processing of Partial Documents

Created partial documents are in the configured target folder. To process them further (e.g., OCR, renaming, email), create a separate profile that monitors this target folder.

Numbering with Leading Zeros

For better sorting in file manager, use <SplittingNumberWithLeadingZeros{3}> instead of <SplittingNumber>. Files are then sorted correctly: 001, 002, ... 010, 011 instead of 1, 10, 11, 2, 3.

Optimize Barcode Recognition

If barcodes are not reliably recognized: - Increase preprocessing to “High” or “Very High” - Ensure correct barcode format is selected - Enable machine learning for barcode recognition in program options

Remove Separator Pages

To not have separator pages in partial documents: - With barcode splitting: Enable “Exclude separator pages” - With other methods: Use page exclusion with separator page text

Combination of Criteria

If a single criterion is not sufficient, you can apply a second profile with a different splitting method to the partial documents after splitting.

Consider Storage Space

When splitting large PDFs, many individual files are created. Ensure sufficient storage space is available.

Merge PDFs OCR Text Recognition