How to Split, Join, Change Background, Stamp & Reorder Pages in PDF Documents on Windows WITHOUT Adobe Acrobat

Does your work involve using PDF files? Have you ever been stuck because your PDF files are too large to be sent via an email? Or you just crave to learn basic PDF editing? Whatever are your needs, you have got to the right place- follow up with me as I uncover basic PDF editing tricks you can use to make your work a lot easier.

Windows unlike Mac OS X doesn’t have an integrated tool like "Preview for Mac OS X", it doesn’t even come with a PDF printer of its own. You have to rely on the versatile "Adobe Acrobat Reader DC" or any other PDF software out there in which some don't even allow full access unless you pay or buy license to use as you may desire.

There are many free softwares that can do this job neatly. Some websites even offer to split and merge PDF files but how secure are your documents when you upload them to these sites. Although "Adobe Acrobat" is versatile and will do all of these things if you have a license. Adobe Acrobat may be provided by your workplace, but home users or those Small and Medium Scale Enterprises (SMEs) won’t want to spend over $350 on it. Also be sure to avoid web-based PDF-editor tools. Don't upload any PDFs with sensitive personal, financial, or business data to web-based PDF tools that you don't trust.

The best among the free softwares out there that you can use to edit your PDFs are

1. PDFTK Builder
2. PDFSam (PDF Split and Merge)
3. On Mac OS X (The Preview)

The Preview app included with Mac OS X is much more powerful than its given name implies. You don't want to look elsewhere if you are so fortunate to have a Mac OS X.

But for Windows users, the best free tools we’ve found for editing pages of several PDF files are "PDFTK Builder" and PDFSam — short for “PDF split and merge.” Both are free and open-source. Unfortunately, the later relies on having Java installed on your PC which is a set back if the computer system does not have Java installed. PDF Sam is plague by availability of Java so cannot be readily use on the go. Java brings a lot of junkies when you install it on your PC. "In 2013 alone, Java was responsible for 91 percent of all computer compromises". PDFSam itself doesn’t try to install junk wares on your PC when you install it, but the Java run-time does. I have personally used this tool on several occasions, you can do so much more with it, it's an efficient program but the reliance on Java to work is another thing that keeps one off. I only use it on the system I know has Java installed.

For most Windows users, who want a simple PDF editing tool they can easily use on the go, i recommend "PDFTK Builder". Like I said earlier, it's free and open source, it doesn't require Java or any extra software to work. It is small but powerful. A versatile program which only takes less than 5MB of your hard disk space and very friendly on your Ram. You can always carry a portable version around so it can be used on the go.

Below are some practical examples of the program in action: Here the objective was to split a three pages PDF file into one each.

1. Download PDFTK Builder Windows Program and run it to install on PC. Or if you prefer a portable version-install on your UBS Flash Drive

2. Double Click on the PDFTK Builder application to open it or right click on it then select open.

3. Once you have it opened, confirm that you have these 4 Tabs- Join Files, Split File, Background/Stamp/Number, Rotate Pages.

4. Click on "Split File" Tab.

5. Click on "Source PDF File.."

Tip: This is the place to select the PDF file that you want to split. A pop up windows folder will open, navigate to the location of the PDF file, select the file and click on open to load it into PDFTk Builder. In my case, the three pages PDF file is named "WK3150001"

6. Click on Save.

7. Click on Exit. The job is done and you are good to go.

You will need to confirm from the location of the original PDF file ( e.g. WK3150001) to check if the file was successfully splitted or not. You will notice that your multiple pages PDF has been splitted into one page each.

In this example, the PDF file "WK3150001" original location now has three additional files WK3150001_001, WK3150001_002, WK3150001_003 respectively.

Apart from just spliting a PDF file, this tool also allows you to marge, change the background, stamp, rotate pages as you like and reorder the pages in a PDF file into a different order, which could help if you scanned the pages of a document in the wrong order and wish to rearrange.

You may also want to read "How To Use PDFTK Builder To Join PDF Files.

Wasn’t it easy?! Please let me know if you have any questions about this process. I will be happy to help you.

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