Crop PDF Online
Trim margins and borders from PDF pages — without changing the original page size or rasterizing text.
Drop files here, browse
Drop your PDF here — scanned PDFs, multi-page documents, all supported
Max file size: 100 MB
Full page canvas preserved
Content outside the selected area is hidden using a PDF clipping path. The full original page size stays visible — Apple Preview, Acrobat, and Chrome all show the complete page.
Text stays selectable
No rasterization. Selectable text, hyperlinks, vector graphics, and embedded fonts inside the crop area remain fully intact.
Private by design
Your PDF is processed entirely in your browser using pdf-lib. Files are never uploaded to any server.
How to crop a PDF online
- Drop your PDF onto the tool above — scanned PDFs, text PDFs, and multi-page documents all work.
- In Visual Crop mode, drag the pink rectangle to select the area you want to keep. Use the page controls to preview other pages before applying.
- Alternatively, switch to Manual Margins and enter exact Top, Bottom, Left, and Right values in points, inches, or millimeters.
- Choose whether to apply the crop to all pages, a single page, or a custom page range.
- Click Crop PDF and download your result instantly.
Why does this tool keep the original page size?
Most PDF crop tools rasterize your document — converting each page to an image and re-assembling it. This destroys selectable text, hyperlinks, vector graphics, and dramatically increases file size.
ConvertForge uses a PDF clipping path to hide content outside the selected area. The original MediaBox — which defines the page dimensions — is never modified. The full page canvas stays visible in every viewer: Apple Preview, Adobe Acrobat, Chrome, and Safari all show the complete original page size. Content outside the crop rectangle is masked by the clipping path; content inside remains fully rendered, with selectable text, live hyperlinks, and vector graphics all intact.
Common crop PDF use cases
The most common use is removing large blank borders from scanned documents — academic papers, book scans, and faxes often have wide white margins that waste screen space on tablets. Cropping the PDF removes those borders so the content fills the screen, while keeping text searchable.
Other uses include removing printer crop marks and bleed areas, trimming header/footer strips from auto-generated documents, and standardising the visible area across a PDF with inconsistent margins.
Understanding PDF units — points, inches, and millimeters
PDF documents use points as their native unit — 1 point = 1/72 inch. A US Letter page is 612 × 792 pt. An A4 page is approximately 595 × 842 pt. For reference: 1 inch = 72 pt, 1 mm ≈ 2.835 pt.
In Visual Crop mode, the preview handles all unit conversion automatically. In Manual Margins mode, use the unit selector to work in whichever unit suits you best.
Privacy — your PDF never leaves your device
ConvertForge processes your PDF entirely in your browser. The preview uses PDF.js running locally, and the final export uses pdf-lib — both run client-side with no server involvement. Your files are never uploaded, stored, or transmitted across the internet.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does cropping the PDF change the page size?
No. This tool hides content outside the selected area using a PDF clipping path. The original MediaBox — which defines the page's nominal dimensions — is left completely unchanged. Every PDF viewer will show the same full page canvas as the original.
Will I still be able to select and copy text after cropping?
Yes. Because this tool uses a PDF clipping path rather than rasterizing pages, all text layers, hyperlinks, form fields, and vector content inside the crop area remain intact and selectable in the output PDF.
Can I crop individual pages differently?
Use the Visual Crop mode to set the crop for one page, apply it, then upload the result and repeat for a different page range. Or use Manual Margins with the Page Range option for precise per-group control.
Does the visual crop preview show my exact output?
Yes. The preview renders your actual PDF page using PDF.js. The pink rectangle shows exactly which area will remain visible after cropping. Content in the shaded region outside the rectangle will be hidden by a PDF clipping path in the output.
Does it work with scanned PDFs?
Yes. Scanned PDFs are images embedded in PDF pages. The PDF clipping path approach works identically — it hides the border region of the scanned image without re-encoding or rasterizing anything.
What if my PDF is encrypted or password-protected?
Encrypted PDFs may fail to process. Use the Unlock PDF tool to remove restrictions first, then crop the unlocked version.
Is there a file size limit?
No hard limit — file size is only constrained by your browser's available memory. Most PDFs up to several hundred MB process without issue.