Can You Crop a PDF on Windows

Of course, you can crop PDFs on Windows. Is there a built-in Windows crop tool for PDFs? Unfortunately, though Windows can open PDFs using browsers like Microsoft Edge, it doesn’t support cropping. Also, Windows doesn’t offer a built-in program to crop PDFs. To crop a PDF on Windows, you need a desktop PDF editor or an online PDF tool. In the following content, let’s learn and find the reliable PDF croppers for Windows!

Method 1. Crop a PDF Using Adobe Acrobat (Best for Precision)

If you need professional-level control, Adobe Acrobat remains the industry standard. Known as one of the best PDF editors for Windows, Adobe Acrobat offers both basic and advanced features for PDFs. You can use it to crop PDF pages precisely. Below are the steps to crop PDF pages on Windows with Adobe Acrobat.

Step 1. Launch your Adobe Acrobat Pro or Standard and open your target PDF document.

Step 2. Click the Edit tab from the top toolbar. Then, the Edit pane will appear on the left.

Step 3. Next, click the Crop page option from the Edit pane. Click and drag the cursor to draw a rectangle over the area of the PDF page you want to remain. If you need, adjust the rectangle by dragging the corner handles.

Step 4. Optionally, you can double-click inside the cropping rectangle to open the Set Page Boxes dialog and adjust other settings. Then, click OK to apply the crop. At last, save the cropped PDF.

Method 2. Crop a PDF on Windows with SwifDoo PDF (Best Offline Alternative)

If you want a lightweight PDF editor without Adobe’s complexity, SwifDoo PDF is a strong option. Serving as a PDF editor, SwifDoo PDF enables you to crop PDFs, edit text or add text boxes to a PDF, insert and edit images within a PDF, highlight PDF text, black out personal information, and make other edits.

Beyond a PDF editor, SwifDoo PDF is a PDF converter and compressor. You can use it to convert PDF to PNG, Docx, CAD, PPT, and other formats. Also, you can use it to make a PDF smaller for email. How to crop a PDF on Windows without Adobe Acrobat? Use SwifDoo PDF and follow the steps below to try it out.

Step 1. Click the button below to download and install this excellent PDF cropper on your Windows PC.

Step 2. Run SwifDoo PDF and click Open or Edit PDF to import your PDF file.

Step 3. Under the Edit tab, click the Crop option. Then, the crop toolbar will appear on the right of the PDF page. Click Adjustments to set the margins as needed. Alternatively, directly click and drag the corner handles to crop the PDF.

If you need to crop multiple pages at once, click Page Range to select All Pages or set the needed page range. Then, click OK to save the changes. Next, click the Apply Changes button to crop the PDF.

Step 4. According to your needs, you can go to the Annotate, Page, Protect, or Convert tab to modify the PDF file. At last, press Ctrl + S to save the PDF.

Method 3. Crop a PDF for Free Using JOPDF (Best for Beginners)

If your priority is simplicity and ease, JOPDF offers one of the easiest workflows. It is a 100% free PDF editor for Windows, a free alternative to Adobe Acrobat. In addition to cropping the whole PDF page, JOPDF also allows you to crop images within the PDF. How to crop a PDF on Windows for free? Try JOPDF. Below are the detailed instructions for your reference.

Step 1. Download and install this free PDF cropper on your Windows. Then launch it.

Step 2. In the Popular Tools section, click Organize PDF, select the target PDF, and click Open to import it.

Step 3. Select the PDF page you need to crop and click the Crop Page option from the top toolbar.

Then, the Crop Page window will appear, and you can drag the corner handles to crop the PDF page. For a precise crop, enter the needed values in the boxes under the Crop Margins section. Under the Page Range section, you can select All Pages to apply the crop operation to all PDF pages. Then, click Apply.

Step 4. Finally, you can save the cropped PDF file.

Method 4. Crop a PDF Online (General Browser Tools)

If you only need to crop a PDF file occasionally, an online PDF cropper is a good solution. You don’t need to download and install any software. Additionally, most online PDF tools are easy to use and have user-friendly interfaces. Here are some reliable online PDF croppers for you to choose from.

• Smallpdf
• PDF Candy
• Sejda
• iLovePDF
• PDFgear

How to crop a PDF online on Windows? Take Smallpdf as an example. You can follow the steps below and have a try.

Step 1. Open any browser on your Windows PC and visit Smallpdf’s Crop PDF website.

Step 2. Then, click CHOOSE FILES to upload your PDF file from your local storage. Or, you can upload from your cloud service, like Dropbox, Google Drive, or OneDrive.

Step 3. Click and drag the cursor to choose the area you want to keep. Then, click the correct icon to crop the PDF. By default, the “Apply selection to all pages” option is toggled on. If you only need to crop a specific PDF page, toggle off this option.

Step 4. Finally, click the Download button in the upper right.

How to Crop Multiple Pages in a PDF on Windows

For large documents, efficiency matters. How to crop multiple pages in a PDF on Windows? Most PDF croppers, such as SwifDoo PDF, Adobe Acrobat Pro, JOPDF, and Smallpdf, allow you to crop PDF pages at once. The instructions above can serve as a reference for cropping multiple PDF pages at once.

Quick Comparison of PDF Cropping Tools

Which PDF cropper should be your choice? You can refer to the quick comparison table below and make a choice.

Final Thoughts

Does Windows offer a built-in feature to crop PDFs? Unfortunately, it doesn’t. How to crop a PDF on Windows? Use desktop or online PDF croppers. For offline PDF cropping, try SwifDoo PDF, JOPDF, or Adobe Acrobat Pro. If you don’t want to install any software for cropping, use Smallpdf or other online tools. With the right tool, you can complete your PDF task quickly and effectively. I hope this article can be helpful to you.