How to use Crop PDF
- Add one PDF in the PDF file field, so the tool knows the page size it is working with.
- Leave Pages to crop empty to trim every page, or enter a range such as 1-3, 7.
- Type the distance to trim from the top, right, bottom and left edges in millimeters.
- Select Crop and check the per-page crop box the result reports.
- Download the copy and open it in your PDF reader to confirm the visible area.
Example: Crop PDF
Trim a 20 mm margin from the left and top edges of a two-page PDF.
Options
- Pages to crop
- An empty box means every page. A range uses physical page numbers, so 1-3, 7 changes four pages and leaves the rest at their original size.
- Trim from the top (mm)
- Distances start from the current visible page box, including a crop already in the file. A trim of 0 leaves that edge alone, and the four values do not have to match.
- Crop boxes and rotated pages
- The crop is stored in the page's own coordinate space, so a page shown sideways keeps its rotation and the trimmed edge still follows the page, not the screen.
- Visual and equal margins
- Drag the box or its handles on page 1. Arrow keys move it; Alt plus arrows resize it. The numeric millimetre fields remain available. Equal margins use one value on every edge. Other selected pages use the same trims, so review pages with different sizes.
Supported inputs and limits
Where your input is processed
This tool processes your input in this browser. Your text and files are not uploaded to UseFreeTools. Check this tool's limits for anything it may save on your device.
A page box is a window, not a pair of scissors
A PDF page carries several rectangles. The media box is the full sheet, the crop box is the region a viewer should show, and the bleed and trim boxes describe printing. Setting the crop box narrows the window without touching the drawing underneath, which is why the copy is safe to overlay on top of an original and why it hides nothing from a determined reader.
Questions about Crop PDF
Does cropping take the hidden text out of the file?
No. The page box is what changes. Everything that was on the page is still stored, so a value you cropped away can be selected in some readers or brought back with an editor. Delete or redact the content when it must not travel.
Why does my reader still show the whole page?
A crop box is the box a reader is asked to display, and a few readers and printers honor the media box instead. Open the export in a current desktop reader to confirm the crop before you send it on.
Can I crop only one page of a long document?
Yes. Put that page number in Pages to crop, for example 4. The other pages keep the box they already had, and the result lists the pages it changed.
Will this make the file smaller?
Usually not by much. The content behind the crop is still in the file, so the copy holds the same pages and the same data with a new page box recorded.