Split Book Spreads: One Page per Half Sheet
Book scanners and phone photos capture a spread, not a page. Cutting down the centre line restores one page per page.
What this tool does
Cuts two-page spreads into single pages: a scanned book spread, an A3 sheet that should read as two A4 pages, or a form printed two-up. The cut follows the page's own shape unless you force a direction.
How it works
Choose vertical or horizontal (or leave it on auto), set the split position if the fold is off-centre, and let the tool skip pages that are already single — the cover and title pages are excluded automatically by default. Tick the booklet option when the scan arrived in booklet order (12, 1, 2, 11 …) so the output is re-paginated in reading order.
- Choose the PDF, or drag it onto the page.
- Set split and split position (part one / part two) — the settings below explain what each one changes.
- Run the tool and download the result.
Settings that decide the result
- Split — Auto — use the page's own shape, Split vertically — left / right, Split horizontally — top / bottom
- Split position (part one / part two) — 1 splits down the middle; 2 puts the line two thirds of the way through, leaving part one twice as big.
- Exclude pages: — Excluded pages come out whole instead of being cut.
- Re-paginate from booklet scan — A booklet scan arrives as 12, 1, 2, 11, 10, 3, 4, 9 … turn it back to 1, 2, 3, 4…
The remaining 3 controls stay on the tool page, where each one sits next to the live preview.
When to reach for it
- You scanned or photographed a book flat. Each spread becomes two pages in the right order.
- An A3 sheet should print as two A4 pages. The cut follows the paper's own geometry.
Questions we get
When do I need a vertical split?
Scanned two-page spreads: each sheet holds a left and a right page. Split down the middle and the halves are resequenced into single pages in reading order.
Where it fits
The tools people usually open next to Split in half:
- Merge PDF — Combine multiple PDFs and images into one document.
- Resize — Change PDF page size and add margins/padding.
- Organize PDF — Arrange, rotate, duplicate, delete or insert PDF pages.
Every tool works on a copy, so the original file is never modified. Uploads are stored under an unguessable id and deleted automatically two hours after you last open them; nothing is listed, shared or indexed. More on the security page.