Convert, merge, and split PDFs in your browser

PDFs are everywhere — invoices, contracts, scanned forms, reports, slide handouts. Most of the time you do not need a heavyweight editor; you just need to turn a page into an image, combine a few PDFs into one file, or pull a handful of pages out of a big document. You can do all of that for free, without buying Acrobat and without uploading sensitive paperwork to a stranger's server.

This guide walks through the three most common PDF jobs — converting pages to images, merging multiple PDFs, and splitting or extracting pages — and explains the small choices (format, resolution, page order) that decide whether the result looks crisp and behaves the way you expect. Each task can be done in seconds with Office Tools PDF Tools, which runs entirely in your browser.

Convert PDF pages to images (PNG/JPG)

Turning a PDF page into an image is one of those small needs that pops up constantly. You might want to drop a single page into a slide deck or a Word document, post a page to a website or chat where PDFs are awkward to preview, or generate a thumbnail to show what a document contains. Image files embed and display anywhere, while a PDF often needs a viewer.

The format you pick matters more than people expect:

• PNG is lossless and keeps text, tables, and line art razor sharp with clean edges. Choose it for pages that are mostly type, diagrams, charts, or screenshots — anywhere crispness counts.
• JPG uses lossy compression, which produces much smaller files for pages dominated by photographs or rich gradients. The trade-off is faint artifacts around hard edges and small text, so it is the wrong choice for a page of fine print.

Resolution (often described as DPI) is the other lever. A higher resolution renders more detail and sharper text but produces a larger image; a lower resolution is lighter and faster but can look soft if you zoom in. As a rule of thumb, web and on-screen use is fine at a moderate resolution, while anything you intend to print should be rendered higher so it does not look fuzzy on paper.

To convert: open Office Tools PDF Tools, load your PDF, choose the convert-to-image option, select PNG or JPG, pick the page (or pages) you want, and download the rendered image.

Merge several PDFs into one

Merging is the answer whenever a single logical document arrives in pieces. Maybe you scanned a stack of pages one at a time and ended up with a dozen separate files, or a report came as a cover page, a body, and an appendix that really belong together. Combining them into one PDF makes the document easier to send, print, and archive.

1. Open PDF Tools and add every PDF you want to combine.
2. Arrange them in the exact order they should appear — order is what determines how the final document reads, so check it before you commit.
3. Run the merge to stitch the files into one continuous PDF.
4. Download the combined file and give it a clear name.

Split a PDF or extract pages

Splitting is the reverse problem. A long PDF might need to be broken into smaller parts, or you may only need a single section — one signed page from a contract, a chapter from a manual, the two pages of a form a colleague actually asked for. Extracting the pages you need keeps things tidy and avoids sending someone a 90-page file when they wanted two.

1. Open the PDF in PDF Tools.
2. Specify the page or page range you want to keep or break out.
3. Save the selection as a new PDF — the original stays exactly as it was.

Why do this in the browser?

There is nothing to install and no account to create — you open a page and start working. Just as important, your files are processed locally on your own device rather than uploaded to a server. For everyday material that is convenient; for contracts, IDs, medical forms, and financial documents it is genuinely safer, because the document never leaves your machine. You can read more about how this works in the Privacy Policy.

Tips for best results

• Pick PNG for text and diagrams and JPG for photo-heavy pages — matching the format to the content keeps files both sharp and reasonably sized.
• Raise the resolution when the image is destined for print, and lower it when it is only going on the web or into a chat, where smaller files load faster.
• Double-check page order before merging and the page range before splitting; a quick look now saves a re-do later.
• Remember that everything runs in your browser, so very large files may take a moment and lean on your device's memory.

Tip: rendering a page at a higher resolution before placing it in a printed report or poster prevents the soft, slightly blurry look that low-resolution images get when blown up on paper.

Related guides

Working with documents and images? You may also find these useful: Edit images in your browser and Open DXF files without AutoCAD. And whenever you are ready to convert, merge, or split, head straight to PDF Tools.

Frequently asked questions