Split PDF file in C# and VB.NET

With GemBox.Pdf, you can split a PDF file into several PDF files in your C# or VB.NET application.

As PDF pages are self-contained (all information required for their appearance and interactivity is either stored or referenced from the page), they can be easily cloned to other PDF files.

To split a PDF file, you simply need to clone each of its pages into a new PDF file.

The following example shows how you can split a PDF file so that each page goes into its own PDF file.

PDF files split with GemBox.Pdf C#/VB.NET library — Screenshot of PDF files split with GemBox.Pdf library

C#
VB.NET

View on GitHub

using System.IO;
using System.IO.Compression;
using GemBox.Pdf;

class Program
{
    static void Main()
    {
        // If using Professional version, put your serial key below.
        ComponentInfo.SetLicense("FREE-LIMITED-KEY");

        var fileNameWithoutExt = Path.GetFileNameWithoutExtension("%InputFileName%");

        // Open source PDF file and create a destination ZIP file.
        using (var source = PdfDocument.Load("%InputFileName%"))
        using (var archiveStream = File.OpenWrite($"{fileNameWithoutExt}.zip"))
        using (var archive = new ZipArchive(archiveStream, ZipArchiveMode.Create, leaveOpen: true))
            for (int index = 0; index < source.Pages.Count; index++)
            {
                // Create new ZIP entry for each source document page.
                var entry = archive.CreateEntry($"{fileNameWithoutExt}{index + 1}.pdf");

                // Open ZIP entry stream.
                using (var entryStream = entry.Open())
                // Create destination document.
                using (var destination = new PdfDocument())
                {
                    // Clone source document page to destination document.
                    destination.Pages.AddClone(source.Pages[index]);

                    // Save destination document to ZIP entry stream.
                    destination.Save(entryStream);
                }
            }
    }
}

Imports System.IO
Imports System.IO.Compression
Imports GemBox.Pdf

Module Program

    Sub Main()

        ' If using Professional version, put your serial key below.
        ComponentInfo.SetLicense("FREE-LIMITED-KEY")

        Dim fileNameWithoutExt = Path.GetFileNameWithoutExtension("%InputFileName%")

        ' Open source PDF file and create a destination ZIP file.
        Using source = PdfDocument.Load("%InputFileName%")
            Using archiveStream = File.OpenWrite($"{fileNameWithoutExt}.zip")
                Using archive = New ZipArchive(archiveStream, ZipArchiveMode.Create, leaveOpen:=True)
                    For index As Integer = 0 To source.Pages.Count - 1

                        ' Create new ZIP entry for each source document page.
                        Dim entry = archive.CreateEntry($"{fileNameWithoutExt}{index + 1}.pdf")

                        ' Open ZIP entry stream.
                        Using entryStream = entry.Open()
                            ' Create destination document.
                            Using destination = New PdfDocument()

                                ' Clone source document page to destination document.
                                destination.Pages.AddClone(source.Pages(index))

                                ' Save destination document to ZIP entry stream.
                                destination.Save(entryStream)
                            End Using
                        End Using
                    Next
                End Using
            End Using
        End Using
    End Sub
End Module

In the above example, the uploaded PDF file is split so that each of its pages is cloned to a new PdfDocument, which is then saved to a ZIP archive that gets saved to a file.

If you want to clone a PDF page to an existing PdfDocument, then see this Cloning example.

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Check the next example or select an example from the menu. You can also download our examples from the GitHub.

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Download Buy

If you want to try the GemBox.Pdf yourself, you can download the free version. It delivers the same performance and set of features as the professional version, but with some operations limited. To remove the limitation, you need to purchase a license.

Published: December 13, 2018 | Modified: September 8, 2021 | Author: Stipo Rubic