Extraer Páginas de PDF

Implementation & Processing Pipeline

Page extraction creates new PDF documents containing only specified pages from the source. Unlike splitting (which divides the entire document), extraction targets specific pages while ignoring others.

This tool uses PDF-lib for browser-based PDF manipulation. The process involves:

1. Selection: Users define a subset of pages (e.g., "1, 3, 5-10").
2. Cloning: The tool creates a new empty PDF document.
3. Copying: It copies the selected pages from the source document into the new one. This ensures that all resources (fonts, images) required by those pages are correctly carried over.
4. Serialization: The new document is saved as a distinct PDF file.

How It's Tested

We ensure that extracted pages are identical to the originals and form a valid new document.

1. The "Complex Range" Test:
   • Action: Extract pages 1, 3-5, 8 from a 10-page document.
   • Expected: The output must have exactly 5 pages in that specific order.
2. The "Resource Integrity" Check:
   • Action: Extract a single page that relies on a shared font defined in the document root.
   • Expected: The font must be correctly embedded in the new file so text renders properly.
3. The "Form Field" Preservation:
   • Action: Extract a page containing a filled-out form.
   • Expected: The form data must remain visible and editable in the new file.
4. The "Size Optimization" Check:
   • Action: Extract a 100KB page from a 100MB document.
   • Expected: The resulting file should be significantly smaller (around 100KB + overhead), not 100MB.

The History of PDF Extraction

Before browser-based tools, extracting pages required printing to a "PDF Printer" with a range selected, which often degraded quality (rasterizing text). Modern tools like this manipulate the raw PDF objects directly, ensuring lossless extraction—the binary data of the page is copied exactly, preserving the highest possible quality.

Common Use Cases

1. Key page extraction: Pull specific charts or tables
2. Signature pages: Extract only signed pages for records
3. Reference material: Extract relevant pages from manuals
4. Legal documents: Pull executed pages from contracts
5. Academic: Extract bibliography or specific chapters

Extraction Syntax