Learn in this article,
- how to quickly get an overview of all pages in the document,
- how to select individual pages and
- which features you can use on selected pages.
1. Introduction
Print data can be single-page or multi-page. Each page of a PDF file is a self-contained PDF construct. The individual pages can differ in complexity and can consist of many different objects. In PDF Editor, it is possible to select individual or multiple pages of a PDF file and apply changes to them.
2. "Thumbnails" tab
A PDF file can either be single or multi-page. The "Thumbnails" tab is available to give you a quick overview of the number of pages and the content of the pages. Furthermore, certain functions can be applied to the individual pages. You have access to the following information and features in PDF Editor:
- Page size - Shows the page size of the individual page and displays a warning if pages have a different size.
- Page orientation - Shows whether the page is in portrait or landscape format.
- Rotation factor - Shows whether the page is currently rotated for viewing.
- Page scaling factor - Shows the page scaling factor of the individual page.
- Page selection - With this option quickly select several pages.
- Rotate and mirror - With this option rotate and mirror selected pages.
- Delete, move and duplicate - Delete, move or duplicate selected pages.
- Insert or extract blank page - Insert a blank page before or after a selected page or extract selected pages.
- Insert document - Insert another PDF document before or after a selected page.
2.1. Navigate, Select and Sort
The Thumbnails tab provides options for jumping to a specific page in the document and for selecting individual or multiple pages in order to apply a function to them. You can also change the list of pages regarding the sorting.
2.1.1. Page Navigation
As soon as you have opened a multi-page PDF document, the page navigation is automatically displayed in the lower area of PDF Editor. Display the following navigation steps and read out information regarding:
- First Page [1] - Jump to the first page of the document.
- Previous Page [2] - Jump to the previous page in the document.
- Current Page [3] - Check which page you are currently on. Enter a page number and jump to the corresponding page.
- Total number of pages [4] - This field displays the number of pages for the currently open document.
- Next Page [5] - Jump to the next page in the document.
- Last Page [6] - Jump to the last page of the document.
Figure 1: The page navigation in the PDF Editor
However, you can also use the Thumbnails [7] tab to navigate in the document. The advantage of navigating here is that you are shown a preview image [8] for the page and can therefore select the page you want to edit more quickly.
To select the desired page, double-click on the list entry, as known from other applications.
Figure 2: The Thumbnails tab with a multi-page document
Attention
A single click on an entry only selects the entry. Changes that you make in other tabs affect the currently displayed page but not the entries selected in the Thumbnail tab.
2.1.2. Select Pages
If you want to select several pages, you can do this in the PDF Editor as follows:
- Select a single page - Simply click on the desired list entry.
-
Select several continuous pages - Simply click on the desired list entry for the first page of the selection range. Press the
Shiftkey and click on the last list entry for the selection range. You have now selected a continuous page range. -
Select multiple non-continuous pages - Click on the desired list entries while holding down the
Ctrl(Windows) orcmd(macOS) key. - Select all pages - To select all pages in the document (even those that are not currently displayed in the list. Press the Select All icon [9] in the footer of the tab.
Figure 3: The footer of the Thumbnails tab
- Select Page Range – When you want to select a specific page range or only all odd or even page numbers in the document, click the Select Page Range icon [10] in the footer of the tab. The Select Page Range dialog opens. You can enter the page range and select whether you want to select all pages, all odd-numbered pages or all even-numbered pages in the selected page range.
Figure 4: The dialog Select Page Range
2.1.3. Display List Entries Ascending or Descending
When you want the list of entries in the Thumbnails tab to be displayed in ascending or descending order, click the Sort ascending / descending icon [11] in the footer of the tab.
Figure 5: The footer of the Thumbnails tab
2.2. Information about Pages
In the Thumbnails tab important information about each page of the PDF file is displayed. This gives the user a quick overview of the page size, orientation and scaling factor.
You will find the following information in a multi-page document concerning the current page in this tab:
- Warning [12] – Is displayed when one or more Page Boxes of the respective Page deviate from the first page.
- Page Number [13] – Displays the page number of the respective Page.
- Page Size [14] – Shows the page size of the respective Page.
- Page Orientation – Shows whether the Page is in portrait or landscape format and can be derived from the page size.
- Rotation factor [15]– Shows whether or not the Page is currently rotated for viewing.
- User Unit [16] – Shows the page scale factor i.e. user unit of the respective Page.
Figure 6: The Thumbnails tab with the most important information aboute a page
2.3. Rotate, Flip or Delete Pages
The Thumbnails tab offers various options for rotating, mirroring or deleting one or more pages in the PDF file. You can use these functions either
- via buttons in the footer or
- via the context menu for the selected pages.
2.3.1. Functions in the Footer
The following options are available:
- Rotate pages clockwise [17] - The selected pages are rotated 90° to the right
- Rotate pages counter clockwise [18] - The selected pages are rotated 90° to the left
- Flip Page Horizontally [19] - The selected pages are flipped along the vertical axis
- Flip Page Vertically [20] - The selected pages are flipped along the horizontal axis
- Delete Pages [21] - The selected pages are deleted
Figure 7: The footer of the Thumbnails tab
2.3.2. Functions in the "Pages" Menu and the Context Menu
The functions mentioned above can also be selected in the context menu for the current page and in the Pages menu:
- Rotate pages clockwise [22] [28] - The selected pages are rotated 90° to the right
- Rotate pages counter clockwise [24] [29] - The selected pages are rotated 90° to the left
- Flip Page Horizontally [23] [30] - The selected pages are flipped along the vertical axis
- Flip Page Vertically [25] [30] - The selected pages are flipped along the horizontal axis
- Delete Pages [26] [27] - The selected pages are deleted
Figure 8: Left: Context menu of a marked Page; Right: The menu entries of the Page menu
2.4. Duplicate, Move or Extract Pages
If you want to duplicate, move or extract a page, you can do this in the context menu for the current page and in the Pages menu:
- Duplicate Page [32] [34] - the selected pages are duplicated and inserted as the following page
-
Move Pages... [31] [35] - the selected page is moved. The following options are available in the Move Pages dialog:
- Beginning of Document: the selected page is moved to the beginning of the document
- End of Document: the selected page is moved to the end of the document
- After Page: the selected page is moved after the page entered
- Before Page: the selected page is moved before the entered page
- Extract Pages... [33] [36] - the selected pages are saved as a separate PDF file. The moved pages are not deleted from the original document!
Figure 9: Left: Context menu of a selected page; Right: The menu entries of the Page menu
2.5. Insert Blank Pages or Another Document
If you want to insert a blank page or another document, you can do this in the context menu and in the Pages menu:
- Insert Blank Page before current Page [37] [40] - a blank page is inserted before the selected page
- Insert Blank Page after current Page [39] [41] - a blank page is inserted after the selected page
- Insert Document... [38] - another PDF document can be inserted before or after the selected page
Figure 10: Left: Context menu of a marked Page; Right: The menu entries of the Page menu
2.6. Change Page Boxes
If you want to change the Page Box for the selected page or Set the MediaBox to the Origin, you can do this via the context menu and via the menu items in the Page menu.
- Set Page Boxes... [42] [44] - this allows you to edit the Page Boxes for the selected page
- Set Media Box to Origin [43] [45] - this sets the Media Box back to the basic coordinates 0/0
Figure 11: Left: Context menu of a marked Page; Right: The menu entries of the Page menu
Article update: PDF Editor 1.7 – 01/2024