Overview
Foxit PDF Editor comes with a built in functionality to insert PDF files & split one PDF into various small single & multiple page PDF files according to page numbers as well as page range. You can also rearrange pages, add page marks (such as header & footer) to PDFs, and more. During page organization, pages can be displayed in Thumbnail View mode (in which all the panels are hidden) or Page View mode (in which the Pages panel is opened). Clicking Thumbnail View button in the Organize tab helps you switch between Thumbnail View mode and Page View mode. For both view modes, you can use the page organization commands in the Organize tab or the options in the context menu to organize pages. For Thumbnail View mode, you can additionally find the floating buttons to rearrange pages when you mouse over a page thumbnail.
Insert Pages
Foxit PDF Editor enables you to insert pages from files (either from a page range or the entire file), a folder, a scanner, clipboard, and a blank page. You can also insert pages into multiple documents at a time.
Insert Pages from Files
Foxit PDF Editor allows you to insert pages into a PDF file from one or more files. When inserting pages from non-PDF files (including text files, Microsoft Office files, HTML files, and image files), Foxit PDF Editor will convert them to PDFs automatically. To ensure that the Microsoft Office files can be successfully converted and inserted into the target document, please make sure that you have installed Microsoft Office 2016 or higher on your Mac device.
Insert Pages by Drag-and-Drop
Directly drag and drop the file that you want to insert into the Pages panel or Thumbnail window, and then all the pages from the file will be inserted into your current PDF file.
Insert Pages by Commands or Options
Alternatively, you can use the commands in the Organize tab or options from the context menu to insert pages. In this workflow, you can also specify the page range that you want to insert, if necessary.
- Click Organize.
- Choose one of the following methods:
- Click Insert in the Organize tab, and choose From File.
- Right-click a page thumbnail in the Pages panel or Thumbnail window, and choose Insert Pages > From File.
- (Available in Thumbnail View) Move your mouse over the blank area before or after a page thumbnail, and you will find the Insert icon . Click the Insert icon , and select From File.
- In the pop-up dialog box, navigate through your local disk to select a local file or click Open from ECM to select a file from ECM systems and cloud services, and click Open.
- In the Insert Page From dialog box, do the following:
- Click Add Files to add more files, if necessary.
- If you add multiple files, you can reorder the file to be shown in the combined PDF by clicking the Move Up or Move Down button.
- If you want to preview the pages, check the Show Preview option.
- Click OK.
Insert Pages from Folder
- Click Organize.
- Choose one of the following methods:
- Click Insert in the Organize tab, and choose From Folder.
- Right-click a page thumbnail in the Pages panel or Thumbnail window, and choose Insert Pages > From Folder.
- (Available in Thumbnail View) Move your mouse over the blank area before or after a page thumbnail, and you will find the Insert icon . Click the Insert icon , and select From Folder.
- In the pop-up dialog box, select the folder which contains the files that you want to insert into the target document, and click Open.
- In the pop-up Insert Pages From dialog box, specify the corresponding settings, and click OK. For more information about the settings, please refer to “Insert Pages From Dialog Box”.
Insert Pages from Open Files
Insert Pages from the Pages Panel
- Open the source file and target file in Foxit PDF Editor, and make sure that you have opened the Pages panel in all the files.
- In the source file, select the page thumbnails to be inserted in the Pages panel.
- Directly drag and drop the selected page thumbnails into the target place in the Pages panel of the target file.
Insert Pages by Commands or Options
- Click Organize.
- Choose one of the following methods:
- Click Insert in the Organize tab, and choose From Open Files.
- Right-click a page thumbnail in the Pages panel or Thumbnail window, and choose Insert Pages > From Open Files.
- (Available in Thumbnail View) Move your mouse over the blank area before or after a page thumbnail, and you will find the Insert icon . Click the Insert icon , and select From Open Files.
- In the Open PDF Files dialog box, select the files that you want to insert, and click Add Files.
- In the Insert Pages From dialog box, specify the corresponding settings, and click OK. For more information about the settings, please refer to “Insert Pages From Dialog Box”.
Insert Pages from Scanner
You can insert pages from a paper document using Foxit PDF Editor and your scanner.
- Click Organize.
- Choose one of the following methods:
- Click Insert in the Organize tab, and choose From Scanner.
- Right-click a page thumbnail in the Pages panel or Thumbnail window, and choose Insert Pages > From Scanner.
- (Available in Thumbnail View) Move your mouse over the blank area before or after a page thumbnail, and you will find the Insert icon . Click the Insert icon , and select From Scanner.
- In the pop-up From Scanner dialog box, specify the place you want to insert pages, and click OK.
- In the Scan dialog box, specify the scanning settings, and click Scan. Please refer to “Scan Dialog Box” for more information.
Insert Pages from Clipboard
- Click Organize.
- Choose one of the following methods:
- Click Insert in the Organize tab, and choose From Clipboard.
- Right-click a page thumbnail in the Pages panel or Thumbnail window, and choose Insert Pages > From Clipboard.
- (Available in Thumbnail View) Move your mouse over the blank area before or after a page thumbnail, and you will find the Insert icon. To insert a new page before an existing page, click the Insert iconbefore the thumbnail of the existing page, and choose From Clipboard. New pages can be added after an existing page in the similar manner, by clicking the Insert icon after the thumbnail.
- (Optional) If you choose Insert > From Clipboard in the Organize tab or Insert Pages > From Clipboard from the context menu, specify the destination you want to insert pages, and click OK in the pop-up From clipboard dialog box.
Insert Pages from a Blank Page
- Click Organize.
- Choose one of the following methods:
- Click Insert in the Organize tab, and choose Blank Page.
- Right-click a page thumbnail in the Pages panel or Thumbnail window, and choose Insert Pages > Blank Page.
- (Available in Thumbnail View) Move your mouse over the blank area before or after a page thumbnail, and you will find the Insert icon. To insert a blank page before an existing page, click the Insert iconbefore the thumbnail of the existing page, and choose Blank Page. New blank pages can be added after an existing page in the similar manner, by clicking the Insert iconafter the thumbnail.
- (Optional) If you choose Insert > Blank Page in the Organize tab or Insert Pages > Blank Page from the context menu, specify the destination you want to insert pages, and click OK in the pop-up Insert Blank Pages dialog box.
Insert Pages into Files
Foxit PDF Editor allows you to insert pages from the currently-opened PDF file into other files. Steps are as follow:
- Choose Organize > Insert > Into File, or right-click a page thumbnail in the Pages panel or Thumbnail window and choose Insert Pages > Into File.
- In the pop-up dialog box, choose the files (i.e. target files) that you want to insert the source pages, and click Open.
- In the pop-up Insert Pages Into dialog box, do the following:
- If you need to add more target files, click Add Files.
- In the Select Source Pages group, specify the source pages to be inserted.
- In the Insert To group, specify the destination in the target files into which the source pages will be inserted.
- By default, the source pages will be kept after being inserted into the target files. If you want to delete the pages from the original file after the operation, check the Delete source pages after inserting option.
- If you want to preview the pages, check the Show Preview option.
- Click Output Options to specify the output folder and file names.
- Click OK.
Rotate, Move, Swap, and Delete Pages
Rotate Pages
- Click Organize.
- Do one of the following:
- Select the page that you want to rotate, and click Rotate Pages > Left or Right in the Organize tab to rotate it clockwise or counterclockwise.
- Right-click a page thumbnail in the Pages panel or Thumbnail window, and choose Rotate Pages > Left or Right.
- (Available in Thumbnail View) Move your mouse over the page which you want to rotate, and click or floating on the page thumbnail to rotate the page counterclockwise or clockwise.
Tips:
1. Press Command/Shift + click to select multiple page thumbnails at one time. If you want to select all the page thumbnails, select a single page thumbnail first, and then press Command + A.
2. The rotate buttons floating over a page thumbnail are available in Thumbnail View when you only select a single page thumbnail.Move Pages
- Click Organize.
- Do any of the following:
- Select the pages that you want to move in the Pages panel or Thumbnail window, and drag the page thumbnail(s) to the desired location.
- Click Move in the Organize tab, or right-click any page thumbnail in the Pages panel or Thumbnail window and choose Move Pages. Then in the Move Pages dialog box, specify the page range and destination. If you want to preview the page, check the Show Preview option. When confirmed, click OK.
Swap Two Pages
- Click Organize.
- Do any of the following:
- Click Swap in the Organize tab.
- Right-click any page thumbnail in the Pages panel or Thumbnail window, and select Swap Pages.
- In the Swap Two Pages dialog box, select or enter two different page numbers in the Swap and For options. If you want to preview the page, check the Show Preview option.
- Click OK.
Delete Pages
- Click Organize.
- Do one of the following:
- Select the pages that you want to delete in the Pages panel, press the Delete key, and confirm your operation.
- Click Delete in the Organize tab, or right-click any page thumbnail in the Pages panel or Thumbnail window and choose Delete Pages. Then in the Delete Pages dialog box, specify the page range and subset, and click OK to continue. Confirm your operation when you get the prompt message to delete the specified pages.
- (Available in Thumbnail View) Move your mouse over a page that you want to delete, click floating on the page thumbnail, and then confirm your operation.
Tip: To delete even or odd pages, the page range should include both one even page and one odd page at least.
Tip: The delete button floating over a page thumbnail is available in Thumbnail View when you only select a single page thumbnail.
Extract, Duplicate, and Replace Pages
Extract Pages
Extraction is the process of reusing selected pages of one PDF in a different PDF.
For a quick page extraction with default settings, you can select the page thumbnails in the Pages panel, and drag and drop them out of Foxit PDF Editor interface. Then the selected pages will be extracted as a new PDF file and saved in your local device.
To extract pages and specify settings, please follow the steps below:
- Click Organize > Extract, or right-click a page thumbnail in the Pages panel or Thumbnail window and choose Extract Pages.
- In the Extract Pages dialog box, do the following:
- Specify the page range to be extracted. To extract even or odd pages, the page range should include both one even page and one odd page at least.
- Choose a type of Extract Mode:
- Extract pages as one PDF: Save all the extracted pages into one new PDF file.
- Extract each page as a PDF: Create a single-page PDF for each extracted page.
- Select one of the options:
- Immediately save extracted pages: Save the extracted pages into a new PDF file after you click OK. If this item is not checked, a new PDF that includes the extracted pages will be opened without being saved. You will have to save it manually. This option is not available when you choose to extract each page as a PDF.
- Delete the pages after extraction: Delete the selected pages from the original document after extraction.
- Click OK.
- (Optional) If you choose to immediately save the extracted pages, specify the file name and location to save the extracted pages in the pop-up Save dialog box, and click Save to save it.
Duplicate Pages
The Duplicate Pages feature allows you to copy pages within a PDF document.
- Click Organize > Duplicate, or right-click a page thumbnail in the Pages panel or Thumbnail window and choose Duplicate Pages.
- In the Duplicate Pages dialog box, specify the page, destination and count of copies that you want to duplicate, and click OK.
Replace Pages
You can replace an entire PDF page with another PDF page.
- Click Organize > Replace, or right-click a page thumbnail in the Pages panel or Thumbnail window and choose Replace Pages.
- Select the PDF document containing the replacement pages from your local device by navigating through your local disk or from ECM systems and cloud services by selecting Open from ECM, and click Open.
- In the pop-up Replace Pages dialog box, do the following:
- In the Original group, specify the page range to be replaced in the original document.
- In the Replacement group: Specify the replacement page range. You can also click Browse to change the selected file.
- Click OK.
Split PDFs into Multiple Files
The Split Document feature is a process of splitting one or more documents into multiple smaller-size documents.
- Click Organize > Split, or right-click a page thumbnail in the Pages panel or Thumbnail window and choose Split Document.
- In the pop-up Split Document dialog box, do the following:
- Select one of the criteria to split document from the Split document by drop-down list:
- Number of pages: Specify the maximum number of pages for each document in the split.
- File Size: Specify the maximum file size for each document in the split.
- Page Range: Split the document based on the page range you specified. Please input consecutive numbers only, and use a comma to separate multiple page ranges.
- Top-Level Bookmarks: Create one document for every top-level bookmark if the document contains bookmarks.
- Blank Page: Split the document each time a blank page is encountered. Blank pages will be discarded when splitting.
- Click Output options to specify the storage location, file names, etc.
- (Optional) Click Select More Files to split more files using the splitting setting in the step above.
- Click OK.
- Select one of the criteria to split document from the Split document by drop-down list:
Crop Pages
The Crop Pages feature allows you to adjust the visible page area, define page boxes for easier printing, and resize pages to make them consistent across the whole document.
- Click Organize.
- Follow one of the methods below to open the Set Page Dimensions dialog box.
- In the Page View mode, click Crop Pages in the Organize tab. Then drag a rectangle on the page to define the area that you want to crop, and double-click the cropping area.
- Right-click any page thumbnail in the Thumbnail window or Pages panel, and choose Crop Page.
- (Optional) The unit for the page dimensions is set as inch by default. If necessary, select a desired unit from the Units drop-down list on the upper right of the Set Page Dimensions dialog box.
- In the Margin Controls group, you can choose to crop the selected area, remove white margins by intelligent detection, or define page boxes with your custom values.
- If you have selected the cropping area with the Crop Pages tool, Foxit PDF Editor will display the cropping size in the Top, Bottom, Left, and Right fields. You can still adjust the crop margins by modifying the values in the corresponding fields. For more information, please refer to “Adjust Margins”.
- If you want to directly remove white margins and crop the page to the artwork boundary, check the Remove White Margins option. Foxit PDF Editor will intelligently detect the white margins on the page and show the preview on the preview box. If you are not satisfied with the results, you can uncheck the option or click Reset to restore the white margins, and define page boxes with your custom values.
- If you want to define a page box, follow the steps below:
- Select any of the following page boxes that you want to define from the drop-down list:
- CropBox: Define the content boundary of the page when it’s displayed or printed.
- ArtBox: Define the meaningful content of the page including blank space.
- TrimBox: Define the final dimensions of the page after trimming.
- BleedBox: Define the clipping path when the page is printed professionally to allow for paper trimming and folding. Printing marks may fall outside the bleed area.
- Adjust the top, bottom, left, and right margins by inputting numbers in the corresponding field or clicking the Up/Down arrow beside the field box. If you need to lock the proportions and adjust all the margins equally, please check the Constrain Proportions option. While setting the margins, you can click any of the following options to reset them:
- Set to Zero: Restore all the margins to zero. For cropped pages, you can click this option to un-crop them and re-display the full contents of the pages.
- Reset: Reset all the margins to the dimensions of the cropping area (if any). If you did not select the cropping area before, clicking Reset will reset all the margins to zero.
- In the Change Page Size group, you can select or custom page size to make pages in your PDF file the same size.
- To apply the standard page size, select an option from the Fixed Sizes drop-down list.
- To custom your page size, check the Custom option, and specify the page width and height in the Width and Height field.
- When setting the page size, the content will be placed on the center of the page by default. If you need to adjust the position of content shown on the page along the X or Y axis, uncheck the Center option, and then specify the XOffset/YOffset settings.
- In the Page Range group, specify the page range you want to apply the settings in the Page field. If you need to apply settings to the even or odd pages only in the specified page range, select the corresponding option from the Crop drop-down list.
- While specifying the settings, you can preview the results instantly in the preview box on the right. The CropBox, ArtBox, TrimBox, and BleedBox are displayed as rectangles in black, red, green, and blue respectively in the preview box. If you set two or more page boxes, please make sure that the Show All Boxes option is checked so that you can preview the results for each page box. Otherwise, you can only preview the results for the page box that you are currently working on.
- Click OK to apply the settings.
- Select any of the following page boxes that you want to define from the drop-down list:
Flatten Pages
The Flatten Pages feature can make annotations and form fields in the PDF file become part of objects of the PDF pages.
To flatten pages, do as follows:
- Choose Organize > Flatten.
- In the Flatten Pages dialog box, specify the page range (current page, all pages, a range of pages), and click OK.
Tip: After flattening, the annotations and form fields are converted to text objects or shape objects that can only be edited by using the editing tools. However, some elements may be unavailable after flattening, including the text in the pop-up notes, file attachments that are attached as annotations, multimedia items, etc. The flattening operation cannot be undone. If you want to retain a copy of the original PDF, make sure that you save the new document using Save As rather than Save.
Reverse Pages
The Reverse Pages feature allows you to quickly reverse a range of pages that are created in reverse order, which is very useful when adjusting the page numbers of scanned PDF files.
- Click Organize > Reverse, or right-click a page thumbnail in the Pages panel or Thumbnail window and choose Reverse Pages.
- In the Reverse Page Order dialog box, specify a range of pages you want to reverse. If you need to apply the operation to odd or even pages only within the specified page range, choose the corresponding option from the Subset drop-down list. Click OK to apply the operation.
Manage Headers and Footers
Foxit PDF Editor allows you to add and update headers and footers which include dates, page numbers or custom text throughout a PDF file.
Add Headers and Footers
- Click Organize > Header & Footer > Add.
- In the Add Headers and Footers dialog box, do the following:
- Specify the font, font size, and margin values, if necessary.
- Click Appearance Options to specify the appearance settings:
- To prevent overlapping, check the Shrink document to avoid overwriting the document's text and graphics option.
- To prevent resizing or repositioning when printing the PDF in large format, check the Keep position and size of header/footer text constant when printing on different page sizes option.
- To add custom text in headers and footers, type the text in the header and footer text boxes.
- To insert page number or the current date, do the following:
- Click Page number and date format to select the formatting for automatic entries.
- Click in the header or footer text box in which you want to add the page number or date.
- Click Insert Page Number or Insert Date.
- Click Page Range Options to specify the pages to add the headers and footers.
- (Optional) If you want to save the header and footer settings for further use, click Save Settings. Once saved, the next time you add or update the header and footer, you can select a saved template from the Saved Settings list.
- Check the results in the preview pane, and click OK to apply the settings.
Update Headers and Footers
- Click Organize > Header & Footer > Update.
- Change the settings as needed, and click OK to apply the settings.
Remove All Headers and Footers
- Click Organize > Header & Footer > Remove All.
- Click Yes in the pop-up message to confirm your operation.
Manage Background
Foxit PDF Editor allows users to custom a color or image as the background of a PDF file.
Add a New Background to PDF
- Click Organize > Background > Add.
- Specify the background with the following steps:
- To apply a solid color background, check the From color option in the Source group, and then click the color palette to choose a color or custom your own color.
- To use an image or PDF file as the background, check the File option in the Source group, and click Browse to choose a file from your local disk. If you choose a file with more than one page, define the specific page to be used as the background in the Page Number option.
- Adjust the appearance and position of the background, and specify the page range to apply the background.
- (Optional) Click Save Settings to save your current background settings as a template for future use. Once saved, you can select the template from the Saved Settings drop-down list when you try to add or update the background next time.
- Click OK to apply the settings.
Update the Background
- Click Organize > Background > Update.
- Follow the steps in “Add a New Background to PDF” to update the background.
- Click OK to apply the updated background.
Remove the Background
- Click Organize > Background > Remove All.
- Click Yes in the pop-up message to confirm your operation.
Manage Watermarks
Add Watermarks to PDF
With Foxit PDF Editor, you can add watermarks which can be custom text or image to a PDF file.
- Click Organize > Watermark > Add.
- Specify the watermark with the following steps:
- To create a text watermark, check the Text option, and input your text in the box. Choose the font, size, and color to format the text as needed.
- To use an image or PDF as a watermark, check the File option, and click Browse to select the file from your local disk. If you choose a file with more than one page, define the specific page to be used as the watermark in the Page Number option.
- Adjust the position and appearance of the watermark, and specify the page range to apply the watermark.
- (Optional) Click Save Settings to save your current watermark settings as a template for future use. Once saved, you can select the template from the Saved Settings drop-down list when you try to add or update the watermark next time.
- Click OK to apply the settings.
Update the Watermark
- Click Organize > Watermark > Update.
- Follow the steps in "Add Watermarks to PDF" to update the watermark.
- Click OK to apply the updated watermark.
Remove the Watermark
- Click Organize > Watermark > Remove All.
- Click Yes in the pop-up message to confirm your operation.
Manage Bates Numbering
Bates numbering is used in the legal, medical, and business fields to place identifying numbers and/or date/time-marks on images and documents. These numbers may be solely numeric or may contain a combination of letters and numbers. It is a unique serial number attached to every page of a document collected and is also a method of indexing legal documents for easy identification and retrieval.
Add Bates Numbering
- Choose Organize > Bates Numbering > Add.
- In the Add Bates Numbering dialog box, do the following:
- Drag and drop the file or folder that you want to add bates numbering into the Arrange Your Files area, or click Add Files and choose Add Files/Add Folder/Add Open Files to add the files, folders, or opened files separately.
- (Optional) Files will be processed in a sequence as they are ordered in the Add Bates Numbering dialog box. You can adjust the order of files by its name, modified time, or size by clicking the corresponding column name. Alternatively, adjust the order of files manually by clicking the Move Up/Move Down button. Select a file and click the Remove button to delete it, if necessary.
- Click Output Options. Here, you can set the target output folder, name the file and create the log file in the dialogue box. Click OK to exit the box after completing these settings.
- Click OK, and a dialog box to add Headers and Footers will pop up for you to insert Bates Numbering on the PDF documents.
- In the pop-up Add Headers and Footers dialog box, do the following:
- Click on the header or footer text box in which you want to add the bates numbering.
- Select Bates Number from the Macros drop-down menu, and then click Insert.
- In the Bates Numbering Options dialog box, specify the number of digits (any number from 3 to 15), the increment, the start number, rotate angle and the prefix/suffix, if needed. (Tip: Setting the value of the increment to a negative number reverses the order of the Bates numbering.) Click OK to finalize the setting.
- Click OK.
Remove Bates Numbering
To remove bates numbering in the currently-opened PDF file, choose Organize > Bates Numbering > Remove All, and then confirm your operation.
Change the Format of Page Numbering
If your PDF file contains front matter likes document cover and copyright page, the page numbers on the document pages may not match the page numbers shown below the page thumbnails in the Pages panel or Thumbnail window. Foxit PDF Editor enables users to change the format of page numbering displayed in PDF viewers to meet different needs.
To change the format of page numbering, please do as follows:
- Click Organize > Format Page Numbers, or right-click a page thumbnail in the Pages panel or Thumbnail window and choose Format Page Numbers.
- Specify the following settings in the Page Numbers dialog box.
- In the Pages group, specify the page range that you want to number. If you have already selected page thumbnail(s), the Selected option is checked by default, which allows you to format the page numbers for the selected pages only. You can check the All Pages option to format the page numbers for all the pages in the current PDF file, or enter page numbers in the Pages From field to specify the page range.
- In the Numbering group, choose one of the numbering formats:
- Begin new section: This option is checked by default, which allows you to start a new numbering sequence. Choose the section numbering style from the Style drop-down list. And then specify a prefix and starting page number, if necessary. While setting the numbering, you can preview the results in the Sample area at the bottom of the dialog box.
- Extend numbering used in preceding section to selected pages: Continue to use the numbering sequence from the preceding section without interruption to the selected pages.
- Click OK to apply the numbering.
Tips:
1. The Format Page Numbers command in the Organize tab only changes the logic page numbers that are shown below the page thumbnails in the Pages panel or Thumbnail window. If you want to change the physical page numbers, please choose Organize > Header & Footer. For more information, please refer to “Manage Headers and Footers”.
2. To display the customized page numbering in Foxit PDF Editor, please make sure that the Use logical page numbers option is enabled in the File tab (or Foxit PDF Editor in the menu bar) > Preferences > Page Display.