[Top Ways] How to Crop PDF Without Acrobat or Downloading Software

Part 1: Crop PDF Without Acrobat - At a Glance

Here’s a short comparison of each PDF cropping tool we’ve reviewed in this post based on their success rate, security, speed, and scope of application:

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Part 2: How to Crop a PDF Without Acrobat and Losing Quality

If you want to learn how to crop a PDF without losing quality, Tenorshare PDNob is the best tool for that. It’s an extremely powerful AI PDF Editor with comprehensive PDF editing and management tools. Tenorshare PDNob has earned a 4.3/5.0 score on Trustpilot from 14000+ reviews. Besides, PDNob can crop your PDFs without the complexity of Acrobat. Another good thing is that you can use it on both Windows and Mac. Here are PDNob’s key features listed in detail:

Key Features:

• PDF Crop White Space: Uses AI to detect and crop extra white space from your PDFs, improving how they look and making them easier to read.
• Intuitive Interface: The tool is simple and easy to use, with a clean layout that supports more than 16 languages, including English, Chinese, and French.
• Efficient PDF Management: You can compress, split, and merge PDFs with ease. It also supports batch processing, supporting up to 1 million files regardless of size. You can also add or change images, use watermarks, and secure your files with passwords and digital signatures.
• Capture Screenshots: You can take screenshots while editing to track your steps.
• Customer Service: Helpful customer support is also available to quickly solve any issues.
• Windows and Mac-Supported: This tool functions well on both Windows and Mac, giving users a smooth experience.
• All-in-One PDF Solution: It offers 99% OCR accuracy, and supports 30+ conversion formats, 100+ text edits, 200+ annotation tools, and GPT-4o Powered AI for summaries, and quick answers.

Steps:

Here’s how to crop PDF without Acrobat with Tenorshare PDNob PDF Editor:

• Open Tenorshare PDNob. Then, upload your PDF document. Head to the “Pages” tab. Click “Crop Page” to start cropping. A cropping box will appear. Drag its corners or sides to adjust the area.

• Use the panel on the right to set exact margins, enter page dimensions, and lock proportions if needed.

• You can choose to crop a single page, a range, or odd or even pages. Hit “Apply” to save the crop.

Part 3: How to Crop a PDF on Windows for Free Without Acrobat?

While Microsoft Print to PDF cannot directly crop a PDF, there’s a workaround using another Windows built-in tool, like “Snip & Sketch,” along with it. You can use the “Snip & Sketch” tool to crop a PDF, then open it in Print to PDF to save as a PDF without using Acrobat. Here’s how to crop a PDF on Windows for free:

• Search for “Snip & Sketch” in the Windows Search field. Then, execute it. Use your mouse to drag and select the area you want to capture.

• Click the thumbnail preview that pops up to open the image. In Snip & Sketch, click the “Save” icon.

• Give the image a name. Then, hit “Save.” Open “File Explorer” and find your saved image.

• Right-click the image. Next, choose “Print.” In the print window, select “Microsoft Print to PDF.”

• Click “Print.” Name your PDF. Then, hit “Save” to save it as PDF.

Part 4: How to Crop a PDF on Microsoft Edge Without Acrobat?

Microsoft Edge is a built-in browser on Windows that you can use to crop PDF pages. It allows users to adjust settings through the print options without the need for Acrobat. Here’s how to crop a PDF on Microsoft Edge:

• Right-click the PDF that you wish to crop. Then, choose “Open With.” Pick “Microsoft Edge”.

• Click the print icon. In the print window, set Printer to “Save as PDF”.

• Tap “More Settings.” Then, pick the right “Paper Size” to crop. Hit “Save.” Choose where to save the PDF.

Part 5: How to Crop a PDF on Mac Without Acrobat?

For Mac users, Mac Preview is a built-in PDF and image viewer on Mac. It’s free and easy to use for basic PDF cropping, with no extra software needed. Here’s how to crop a PDF on Mac with Mac Preview:

• Open the PDF in Mac Preview. Head to “View.” Then, select the “Show Markup Toolbar.”
• Next, click the “Rectangle” button. Click and drag to draw a box around the area you want to keep.
• Tap “Crop” at the top. Hit “OK” for confirmation.

Part 6: Best Free Online Tools to Crop PDFs

If you want to know how to crop all PDF pages at once and with more customization options, smallPDF and iLovePDF are good tools for that. As they are online PDF editors, you won’t have to download them on your computer like Acrobat. Here’s more detail about these tools:

1.Smallpdf

Smallpdf is a good PDF crop online tool, offering a simple drag-and-drop interface with no sign-up needed. It lets you zoom and scroll to crop precisely and supports both bulk cropping for all pages or custom cropping for individual ones. Your files are secure, automatically deleted after use, and protected with encryption that meets GDPR and ISO standards. After cropping, you can easily switch to other tools like compressing, merging, or e-signing.

Expert’s Rating:

Smallpdf has earned a 4.6/5.0 rating from 900+ reviews on Software Advice. On Trustpilot, it has a 3.8/5.0 rating from 1500+ reviews.

2.iLovePDF

iLovePDF is another online PDF editor you can use to trim margins or resize pages by visually adjusting crop areas. You can apply cropping to individual pages or all pages at once, and Premium users get access to batch cropping for multiple files. For security, files are encrypted and automatically deleted from servers within two hours.

Expert’s Rating:

iLovePDF earns a 4.9/5.0 rating on Trustpilot from 7600+ reviews.

Editors’ Review:

Users on Trustpilot like iLovePDF for its fast performance and free tools with no hidden fees. It’s also praised for helpful features like merging, OCR, and cross-platform access. However, some dislike the intrusive ads, file size limits, and subscription model, and a few have concerns about uploading sensitive files.

Bonus Tip: When Cropping Isn’t the Best Option

Many times, cropping a PDF isn’t a good solution as it can cause layout and readability issues. In such cases, you can use other alternatives like compressing, splitting, or reformatting. Here’s a detailed explanation of why each option is more viable than cropping in certain situations:

1. Compress the PDF to Reduce File Size

Large PDF files can be hard to open, share, or upload, especially on slow internet or low-storage devices. The solution is compression, which shrinks file size without changing how the content looks. This is done by lowering image resolution, removing unused font data, and compressing the file structure. It’s best used when file size matters more than perfect quality, like for emailing, uploading, or storing files.

2. Split Large PDFs into Smaller Sections

Large PDFs like books or reports can be slow and hard to use. Splitting them into smaller parts makes them easier to handle, share, and navigate. You can split by page range, chapters, or file size. This is helpful for long documents. However, use clear file names (like “Chapter 1” or “Pages 1-50”) to keep things organized.

3. Reformat the PDF if Content Needs to Be Rearranged

If a PDF is hard to read due to issues like wrong page order, tight margins, or awkward layouts, reformatting can help. This involves rearranging pages, adjusting spacing, reflowing text for better screen fit, or rotating pages. Use this when the layout affects readability. For scanned PDFs, you’ll need OCR to make the text editable before reformatting.

FAQs About How to Delete Pages From PDF Without Acrobat

1. How do I reduce the size of a PDF without Adobe?

You can shrink PDF files without Adobe using free tools like Smallpdf or iLovePDF. These online tools lower image quality and remove extra data to reduce file size, and they operate right in your browser.

2. How to edit a PDF if you don’t have Adobe?

If you don’t have a PDF, you can use alternative methods like built-in Microsoft Edge or Mac Preview for basic editing. However, if you want comprehensive Adobe-like editing, try a free tool like Tenorshare PDNob. It offers OCR and advanced PDF editing and management tools.

3. How to crop white Space from a PDF automatically?

You can use a PDF AI editor like Tenorshare PDNob to PDF crop white space automatically. It can automatically detect and remove blank margins to keep only the main content.

Final Thoughts

Learning how to crop a PDF without Acrobat or downloading software is easy with built-in tools, browsers, or online platforms. Each option has its own strengths and limits, depending on your device and needs. But for the best all-in-one solution, Tenorshare PDNob is highly recommended. It’s easy to use, supports AI-powered cropping, advanced features, batch edits, and is compatible with both Windows and Mac.

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