Does cropping delete the content outside the area?

No. It sets the crop box, which controls what a viewer displays. The content is still in the file and another tool can bring it back by resetting the box.

Can I use cropping to hide confidential information?

No, and this is important. Cropped-away content remains in the document and is trivially recoverable. Use the redaction tool, which removes the text rather than hiding it.

Does cropping reduce file size?

Barely. The content is still there, so only the page dimensions change. Use the compression tool if size is the goal.

Can different pages have different crops?

Yes — apply a crop to a range of pages rather than the whole document. That is necessary for any bundle mixing portrait and landscape pages, where one crop cannot suit both.

Crop PDF

Trim the margins off every page.

Everything runs inside your browser. Your files never leave your device.

Drop your file here

.pdf · they stay on this device

Ask about Crop PDF

Questions about what this tool does, which option to pick, or what it can and cannot handle.

The question you type here is sent to an AI provider to be answered — your files and whatever you put in the tool above are not, and the assistant cannot see them. Answers are generated and can be wrong. The tool itself is not guessing: it runs deterministic code on your device.

About the Crop PDF

Cropping a PDF trims the visible area of its pages. It is what you want for a scan with a black border, a document with margins so wide the text is lost in the middle, or a page captured at the wrong size.

The important thing to understand is what cropping a PDF actually does, because it is not what cropping an image does. A PDF page has a media box, which is its full extent, and a crop box, which is the region a viewer displays. Cropping sets the crop box. The content outside it is still in the file — it is hidden, not removed, and another tool can restore the full page by resetting the box.

That has a security consequence worth stating plainly. Cropping is not a way to remove something from a document. If a page contains a name in the margin and you crop it away, the name is still there for anyone who looks. For removing content, use the redaction tool, which takes the text out rather than hiding it.

For its actual purpose — making a document readable — cropping is excellent and completely lossless. Nothing is re-rendered, text stays selectable, and the file size barely changes.

Applying the same crop to every page works when the document is uniform, which scans usually are. A mixed document needs the crop applied to groups of pages, since a margin that is right for portrait text will cut into a landscape table.

Printing a cropped PDF gives the cropped area, which is usually what is wanted and occasionally a surprise if the intention was only to change the on-screen view.

How to use it

1Drop in the PDF and set the crop area on the preview.
2Apply it to every page if the document is uniform, or to a range if it is mixed.
3Check a few pages of the result, particularly any in a different orientation.
4Use the redaction tool instead if the aim is to remove content rather than to hide it from view.

Questions

Does cropping delete the content outside the area?: No. It sets the crop box, which controls what a viewer displays. The content is still in the file and another tool can bring it back by resetting the box.
Can I use cropping to hide confidential information?: No, and this is important. Cropped-away content remains in the document and is trivially recoverable. Use the redaction tool, which removes the text rather than hiding it.
Does cropping reduce file size?: Barely. The content is still there, so only the page dimensions change. Use the compression tool if size is the goal.
Can different pages have different crops?: Yes — apply a crop to a range of pages rather than the whole document. That is necessary for any bundle mixing portrait and landscape pages, where one crop cannot suit both.