How to export only some pages to PDF

In Publish by Zaweba you can export just some pages to PDF by typing a page range in the export dialog. A range like 1-3, 5 exports pages one to three and page five, and 4- exports page four to the end. The same page ranges work in Export pictures. Publish is free Windows software that works offline with no account.

Page ranges save time on longer publications. A club newsletter might have a front page you want to share on its own, or a single corrected page you need to send to the printer.

How to write a range

A range uses page numbers, hyphens and commas. A hyphen between two numbers means everything from the first to the second, so 2-4 is pages two, three and four. A comma separates pieces, so 1, 3 is just pages one and three. Put them together for something like 1-3, 5.

A hyphen with nothing after it runs to the end. 4- on a twelve-page booklet gives pages four to twelve. That's handy when you don't want to count the pages first.

Spaces after the commas, as in 1-3, 5, keep a range easy to read back before you press export.

Exporting the pages you chose

Finish your edits and save the .ozp first, so the export and the saved file match. Then choose Export PDF, the export that takes a page range along with Export pictures. Publish also has a web PDF and a booklet PDF for other jobs, described below.

Type the range into the page range box and export. Open the result to check you got the pages you meant. If PDF by Zaweba is installed, Publish can open the exported PDF in it straight away, falling back to your default PDF reader if not.

Picking the right kind of PDF

The print-ready PDF is the one for a print shop. It has bleed from the document, crop marks, trim and bleed boxes, embedded font subsets, real selectable text and full-resolution pictures. Colour is RGB only.

The web PDF is cut to trim size and reduces pictures to 150 dpi JPEG, which keeps the file small for e-mailing or putting online. For a quick look by a committee, a small file is usually kinder.

When ranges come in handy

Sending a single corrected page to a printer saves them checking the whole document again. Type the page number, export, and send just that file.

Sharing a teaser of a newsletter works well with the front page only. Export it as a web PDF, or as a picture with Export pictures using the same range.

Splitting a long document for different readers is another use. A brochure might have pages that only matter to one group, and you can send them those pages alone.

Booklets are a different job. File > Export booklet PDF rearranges pages two to a side in saddle-stitch order for folding, padded with blanks to a multiple of four, so think of it as a whole-document export rather than a way to pick pages.

Get into the habit of glancing at the range box before every export. A range left over from last time is the usual reason a PDF comes out with pages missing.