How to use the pdf thumbnail contact sheet
- Choose a PDF or drop it on the box. The page count is shown and the layout options become available.
- Choose the number of columns and rows. A sheet holds columns times rows pages, so 3 columns and 4 rows put 12 pages on each sheet. Pick the paper and the direction of the sheet.
- Choose whether to print the page number under each page and draw a thin border around it. Choose PDF to save one file with every sheet, or PNG images for a picture per sheet.
- Press Make the contact sheet. A progress bar follows the pages as they are drawn, and a preview of the first sheet appears.
A 12 page file
A 12 page PDF on US Letter paper with 3 columns and 4 rows fits on one sheet. The sheet has 36 point margins and 12 point gaps, so each cell is 172 points wide and 171 points tall, and 14 points of each cell hold the page number. A Letter page inside the 172 by 157 point picture area is shown 121.3 points wide and 157 tall.
A 13 page file on the same grid needs two sheets, and a 30 page file needs three. In PNG mode several sheets are saved together in a ZIP file. Pages go across each row from left to right, then down, and carry on to the next sheet.
What a contact sheet is for
A contact sheet shows many small pictures together, a habit from photography where a roll of film was printed as a grid of frames. For a PDF it gives an overview of a long document: you can see where the diagrams and tables are, whether a page is blank, how the layout changes, and which pages to look at more closely. It is also handy for a quick printed index of a report.
Pages are shown in their true proportions, fitted inside each cell, and turned pages are shown the way a viewer shows them. Mixed page sizes are fine, each one scaled to fit its own cell.
What the file contains
Each sheet is drawn at 150 dots per inch, which is sharp enough to read the layout of a page but not its small print. In PDF mode each sheet becomes a page that holds one picture, so the text in the thumbnails cannot be selected or searched. The original file is not changed.
To save every page as its own full-size picture, use the PDF to image tool. To reorder or delete pages after looking at the overview, try the organize PDF pages tool, and to cut the document into parts, the split PDF tool. To see differences between two versions, there is the compare PDF tool.
Privacy and limits
The PDF is read and drawn in your browser. Nothing is uploaded. Files up to 25 MB and 500 pages are supported. Password protected files cannot be opened, and the tool does not try to guess or remove passwords.
Assumptions and limits
- Pages are drawn in order, left to right and top to bottom, and carry on to the next sheet.
- Sheets use 36 point margins and 12 point gaps. The grid can be from 2 to 8 columns and 1 to 10 rows.
- Each page is scaled to fit inside its cell without changing its proportions.
- The sheet is a picture made at 150 dots per inch, so text inside the thumbnails is not selectable.
Frequently asked questions
How many pages fit on a sheet?
Columns times rows. With 3 columns and 4 rows, 12 pages fit. A longer file continues on more sheets, and the tool says how many.
Why can I not select text on the sheet?
The sheet is made of pictures of the pages, so the text is part of the image. Keep the original PDF for text and use the sheet for an overview.
Can I get each sheet as an image?
Yes. Choose PNG images. One sheet is saved as a PNG, and several sheets are saved together in a ZIP file.
Do pages of different sizes work?
Yes. Each page is fitted inside its own cell, so a wide page and a tall page both appear whole, in their own proportions.