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How to Delete the Last Page of a PDF When the Page Count Varies

How to Delete the Last Page of a PDF When the Page Count Varies

Updated over 3 weeks ago

Overview

This article explains how to delete the last page from a PDF when your documents always contain more than one page, but the total number of pages is not fixed.
Since page counts vary between files, you must determine the last page number dynamically before deleting it.


When to Use This

Use this guide when:

  • Customers want to remove the final page from a PDF

  • The PDF always has more than one page

  • The number of pages changes from file to file (not fixed)

Examples of Customer Questions

Here are typical customer queries that should be resolved using this method:

  • “How can I delete the last page? My PDFs have different numbers of pages.”

  • “I need to remove the final page but the number of pages changes every time.”

  • “Some PDFs have 3 pages and others 12. How do I delete only the last one?”


Step 1 — Retrieve the Total Number of Pages

To determine which page is the last, call:

Endpoint:

This endpoint returns important metadata, including:

  • pageCount → the total number of pages in the file

You will use this number as the page to delete.


Step 2 — Delete the Last Page Dynamically

After retrieving the total page count (for example, N), use:

Endpoint:

POST /v1/pdf/delete-pages
Documentation:
https://docs.pdf.co/api-reference/pdf-delete-pages

Set the pages parameter to the last page number:

  • Example: If pageCount = 5, then "pages": "5"

This ensures that only the final page is removed.


Sample Request (Delete Pages)

{
"url": "pdfco-test-files.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/pdf-split/sample.pdf",
"pages": "1-2",
"name": "result.pdf",
"async": false
}

Important:

In your dynamic workflow:

  • First get the total page count using /v1/pdf/info

  • Then replace "1-2" with "N" (where N = last page number)

Example dynamic usage:

"pages": "N"

Where N is obtained automatically from the info request.


Summary

To delete the last page from a PDF with a variable number of pages:

  1. Call /v1/pdf/info → get total page count

  2. Use that page number as the pages value when calling /v1/pdf/delete-pages

  3. This reliably removes the final page, regardless of file size or page count changes

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