How to extract images from a PDF on a Mac
By Himanshu Ranjan · Updated 8 November 2026
To extract images from a PDF on a Mac, select it in Finder and run Convert › Extract images in FileDial. Every embedded picture is saved as its own file. If you want whole pages as pictures instead, use Convert › PDF to JPG or Convert › PDF to PNG. Both run on your Mac.
Extracting images is not the same as exporting pages
There are two different jobs hiding behind this search. One is getting the pictures that are embedded in the PDF, such as the photos in a brochure or the logo in a report. The other is turning each page into a picture, text and all. FileDial's Convert › Extract images does the first: every embedded picture as its own file. The page tools do the second.
The distinction matters for quality. An extracted image is the picture as it was stored, without the text, borders or layout around it. A page export is a screenshot-like rendering at a chosen resolution, so a photo in it is only as sharp as that render. If you want the original photo, extract; if you want the page as it looks, export.
Extract embedded pictures with FileDial
Select the PDF, run the tool, and look in the folder it creates or the files beside the original, as shown on the result card.
- Select the PDF in Finder.
- Hold the right Option key to open the dial.
- Choose the Convert category and release on Convert › Extract images.
- Open the result and sort by size to find the main pictures; small files are often icons, rules or background pieces.
- Use Undo on the result card if you do not want the files.
What to expect in the output
Many PDFs contain far more images than you can see. Page backgrounds, bullets, logos repeated on every page, and thin decorative strips are all images, so you may get dozens of small files from a short document. Sort by size or preview them in Finder's column or gallery view to find the ones you want.
A scanned PDF is a special case: each page is one big picture, so extracting gives you one image per page, which is a way to recover the scans. If you want those as editable text instead, run OCR › Make searchable or Convert › PDF to Word, which OCRs scans.
- Photos and logos come out as separate files.
- Backgrounds and decorative pieces come out too.
- Scans give one picture per page.
- Vector drawings are not pictures and may not appear.
When you should export pages instead
Charts and diagrams in a PDF are frequently vector drawings, not pictures. They are described as lines and shapes, so an image extractor may skip them or return a stray piece. For these, export the page: Convert › PDF to PNG gives one PNG per page at 150 dpi, and Convert › PDF to JPG (300 dpi) gives a sharper JPG. Then crop the area you need in Preview.
PNG is lossless, which suits diagrams and screenshots with sharp edges, while JPG is smaller and suits photographs. If you only need a region, Preview's Rectangular Selection can copy part of a page as an image.
Licence and privacy notes
Extracting does not change who owns an image. If a PDF contains stock photos or a client's artwork, you still need the right to reuse them. Check the source document or licence before putting extracted pictures in something new.
Embedded images can also carry information: camera details or location can sit in a photo's metadata. If you plan to share extracted photos, run Privacy tools such as removing location on the copies. See our guide on removing location from photos for why that matters.
Choosing a format for what you extracted
Extracted pictures come out in whatever form the PDF stored them, and the same photo may need converting before you reuse it. For web use, smaller JPG files are usually the practical choice. For anything with sharp edges, such as a logo or a screenshot, keep it lossless. Lossy compression, the kind JPG uses, discards detail to save space and cannot be fully undone, so convert once, from the best copy you have.
If you need a particular size for a site or a form, resize after extracting rather than before. Starting from the largest version gives you the most room. And keep the extracted originals in their own folder; it is easy to lose track of which of forty similar files is the one you chose.
Free options on a Mac
Preview can copy a region of a page as an image: choose Tools › Rectangular Selection, drag over the area, then Edit › Copy and paste into another app. This is a render of the page, not the original picture. For a few images it is enough; for forty, the extractor saves a lot of time.
Brochures, catalogues and design proofs are often unreleased. A web extractor means uploading the whole file. FileDial works offline, writes beside the original and keeps the PDF unchanged.
Questions
Why did I get so many tiny image files?
PDFs store backgrounds, bullets, logos and decorative strips as separate images, so extraction returns everything embedded, not just the photos you can see. Sort the output by file size and delete the small ones. The largest files are usually the pictures you wanted.
How do I get a page of a PDF as a PNG?
Select the PDF and run Convert › PDF to PNG in FileDial, which writes one PNG per page at 150 dpi. For a sharper result use Convert › PDF to JPG (300 dpi). In Preview, File › Export with a picture format also works for a single page.
Can I extract images from a scanned PDF?
Yes, but each page of a scan is one large image, so you get one picture per page. That is a way to recover the original scans. If you want text instead, run OCR › Make searchable or Convert › PDF to Word, which OCRs scanned pages.