Export to PDF by Section

// Export Sections As PDF
// v.2 (27-05-2022)

var doc = app.activeDocument;
var myPDFExportPreset = "2540_150_CPL"; // Change your PDF preset name
var myPrefix = "Pages_"; // Change prefix to your files)


var path = app.activeDocument.fullName.path;
var mySecFirstPage = [];
var mySecLastPage = [];
for (i = 0; i < app.activeDocument.sections.length; i++) {
    mySecFirstPage[i] = doc.sections[i].pageNumberStart;
    mySecLastPage[i] = mySecFirstPage[i] + doc.sections[i].length - 1;
};
mySecFirstPage.sort(function(a, b) {return a - b});
mySecLastPage.sort(function(a, b) {return a - b});
for (i = 0; i < mySecFirstPage.length; i++) {
    app.pdfExportPreferences.pageRange = mySecFirstPage[i] + "-" + mySecLastPage[i];
    mySecFirstPage[i] = ("000" + mySecFirstPage[i]).slice(-3);
    mySecLastPage[i] = ("000" + mySecLastPage[i]).slice(-3);
    app.activeDocument.exportFile(ExportFormat.PDF_TYPE, File(path + "/" + myPrefix + mySecFirstPage[i] + "-" + mySecLastPage[i] + ".pdf"), false, app.pdfExportPresets.item(myPDFExportPreset));
};

Hi Kelsey,

Thanks for reaching out. In addition to the great suggestions given earlier, I'd also request checking out the community discussion at https://community.adobe.com/t5/indesign/sections-how-to-export-sections-into-individual-pdf/td-p/10150414?page=1
Hope it helps.

Regards,

Ashutosh

If you do need to export all sections to PDF, with the section-marker name as the file name, check out my (not free) https://www.id-extras.com/products/extract-pages/

Hi again, Kelsey:

This is the InDesign forum, but you are starting with "I have a long PDF..." so are you trying to break up the PDF or the InDesign document into separate PDFs? 

Again, in InDesign, sections allow you to change the numbering system, and the Section Prefix is just an organizational tool in the Pages panel. It doesn't do anything but help you tell what section you are in, at a glance. Most people don't use them.

Options for you include:

• Divide the long InDesign file into a multi-chapter book, export the chapters/sections as separate PDFs;
• Export the page ranges as you said; or
• If you are using Bookmarks in InDesign (part of the TOC feature), Adobe Acrobat (not Reader) has a feature that allows you to split a PDF by top-level bookmarks.

~Barb