How to compress a PDF for email and upload
To compress a PDF, open Compress PDF, add the file, choose how much to reduce its pictures and download the smaller copy. If a setting would make the file larger, the original size is kept.
Updated by Team Wrxstack
Steps
- Open Compress PDF.
- Add the PDF you want to make smaller.
- Choose lossless, or a stronger reduction of picture quality.
- Download the compressed copy and check its size.
Why PDFs get large
Most of the size of a large PDF is pictures: scans, photos and charts saved at print resolution. Text and vector drawings take very little room.
Lowering picture quality shrinks those pictures. Lossless compression rewrites the file more tightly without touching any picture, so it saves less but changes nothing you can see.
Choosing a setting
For a document that will be read on screen or attached to an email, a moderate reduction is usually invisible. For a file that will be printed, start with lossless and only go further if the file is still too big.
What stays the same
Text stays text, so the compressed file can still be searched and copied from. Links, bookmarks and form fields are kept.