Reducing the size of a pdf file. Online PDF compression tool

How to compress a PDF file to reduce its size?

You can change the compression settings if you wish. Start compressing the file by clicking on the appropriate button.
Save the compressed files.

How is a PDF file compressed?

There are different methods used to reduce the size of a PDF file. How effectively a file is compressed depends on what data the PDF file contains. For example, PDF files with images compress well. PDF24 uses the following PDF compression methods:

Removing font information that is not needed when displaying a PDF file.
Reduces the image size depending on the specified DPI setting.
Reduces image quality depending on the specified quality parameters.
Modify PDF file and compress structural data.

How to reduce PDF size without losing quality?

PDF24 allows you to compress files without loss, but in this mode the file size may decrease slightly. How it works:

Click on the highlighted area at the top of the page and select the files to compress.
Switch the lossless compression mode and start compressing the file by clicking on the corresponding button.
Save the compressed files.

Why is my PDF so big?

If the PDF file contains images, the file size may be large. This is usually why large PDF files are created. A text-only PDF file weighs much less. If your PDF file has images, you can use PDF24 to create small images, reducing their size and quality.

Does PDF compression degrade quality?

The PDF24 compression tool has several modes. Normal compression mode reduces the size and quality of the image as it has a greater impact on the file size. You can enable lossless compression mode, but this will have a minor effect on the size. Often deterioration in quality is not a problem. The only question is how acceptable the quality is in relation to the size.

Do PDF files compress well?

Yes, if the PDF contains images. They can be individually compressed and reduced in size. Compressing PDF files without images is not as effective.

Are PDF files compressed?

PDF files typically use internal compression tools for the objects they contain. However, such compression is not necessary. Some objects may not be compressed. Program PDF creation defines which objects will be compressed and which will not, but the PDF standard itself does not imply compression.

Is it safe to use PDF24 tools?

PDF24 takes file and data security seriously. We want users to be able to trust us. Therefore, we are constantly working on security issues.

All file transfers are encrypted.
All files are deleted automatically from the processing server within an hour after processing.
We do not store files or evaluate them. Files are used only for their intended purpose.
PDF24 is owned by the German company Geek Software GmbH. All processing servers are located in data centers in the EU.

PDF files are visually easy to understand and attractive, but due to their large size, they can be inconvenient to send in an email. But this inconvenience can be solved by compressing the file. At the same time, the quality is not reduced and the data is not damaged. In this article, we will figure out how to compress a PDF file. There are several ways to do this. Choose the one that is most convenient for you.
Note that half of these methods are carried out using Adobe Acrobat DC. So it is advisable that this program has been installed on your PC. It is available for a fee, but you can use the free version for 30 days as a trial. You can download the program on the official Adobe website.

"CutePDF" and other PDF converters

You can reduce the size of PDF files using special converters such as CutePDF. The converter converts files from any format to PDF. In addition, it allows you to change the size of documents by reducing or increasing the quality of the elements contained in it, be it text or images. During the installation of the program, a virtual printer is also installed on the system, which converts documents to PDF. What needs to be done to use the software? We will describe this point by point:

Free download of the program from the official resource. Installation of the program and the converter itself.
Opening the required file in a specific program (depending on the file format). So, the PDF file opens in " Adobe Reader", and doc or docx - in " Microsoft Word».
Select “File” from the menu, and then “Print”.
Selecting the “CutePDF Writer” printer.
Enter “Printer Properties”, and then go to “Advanced”. Select display quality. To compress a pdf file, you should select a quality lower than the original one.
Click on “Print” and save the file in the required location. You can only save in PDF format.

Online tools

To compress using this method, do the following:

There is a tool on the Internet called “Smallpdf”. This tool is provided without restrictions regarding the size and number of files. Therefore, this program has an advantage over others.
Go to the website and upload the document required for compression. To do this, click on the corresponding inscription and select the file using Explorer. You can also simply drag and drop files with the left mouse button into the desired area of the tool. In addition, it is possible to add a document from cloud services such as DropBox and Google Drive.
Is the process over? Click “Save file” and select a location to save it on your PC. To upload a compressed document to one of the cloud services, click on the icon on the right.

In addition to the tool described above, you can also find other online compressors on the Internet, such as “PDFzipper”, “Compress PDF”, “Online2pdf” and others. Such tools have all sorts of limitations. For example, some only allow you to upload files up to 50 MB in size, others up to 100 MB, and still others may have no restrictions at all, like the above-mentioned program. In general, their functionality is similar to each other.

"Adobe Acrobat"

The free Adobe Reader software does not have the ability to compress the file, but you can use Adobe Acrobat DC. As we said above, it is already shareware.

So, take the following steps:

Opening a document in the program. Select the “File” item, and then “Save as another”. Here, select the line “Reduced PDF file”.
Select the program version. If you choose the newest one, it will give the maximum compression of the file, but you risk that it may become unavailable later in older versions.
Click “OK” and wait for the compression to complete. Finally, save the received document wherever you want.

Second method with "Adobe Acrobat DC"

Do you have Adobe Acrobat DC installed? Then you would be better off using the above method. But if the required file is uploaded to Google Drive, and you need to download it and compress it, then do the following:

Sign in to Google Drive using your own account. Double-click on the desired file and select the print icon to open the print window.
Click on the list that appears in the window and select the “Adobe PDF” line.
Click “Properties”, select “Paper and Print Quality”, and then select “Advanced”.
Select the desired file quality and click “Ok” in this and the following windows.
All that remains is to save the file in Explorer on your PC.

Adobe Acrobat and Microsoft Word

A method using both Adobe Acrobat and Microsoft Word is quite effective in the question of how to compress a PDF file. The point is that first the file is converted from one format to another, and then the reverse conversion is carried out. To do this, do the following:

Open the PDF file in Adobe Acrobat, select “File”, and then “Save As”.
Click on “Select another folder”, and then select the docx file type and destination for saving. Save parameters by clicking on the corresponding button.
Open the file in “Microsoft Word” and select “File”, and then “Save as Adobe PDF”.
Saving parameters.

PDF Optimizer

Here, as in previous methods, software from Adobe is also used. The scheme of work is as follows:

Open the document through “Adobe Acrobat”, select the “File” item, and then “Save as another”. Then select “Optimized PDF file” to launch the optimizer.
Click on “Estimate space usage” to understand the amount of file space occupied by elements.
Assessing what does not need to be compressed and what is needed, and closing the window with the “OK” button. Setting the required compression parameters. Here you can do whatever you want. Set parameters based on your preferences and requirements.
Click “Ok” and save the resulting file in the desired location in the PC memory.

How to reduce PDF file size on Mac OS X?

IN in this case PDF files are usually significantly larger than files created using Adobe Acrobat. To compress a PDF file in this system, just do the following:

Open "TextEdit". Select “File”, and then “Print”.
At the bottom left, click on the “PDF” button, and then on “Compress PDF”. The result is a fairly compact file in PDF format.

Archiving

Does the document take up a lot of space on your PC memory? Then simply archive it using an archiver such as 7Zip or WinRAR. These programs are quite popular in this regard. Please note that the first is provided free of charge, while the second has limited free version. To fully use WinRAR, payment will already be required.

To compress a file using “7Zip”, right-click on the document, then left-click on the line “7Zip” and then on “Add to “[file_name]”. The archive is created automatically.

Before starting the archiving procedure, set the required parameters and select “Add to archive”. Thanks to the archiver, you are allowed to compress a file to a certain size and create an archive containing several combined and compressed files. Now they will be convenient for sending by mail. There is such a nuance: to open your archiver, the recipient of the letter must have the same archiver program installed. Otherwise, the file will not open.

Conclusion

Finally, it is worth noting that “Adobe Acrobat” is not “Adobe Reader”. The first allows you to compress a file and is provided as a shareware version, while the second does not allow you to compress a document, but is completely free. That is, in the question of how to compress a PDF file, it is the first program that plays the key role. But, as we have already said, you can compress files without it, so it is not necessary to use just such software. After all, there are other tools, converters, etc. for such purposes.

Even with the help of a fairly simple converter you can reduce the size of a PDF document. But here you need to be as careful as possible; not all documents can be compressed using this method. Using a converter is considered one of the most simple ways to reduce disk space consumption.

All actions will be performed using the example application PDFConverter:

The reduced file will be stored in the folder specified in the program.

Online tools

There are a lot of sites on the Internet that allow you to compress a document in any format in just two clicks. For this it is enough:

Attention! For documents containing very important information, it is better not to use such resources. Personal or confidential information may fall into the hands of strangers.

Adobe Acrobat application

You can also try using Acrobat Reader to reduce the file size by saving it again. This method is not always suitable, in some cases it is the opposite will increase occupied disk space, so you should be careful when using it:

Compression using Adobe Acrobat DC

This method can reduce the size of very large documents. With pre-compressed files, printing to a file may not help, and in some cases the size will be increased. Therefore, the presented method should be used with extreme caution.

How to use Adobe Acrobat DC:

Printing is complete, now you can access the catalog in the saved PDF, open him or send By e-mail.

We use Acrobat and Word

This size reduction method involves saving as a .doc in Acrobat DC and converting back using Microsoft Word or another similar text editor.

The procedure for converting formats:

Using the optimizer

Using a special PDF compressor (optimizer) is one of the simplest and effective ways reduction in size. In this case, the user will not need to perform such difficult actions as printing to a file or changing the format.

All necessary actions will be shown using the example of the PDF Compressor application:

Archiving files

Archiving can also provide impressive results in reducing the size of any type of data. For these actions you will need to use a special archiver(WinRar, 7zip and so on). Attention, to open data compressed in this way, you also need to use an archiver.

How to compress data using 7zip:

Compression is complete, now you can open or unpack the resulting archive.

Good day!

PDF files seem to be good for everyone, but they have one cornerstone... The fact is that the size of some PDF files is far from “ideal”; often, when they weigh even 100÷500 MB, sometimes it reaches 1 GB! Moreover, such a file size is not always justified: i.e. it doesn't have any very high-precision graphics that take up so much space.

Of course, when you are dealing with such a size, there are difficulties in transferring it to other PCs, tablets, phones (for example, your phone simply may not have enough memory for dozens of similar files!) .

In such cases, you can reduce the size of the PDF "somewhat" by compressing it. By the way, you can perform compression different ways. Actually, this is what today's article will be about...

By the way! If you remove some pages from a PDF document, you can reduce its size. If this option suits you, then I recommend this note:

Method No. 1: archiving

Perhaps the simplest and most obvious is to add PDF files to the archive. Thus, sometimes it is possible to significantly reduce the size they occupy. In addition, it is much faster and more convenient to copy one archive file from one PC to another (rather than a dozen, or even a hundred PDF documents) .

Addition! The best free archivers for Windows -

To send a file to the archive, just 1-2 mouse clicks are enough. For example, in such a popular archiver as 7-Zip (you can also find it in the link above) : just right-click on the file and select from the menu that appears "Add to archive..." . See screenshot below.

In fact, my file was compressed almost 3 times! Example below.

Advantages of the method:

after unpacking the archive, the PDF file does not lose its quality;
ZIP archive formats can be opened by most modern ones;
one archive file (with hundreds of PDFs inside) is copied much faster than doing the same with the same files without adding them to the archive.

Disadvantages of this method:

to open a file, you need to extract it from the archive (and not all PCs/phones/tablets may have the required archiver installed);
Not all files can be compressed equally well: one can be compressed very decently, another by 0.5%...
When choosing some archive formats, it may take considerable time to pack the files.

Method number 2: compression using quality reduction (DPI)

DPI is the number of dots per inch. The more dots per inch, the higher the quality of the displayed image (and the larger the file weighs). Naturally, when resaving a PDF file, you can specify a new number of dots per inch (DPI) and thereby reduce the file size (along with its quality).

However, I’ll immediately note that not always when the DPI is reduced, the picture quality deteriorates (in many cases you won’t notice the difference by eye!).

You can do a similar procedure in many programs : Adobe Acrobat (not to be confused with Adobe Reader), Fine Reader, Cute PDF Writer, Libre Office, etc. Below I will give a couple of free examples...

1) Libre Office ()

A good and free office suite (I have previously recommended it as an alternative to MS Office). It has the DRAW program in its arsenal, which can easily and easily make changes to PDF (including changing DPI). Let's take a closer look...

To launch DRAW - launch Libre Office, and select "DRAW Drawing" from the menu.

A window will open with many options for saving. Here you can change the compression quality, resolution (DPI) and other parameters. In general, I have highlighted the most necessary things in the screenshot below.

After setting the parameters, click the export button to create a new file.

Fast, simple and easy! Is not it?

2) CutePDF Writer ()

This free program after installation, it “creates” a separate special line when printing a document (with the necessary properties for compression)...

Those. install it, then open some PDF file, say, in Adobe Reader (can be used in any other PDF reader) and press “Print” (combination Ctrl+P).

Then select the line " CutePDF Writer", and open its "Properties".

Properties of CutePDF Writer

Then you need to open the print quality tab and go to “Advanced”.

Here you can set the print quality in DPI (and other parameters).

NOTE.

By the way, you need to install both files, which are available on the program’s official website!

Advantages of the method:

we do not lose compatibility (the file remains the same PDF);
the operation goes quite quickly;
The DPI change operation can be carried out by dozens of different programs.

Disadvantages of this method:

in some cases, the quality drops significantly (for example, if you are dealing with schemes and high-quality portfolios, this option most likely will not work).

Method No. 3: converting to DjVU format

The DjVU format, on average, provides stronger compression than PDF. And we must admit that DjVU is one of the few formats that really competes with it.

To convert from PDF to DjVU, in my opinion, it is most preferable to use one small utility - PdfToDjvuGUI .

PdfToDjvuGUI

Of. website: http://www.trustfm.net/software/utilities/PdfToDjvuGUI.php

Note: Please note that the utility sometimes incorrectly reads the “names” of files written in Russian.

PDF to DjVU - a small utility

It’s very simple to use: just add the desired file (Add PDF), set the settings (you don’t have to touch anything) and press the button "Generate DjVU". A “black” window should appear for a while, after which the program will inform you that the file has been re-converted.

By the way, the program will place the DjVU file in the same folder where the original PDF was located. As an example, see the screenshot below. Without changing the quality (and the program allows you to change the DPI), we managed to reduce the space occupied by the file by almost 2 times!

Below are a few more online services that can perform a similar conversion operation.

Advantages of the method:

maximum file compression (i.e. saving disk space!);
the file can be immediately opened in the reader, just as you do with PDF (i.e. it is not an archive).

Disadvantages of this method:

Large files require significant conversion time;
quality may be “lost” during conversion (so check important graphs manually to see how they were compressed);
The DjVU format supports fewer programs than PDF.

Method #4: Using Online Tools

An excellent site for quick compression and conversion from one format to another. Files up to 20-30 MB in size are processed literally within 10-15 seconds! The service does not affect document markup, links, menus, etc. elements. Compression occurs due to graphics (that is, the PDI parameter).

Another universal service for quickly converting PDF to DjVU, or compressing PDF without changing the format. The result can not only be downloaded to your PC, but also immediately sent to a cloud drive: Google Drive, Dropbox...

The service offers 3 compression levels: minimal, normal and extreme. It works very quickly, processes files up to 3-040 MB in 5-10 seconds. (at least that was the case with my dozen test files) .

The files have been compressed // Service "I love DPF"

I will also note that on this service you can split a PDF file into several parts, convert it to other formats, combine several PDFs, etc. In general, it’s quite a multifunctional service, I recommend you check it out!

Advantages:

no need to install any programs on your computer;
services can be used even from mobile devices;
As a rule, compression of small files on services is faster.

Flaws:

confidentiality (I think not everyone will decide to send some of their documents to an unfamiliar service);
the need to upload/download files to the service (if the Internet is not very fast and there are a lot of files, this will turn into a headache).

Additions on the topic are welcome...

Many PC users face the problem of not knowing how to reduce the size of a PDF document so that it becomes more compact. This article will clear up any doubts you might have about choosing a desktop converter program or an online service to compress a PDF file.

PDF (from Portable Document Format) is a format created by Adobe Systems using the capabilities of the PostScript language. It is platform independent and is designed to present printed products, documentation and presentations in electronic form.

PDF documents are suitable for exchanging information between users around the world.

Advantages of the PDF format:

cross-platform - the document can be seen as it was created, regardless of the platform;
compact, supports many information compression algorithms;
machine independence (it can be printed on a printer and printing unit);
multimedia (supports videos and audio tracks, hypertext elements, as well as page previews);
safety. File creators can set security options, including the ability to lock (open, edit, or print after entering a password).

You can open a PDF document using the free version of Adobe Reader or a plugin available in most browsers. IN Google Chrome this format is supported even without installing the plugin. Editing a PDF file is possible in the paid version of Adobe Reader. Many programs have also been developed for this format and converting documents from it.

PDF files can include photographs, text information, forms, etc. The appearance of the displayed document does not depend on the type of platform: in Windows and Mac OS it will look the same both on the screen and when printed.

Why do you need to compress PDF files?

The size of a PDF file often reaches tens of megabytes due to the volume and abundance of graphic elements. This can cause difficulties when sending files by e-mail or when placing them in cloud storage.

Let's consider free tools for compressing a PDF file and reducing its size: online services, as well as applications for Windows.

Are you looking for a way to compress a PDF document? From our article you will learn how to reduce the size of a PDF file and choose the appropriate option.

Using converters

CutePDF will allow you to convert a printable file into PDF and reduce it to the required size.

Install CutePDF by downloading it for free from the official website. First, the document should be opened in a program that supports the PDF format, with the ability to print. It is better to do this in Adobe Reader or Microsoft Word. Click on "File" and then "Print".

When opening the window with settings for printing, select CutePDF Writer from the list of printers.

Hover your mouse over “Printer Properties”, in the window go to “Advanced” and make a choice in what quality its contents will be displayed. To compress a file, set a quality level lower than the original document. Click on "Print" and then save to PDF.

Adobe Reader Pro DC

First, open the document in Adobe Acrobat DC, click on “File” in the menu, “Save as another” and then on “File in reduced size PDF format”.

Then you need to select programs from the drop-down list with which the document is required to be compatible. If you focus your attention on latest version, you will have the opportunity to compress the file as much as possible, but there is a risk that the recipient will not be able to open it in older versions of the program.

After clicking "OK", wait for the compression procedure to complete, and then you can save the file to the desired location.

The same method is advisable to use if the file is located on Google Drive and you need to download it, having first reduced the size.

Go to Google Drive, double-click on the PDF file you want to compress, and then on the printer symbol to open the print screen.

In the new window that opens in front of you, select Adobe PDF from the drop-down list. By clicking on the “Properties” button, you will see a new window in which you should go to the “Paper and Print Quality” tab, and then to the “Advanced” button at the bottom of the window.

Select the file quality in the drop-down list, click “OK” at the bottom of the window, then “OK” in 2 more windows. Save the document on your computer.

Microsoft Word

How to reduce pdf file size using Word and Acrobat?

This method consists of converting a file from format 1 to format 2, and then converting it back.

First, you should open the PDF file in Adobe Acrobat, in the “File” menu, click on “Save As”, “Select another folder”, specify the file type “*.docx” and the location where it will be located on the PC. After clicking the “Save” button, open the document in Word, select “File” and “Save as Adobe PDF”.

PDF Compressor

Using PDF Compressor, you can reduce a PDF file for publication on a website, social network and sending by e-mail. This service will not reduce document density (DPI); clarity is maintained when scaling and printing.

By clicking on the “Download” button, you can select up to 2 dozen files. You can drag them to the download area and wait for the processes to complete. Download compressed documents by clicking on their icons, or all files as a ZIP archive.

Archiving

To make the file take up less space on your PC, you can archive it using one of the popular programs: WinRAR or 7Zip.

To compress a document using 7Zip, hover the right mouse button over the file and the left mouse button over the 7Zip line, select “Add to “file_name””, and the archive will appear on the screen. Before compression begins, you can specify some characteristics by selecting “Add to archive.”

Using an archiver, you can compress a file or create an archive of several documents, which will make it easier to send them by e-mail. Before sending the archive to the recipient, you need to check whether he has this archiver installed.

Online converters

Smallpdf online service

This service is simple in functionality, but has additional features: Import a document from Dropbox or Google Drive and then save it to cloud storage after completing the online compression procedure.

This service is pre-configured to compress the file up to 144 dpi, so different compression rates are possible. For example, a file whose size is 6 Megabytes can be compressed 2 times, and the quality will not decrease.

But it happens that a file whose size is 100 megabytes will be compressed to 88 megabytes due to the use of elementary file size reduction algorithms.

iLovePDF

In iLovePDF, you can upload a document from your own PC, as well as from the cloud service Dropbox or Google Drive, and then select the compression level. The higher the compression ratio used, the worse the quality of the output file. A 100 MB file with maximum compression is compressed to 50 MB.

PDF files are quickly compressed for free, without restrictions on using the service, with automatic deletion from the service within an hour. The limitation of the service is to download 1 file at a time.

Free PDF Compressor

This program is not regularly updated, but it works perfectly on Windows 10, Windows XP, etc. If online tools are not available, Free PDF Compressor can be useful.

Free PDF Compressor will give you the opportunity to choose 1 of 5 presets for compressing a PDF file. Specify the parameters, the path to the saved file and select “Compress”.

PDF optimization

You can open the document in Adobe Acrobat. By clicking on “File” in the menu, click on “Save as Other”, and then on “Optimized PDF File”.

In the PDF Optimization window, click on Estimate Space Usage. After its implementation, you will understand what and by how much percent you can compress. Then you should close the window by clicking “OK” and select compression characteristics. Using left button mouse, click on the selected compression level, and on the right change the characteristics to achieve the required level of quality.

You can delete photos, convert them to black and white, compress them, change resolution, change fonts, etc., and then save the document to the desired folder.

Please note that many conversion and compression programs can be downloaded for free on official websites.

Choose a program or online service based on your needs for the quality and degree of document compression.

When choosing the version of the format in which you save the file, make allowances for the fact that the recipient may not have latest version program and, therefore, he will not be able to access the document you sent.

Conclusion

On many modern PCs the size hard drives amounts to several terabytes. However, every megabyte is valuable if you need to quickly transfer a file by email or post it on the Internet. We hope that you found all the information you needed about compressing a PDF file, and you were able to use our recommendations.