To make a PDF smaller, several methods can be used including compressing the file with PDF editors or online tools, flattening or optimizing PDFs, and reducing image quality or resolution in the document. Here are common ways to reduce PDF size:
- Use a PDF editor like Adobe Acrobat or PDF Pro to compress or optimize the PDF, giving control over elements like images, fonts, and quality settings.
- Use free online PDF compressors such as Adobe's online Compressor tool, iLovePDF, SmallPDF, or PDF2Go, which automatically reduce file size with different compression levels.
- On Windows, you can also right-click the PDF and choose "Send to > Compressed (zipped) folder," but the zipped file needs to be unzipped before use.
- On Mac, Preview app allows exporting the PDF with compression options to reduce size.
- When saving from Word, use the "Optimize for minimum size" option under Save As to produce a smaller PDF.
- Printing the PDF to a virtual PDF printer (like PrimoPDF) can also resave it in smaller size.
Compression usually reduces image quality or resolution to some degree. Online tools typically offer compression level options to balance size and quality. These methods help make PDFs easier to email, share, or upload by reducing their file size effectively.
