Compress and reduce PDF files. How to reduce the size of a pdf, detailed instructions

The article presents 6 services that perform PDF compression online, with which you can reduce the size of a PDF file online. Why is it necessary to reduce the size of a PDF?

Various documents, instructions, e-books, etc. are often saved in the popular PDF format. This format has its advantages: on any computer, in any operating system, the file looks the same. Everything is fine, but there is one problem: files saved in PDF format are quite big size.

Sometimes, due to the file size, the following problems arise:

• files take up a lot of space on the disk, portable device (flash drive), mobile device
• It happens that large files take a long time to open in applications for viewing files of this format
• There are often restrictions on sending large files via e-mail

Decide this problem quite simple: you need to reduce the PDF size online, or using the appropriate program. In this article we will look at how you can compress PDF online using specialized Internet services.

There are quite a few services on the Internet for working with PDF files, which can also compress PDF online.

Even if such a function is not often in demand, the user should bookmark services that will help reduce PDF online if necessary. For example, recently a colleague came to me for help. She needed to send a scanned document in PDF format to government structure, but they did not accept incoming attachments larger than 2 MB. Thanks to specialized services, we were able to easily reduce the PDF file online.

Try compression on different services in order to choose the best balance between file quality and compression level that will satisfy you for a particular document.

How to compress a PDF file online on iLovePDF

The online service, among other things, reduces the file size in PDF format. This service has 3 types: unregistered (free), registered (free) and premium.

Without registration, compression of one PDF file up to 160 MB in size is available, and for a registered user - up to 200 MB.

Click on the “Select PDF file” button, or drag the file from your computer to the area under the button.

Please note that there are special buttons nearby for downloading a PDF file from Google Drive and Dropbox cloud storage. In this case, the PDF file will be uploaded to the service from the cloud, reduced in size, and then, if necessary, returned back to the cloud storage.

Thanks to the visualization process, the downloaded file will be displayed in the service window.

• extreme compression ( high degree compression, worse quality)
• recommended compression ( good degree compression, good quality)
• low compression (low compression ratio, high quality)

Select the most appropriate option to reduce the weight of the PDF. By default, the Recommended compression option is selected.

After processing is completed, the service page will display information about the compression ratio of this PDF file.

Click on the "Download" button compressed PDF» to download the file to your computer, or click on the corresponding button to send the compressed file to cloud storage. Here you can get a link to send the file to another user.

How to reduce PDF online on Smallpdf

Service for working with files in PDF format. The service can be used free of charge up to two times (performing any operation) in one hour.

There are no compression settings on this service; the settings are optimized to produce a high quality compressed file. Drag a file from your computer to a special area, or select a file to upload from your computer or from cloud storage (Dropbox and Google Drive are supported).

Once the PDF file has been reduced in size, the page will display information about the PDF's compression ratio. Next, you can download the file to your computer, save it to cloud storage, convert the compressed PDF file to JPG format, or sign the file in eSign.

How to reduce PDF online using PDF Compressor

The website of the PDF Compressor service claims that when compressing a PDF file, the document density (DPI) is not reduced, and clarity and scaling are maintained.

The service allows batch processing of files. Upload up to 20 files (there are file size limits), wait until the file compression process finishes.

After this, the page will display the file compression size. The compressed PDF file is saved on your PC in a ZIP archive.

How to Reduce PDF Volume Online at Jinapdf.com

Another service for working with PDF files is . They promise fast compression without loss of quality. This service is completely free.

Click on the “Select PDF file” button and then wait until the PDF file compression process completes.

Download the compressed file to your computer.

Compress PDF file with PDF2Go

The free online service works with files of this format. To transfer a PDF file from a PC to the service, click on the “Upload local files” button, or select a file to download from a cloud storage (Dropbox, Google Drive), or specify a link (URL) to the file.

After downloading, you need to select quality settings for the PDF file. The following quality options are available:

• Screen (High Quality, 72 PPI) - Default Setting
• Minimum quality(40 dpi)
• E-book (high image quality, 150 dpi)
• Printer (high quality, 300 dpi)
• Print preparation (high quality, color retention, 300 dpi)

If necessary, you can select the “Advanced compression: all pages in grayscale” setting.

Select required quality, and then click on the “Compress PDF” button.

How to Reduce PDF Size on Pdfio

Go to pdfio.co, select one or more PDF files. Upload files from your computer, from cloud storage (Dropbox, Google Drive), using a link from the site, or drag files onto the page.

After uploading the file to the service, select one of the compression options:

• Low compression ratio, high image quality
• Medium compression ratio, average image quality
• High compression, low image quality

Then download the compressed PDF file to your computer.

Conclusions of the article

The user can compress a PDF file using one of 6 specialized online services: iLovePDF, Smallpdf, PDF Compressor, Jinapdf, PDF2Go, Pdfio. The compressed file will be smaller in size.

Find any book or magazine in PDF format on your computer and note how much it weighs. 50 and even 100 MB is not the limit. Solid, isn't it? Oh, if only there was a magic program with which you could compress a PDF at least 2 times...

What affects PDF size

The PDF format (read as PDF) is mainly used to create electronic copies of printed products, art books, and scanned copies. It has 3 main goals:

• Protect information from unauthorized copying.
• Optimize content for electronic exchange.
• Maintain formatting style during printing.

Its dimensions depend on several parameters:

• The quality and quantity of images it contains.
• Fonts used.
• Compression method.

Thus, the smaller the file in pdf format, the easier it is to store it on a medium and send it by email. Let's figure out how to make such content convenient for forwarding and further use.

4 Easy Compression Methods

When the user is dealing with a ready-made pdf file, its size can be easily reduced using:

• Standard archiving programs. For example, WinRAR or 7-ZIP. However, keep in mind that the format of your document will be completely different.

Adobe Acrobat application, which will also compress your document to a smaller size. It is important that the versions of Reader and Acrobat from Adobe match. The utility is also useful because it can optimize such files, remove unnecessary components such as built-in fonts, and so on.

• Special programs that can work with pdf files, edit documents, and so on. Check out PrimoPDF and CutePDF.
• Online services. The advantage is that you don’t need to download anything - all files are compressed online. Among the most popular services, we note PDF -docs.ru, smallpdf.com.

What is the advantage of the Small PDF service?

We would like to tell you more about the method of compressing files using the Small PDF service. This free program For pdf compression, which operates online. To compress a document, just drag it into the browser window (orange block on the site pages). Then wait for the compression to finish and download finished work. It's really very simple!

Among the advantages of Small PDF I would like to note:

• Simply perfect quality. We recommend reducing PDF files to 144 dpi. This is quite enough for online downloading and sending by e-mail.
• Ease of use. Drag the file and wait a few seconds for compression to complete, download in one click. The process is fast and reliable.
• 100% safety. Exactly one hour after compression, all PDF files are deleted from servers on the Internet. No one but you will be able to access them.
• Platform support. Since the application is browser-based, it will work on absolutely any platform. Be it Windows, Linux or even Mac.
• Work even on the most ancient computers. Smaa PDF does not load the system at all, since file compression occurs “in the cloud”.

How to compress using SmallPDF (video)

How to initially create a small PDF file

Even at the stage of creating a pdf document, you can make sure that its dimensions are minimal. Try scanning a paper document at a lower dpi resolution. For text, 200 or even less dpi is enough, for text with pictures – 300.

And when you convert a file using doPDF or FineReader from ABBYY, you can change the DPI resolution on the output.

Another trick is related to Microsoft Office software, or rather office program Word. To make your pdf file smaller for free, first save it in docx or doc format. Next, you need to convert again, but to PDF. This method will also help you reduce the size of your document.

Thus, even heavy magazines and books in PDF format can be compressed several times. If done correctly, you can save a lot of disk space without losing quality.

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 email.

We use Acrobat and Word

This size reduction method involves saving as a .doc in Acrobat DC and converting back using Microsoft Word or other 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 given. 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.

There is often a need reduce the size of a PDF document, which has already been created. For these purposes, the easiest way is to use Adobe Acrobat (Standard or Professional versions). For example, Adobe Acrobat 7.0 is now available for free download on the Adobe website (registration may be required). Please note that a regular PDF viewer (i.e. Acrobar Reader) is not suitable for these purposes! What you need is a PDF document editor.

For information. A PDF file cannot be reduced if it is made of vector objects, i.e. for example from text applications Microsoft Office (Word, Excel) or AutoCAD - because Vector graphics always take up minimal space compared to raster graphics. That's why this decision It will most likely help you a lot only when compressing SCAN documents into PDF, i.e. created from bitmaps.

So, open the PDF file that needs to be compressed, go to the menu "File" - "Save as another" and select the item "Reduced PDF file size":

Next, you need to select the version with which the resulting compressed, reduced PDF file will be compatible. The newer the version selected, the smaller the file size will be. But keep in mind that if you select, for example, version "Acrobat 10.0 and higher", the file may not open in version 7, 8, or 9, i.e. previous ones. But now most users use Acrobat Reader version 10 and above, so there should be no problems. And if not, then more new version PDF viewing programs can be freely downloaded and installed.

By the way, you can use this opportunity if necessary Reduce PDF size of several files at once! It’s very convenient when there are a lot of them, so as not to open each one separately:

After clicking the "OK" button, select a location to save the finished reduced PDF file, and give it a name. Due to some loss of quality, the document will take up less space than usual.

Once a PDF document is created, it is usually very large in size; to optimize it, you need to know how to reduce the size of a PDF file.

PDF– a very popular document format among users. A universal program for viewing this format on all types of OS is Adobe Reader.

Advantages of the format:

• The quality of file display is superior to compression types such as JPEG and GIF;
• Standardization – documents with this format can be opened on all devices, while appearance the document will not change;
• Ensuring security - when transferring PDF files online, you can always be sure that no one will gain access to edit the file. It is also difficult to embed a virus malicious script into such files;
• Support large quantity compression algorithms;
• Automatic detection of document authenticity.

By the way, you may be interested in other articles:

Adobe Acrobat Pro for compression. Using Standard Features

One of the most popular programs for working with PDF files is Adobe Acrobat Pro. With its help, you can edit a previously created document and reduce its final size.

The application is paid, however, users can download a free trial version for 30 days or a portable version with reduced editing functionality.

The program allows you to significantly reduce the size of the final file.

Follow the instructions:

• Open your document in Adobe Acrobat;
• On the main panel, enable the File tab;
• Find and select “Save as another document...” and then “Reduced file size”, as shown in the figure below;

• Next, a window will appear in which you will need to specify the necessary parameters and protection level document being created;
• After converting the file, click again on the “Open” - “Optimized file” tab and in the pop-up list, click on the “Save as another...” item;
• Select a location on your hard drive where you want to save the document at a reduced size and click OK. This program allows you to perform compression without loss of quality.

In Adobe Acrobat, you can not only optimize a file, but also forcefully reduce its size.

To do this, follow the instructions:

• Open the document in the program;
• Now enable the File tab on the main toolbar of the utility;
• Select “Save as another” and in the new list that appears, click on “Reduce size”, as shown in the figure below;

This method Perfect if, after optimization, the size has not decreased to the level you need.

• In the new window, select the version of the program with which the final file will be compatible;

• Click OK to apply the options to only one file or Apply To Multiple to save the settings for several PDFs at once.

You can compress a file using the built-in functions of the Windows operating system. If the document does not open or takes too long to open, emergency compression is necessary.

To do this, you need to open the properties of the PDF file.

Then, in the general settings, find the “Other” button and in the window that opens, check the box next to the “Compress contents...” item marked in the figure below.

Save your changes by pressing OK.

This compression method is the simplest, so after compressing files whose size is several GB, the overall image of the content may be slightly distorted.

After compression, open the document in Adobe Reader to check its quality.

If it is invalid, return the original properties and optimize the file using third-party utilities.

If you need to reduce the file size only for a certain time, use data archiving utilities.

For example, 7Zip or WinRAR. In the future, if necessary, you can quickly unpack the archive and get a PDF with the initial size.

Cute PDF utility

Let's take a look at the Cute PDF program. It is one of the most common applications for converting to PDF and optimizing the final documents.

The utility is free to download and offers a wide range of features.

The program creates a virtual printer on the computer, through which the user interacts with the main functions.

To reduce the size of the desired file using Cute PDF, follow the instructions below:

• Open the document in any reader for PDF format;
• Now click on the “Print” button;

• In the window that opens to configure print settings, indicate that the printer is named “Cute PDF”, find the “Properties” or “Properties” button and click on it. In the Windows operating system, this key is located opposite the printer name;

Note! If the name Cute PDF is not in the drop-down list of available printers, the program may have been installed incorrectly or you did not restart your computer after installation.

• In the window that appears, open the Compression tab, then select the desired quality level and degree of compression of the document. Save the settings and close the properties window;
• Now in the printer settings window for printing, press the Print button;
• Next, a window will appear to select where to save the document;
• Wait until saving is completed and check the size of the final file. If necessary, you can perform all of the above steps on the compressed file to further reduce its size.

Using Google Drive storage and Adobe Acrobat

You can perform compression directly through your Google drive. Adobe Acrobat must also be installed on your computer.

Login to your disk account and download the required PDF file.

Then you need to open the PDF in your browser.

To do this, select a document from the list of previously downloaded ones, right-click on it and click on “Open” or “Open”.

Now you need to send the contents of the PDF tab to the print queue. To do this, open the print settings window in your browser settings.

Select Adobe PDF from the list of available devices. Next, click on the OK button.

Instead of the usual printing process, the process of saving the document to HDD computer.

In this case, the program will automatically optimize it, which will reduce its size.

Remember! In order for the Adobe PDF item to be available in the print list, on your personal computer Adobe Acrobat must be installed. Otherwise, saving using this method will not be possible.

Compression using MS Word

The popular word processor Word from the MS Office software package will also help you reduce the size of the final PDF. Open the file using the Adobe Acrobat utility.

Then save the document as MS Word (Figure below).

Now find the saved object and right-click on it. In the pop-up list, click on the “Convert to Adobe PDF” item, as shown in the figure below.

Wait for the process to complete. As a rule, it will not take more than two minutes.

This way you can reduce the document size by approximately thirty percent without significant loss of quality.

The best online converters

Thanks to software With open source, many services have appeared on the Internet that replace some desktop programs.

To reduce the size of the document you need, you can use the following services:

• Shrink PDF. Official link to the resource: http://shrinkPDF.com/ru/. This online converter allows you to reduce the size of up to 20 documents at a time without loss of quality.

To get started, click on the “Open” button and select documents on your computer for compression. Wait for the object to be loaded onto the service.

Now the file and the status of its compression process will appear at the bottom of the page. Wait for the process to complete and download the resulting file to your device.

The figure below shows an example of using the service;

Also, using this service you can instantly compress JPEG and PNG files. To do this, switch to the appropriate service tab.

• SmallPDF. Link to home page website: https://smallPDF.com/ru/compress-PDF. With this service you can optimize popular formats, including PDF.

To get started, drag the file from your desktop to the red area of ​​the open page in your browser. You can also open the file using cloud storage from Google or Dropbox.