How to compress a PDF file: tips and tricks. How to Compress a PDF File (Working Methods)
Now many computers already have hard disks ranging in size from hundreds of gigabytes to several terabytes. But still, every megabyte remains valuable, especially when we're talking about about fast downloading to other computers or the Internet. Therefore, it is often necessary to reduce the size of files to make them more compact.
There are many ways to compress PDF file to the required size, so that you can then use it for any purpose, for example, for transmission over e-mail in a matter of moments. All methods have their pros and cons. Some weight loss options are free, while others cost a fee. We will look at the most popular of them.
Method 1: Cute PDF Converter
The Cute PDF program replaces a virtual printer and allows you to compress any PDF documents. To reduce weight, you just need to configure everything correctly.
It is worth remembering that a decrease in quality entails file compression, but if the document contained any images or diagrams, they may become unreadable under certain conditions.
Method 2: PDF Compressor
Until recently, the PDF Compressor program was just gaining momentum and was not so popular. But then, too quickly, it received a lot of negative reviews on the Internet, and many users did not download it precisely because of them. There is only one reason for this - the water sign in free version, but if this is not critical, then you can download it.
The program compressed a file with an initial size of just over 100 kilobytes to 75 kilobytes.
Method 3: Save PDF at a smaller size using Adobe Reader Pro DC
Adobe Reader Pro is a paid program, but it does a great job of reducing the size of any PDF document.
The method is very fast and quite often compresses the file by almost 30-40 percent.
Method 4: Optimized file in Adobe Reader
For this method, you will again need the program. Here you will have to tinker a little with the settings (if you want), or you can just leave everything as the program itself suggests.
Method 5: Microsoft Word
This method may seem clumsy and incomprehensible to some, but it is quite convenient and fast. So, first you need a program that can save a PDF document in text format (you can search for it among the Adobe line, for example, Adobe Reader or find analogues) and Microsoft Word.
This is how you can reduce the size of a PDF file by one and a half to two times in three simple steps. This happens due to the fact that DOC document saved in PDF with the weakest settings, which is equivalent to compression through a converter.
Method 6: Archiver
The most common way to compress any document, including a PDF file, is an archiver. For work it is better to use 7-Zip or WinRAR. The first option is distributed free of charge, but the second program, after the trial period expires, asks to renew the license (although you can work without it).
The PDF file is now compressed and can be used for its intended purpose. Sending it by mail will now be much faster, since you won’t have to wait long for the document to be attached to the letter, everything will happen instantly.
We have considered the most best programs and ways to compress a PDF file. Write in the comments which method was the easiest and fastest for you to compress the file, or suggest your own convenient options.
If you've been around PDF files often, you know that sometimes they can be quite heavy with images or other graphics. Fortunately, there are now many ways to compress any type of file, including PDF documents.
In this article I will tell you a couple of ways to reduce the size of PDF files. If you have Adobe Acrobat (not free), then this is much easier, but we will only use free ways.
Method 1 - SmallPDF.com
This is the easiest way to make your PDF file smaller. Using this free service you can also convert PDF to: Word, PTT, JPG. In general, the functionality is very extensive, but we will return to our goal.
So, go to the website smallpdf.com. Next, select the language at the bottom of the screen.
Next, click on “ PDF Compression».
Now you need to either drag your document to the appropriate area, or select it in the standard way.
Then we wait a few seconds until the file is uploaded to the server and compression takes place. Upon completion, you will receive the following message (see screenshot below).
To download an already reduced PDF file, click the " You can save the file" By the way, the service works with Google and DropBox cloud storage, which is very convenient. You can upload files from the clouds, as well as move already compressed documents to them.
As you can see in the screenshot below, using this online service we were able to reduce the file size from 5.46 MB to 3.1 MB. Pretty good compression, and it's free
Among others online services I would also recommend using pdfcompressor.com/ru/ or convertio.co/ru/compress-pdf/. I especially liked the last service, if you select it high degree compression, the document size will decrease by 15-20%, although there is no significant loss in quality.
Method 2 – PDF Compressor Program
A wonderful free program for compressing documents in PDF format. You can download it on the official website pdfcompressor.org. We install and start working with the program. First you need to upload the file, to do this, click on the “ Add file"or simply drag the PDF into the central area of the window.
Then click on the button “ Start Compression" After 10-15 seconds we will get the result.
The result did not console me, since my document was compressed by only 1 KB. But if you work with files larger than 20 MB, then the PDF reduction occurs by 30-40%.
Compression using PDF programs Compressor is good because the document does not lose quality. It is also useful that in this program you can work with PDF documents in batch mode, compressing 100 or more files at a time.
Method 3 – Free PDF Compressor
Free and easy to use program. You can download it at freepdfcompressor.com. After installation, go directly to compression.
Upload the document by clicking on the " Browse" in the first line. In the second line we indicate the path where it will be saved. compressed file PDF.
Next, select the compression format. Of the five presented, I recommend installing “ Printer..." In this mode, compression occurs with minimal loss of quality (purely my observation).
Now all you have to do is click on the “ Compress"and wait until the program finishes processing each page of your document.
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 is a 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!
SmallPDF 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.
It’s probably not news to you that the pdf format is widely used in all areas of activity due to its “weight” and its image quality. Why did I focus on “weight”? Because usually this file weighs a lot due to the many colored, bulky and bright graphs and so on. Therefore, today we will look at the question: “how to reduce the size of a pdf file,” since most people have questions about this very issue. Some people even prefer using other programs because of this problem. Compression pdf files- a process that requires the use of special software. To reduce the file size, you can use the following programs: Adobe Acrobat, using standard Windows compression. Adobe Acrobat can be downloaded from the developer's website.
How to compress a pdf file?
Method using Adobe Acrobat
In order to reduce a pdf file, open Adobe Acrobat, then click on the “File” - “Open” tab in the main menu - these actions give us the opportunity to open the file required for compression. Then repeat the steps “File” – “Open” – “Save as another” – “ Reduced PDF file size" In the window that appears, select the version compatibility setting and click “OK”; in order to apply the settings to several files, click “Apply for all”, to save you need to click “Save As”.
Method for reducing file size in Adobe Acrobat using PDF optimizer
As you noticed, Adobe Acrobat makes it possible to reduce the file size in a convenient way for us. First, you need to select the documents that need to be reduced in size. To do this, we need to click on the “File” – “Open” tab in the main menu. Then we repeat the same steps, then click on “Save as another” - “ Optimized PDF file" Then you need to adjust the settings to your taste and save the file by clicking on the “Save As” button.
Method for reducing the weight of a pdf file according to OS Windows standards
In order to achieve best quality and lightest weight, OS Windows developers strongly recommend using standard file reduction before starting work on it. This can be done by right-clicking on the file you created – “Properties” – “General” – “Other” – then you need to check the box “Compress...”. This procedure takes no more than one minute and is one of the most effective.
PDF files are quite in demand today, but they are often too big size, that is, they take up a lot of space. If you are not satisfied with the size of the document, you can reduce it in several ways.
You can reduce the size of a PDF file using a special converting program. There are quite a lot of such services, let’s look at an example free program PrimoPDF. Download the service to your computer. It will install a PDF printer on your system that will convert the files.
