THE WORKFLOW
How to compress a PDF
- Open PDF compression and choose the file from your device.
- Set image quality and render scale. Start with a moderate setting; lower values can make text or diagrams harder to read.
- Preview a detailed page, run compression and compare the downloaded file size and readability with the original.
PRACTICAL EXAMPLES
Choose the workflow for your document
Compress a scanned PDF for email
Try moderate image quality and render scale, then compare the saved size. Check fine print, signatures and diagrams at the zoom level the recipient will use. A visually acceptable preview is more useful than a percentage reduction alone.
Choose between image compression and PDF optimization
An image-heavy scan may benefit from recompression. A small text-based PDF may become larger when its pages are converted to images. Repair / optimize PDF offers stream compression without intentionally turning the pages into pictures.
BEFORE YOU SHARE
What to check in the result
This compression flattens the pages. Selectable text, links, forms, annotations, layers and accessibility structure will not survive as interactive content. If you need to keep those features, try Repair / optimize PDF, which compresses streams without rasterizing pages. A target size is an estimate, not a guarantee.
COMMON QUESTIONS
Questions about this PDF task
Will compressing a PDF keep its text selectable?
The PDF compression operation rasterizes pages, so text is no longer selectable. Use Repair / optimize PDF when preserving document structure matters more than predictable size reduction.
Why did my PDF become larger after compression?
Rendering a compact text document as page images can require more bytes than its original text and vector content. Compare the before and after report and keep the original if the result is larger.
Can I compress a PDF to a specific size?
Use Target-size compression to enter an approximate limit in MB. It tries different image settings, but it may not reach the requested size while staying above its quality floor.