How to Reduce PDF File Size

This wikiHow teaches you how to make a PDF smaller using a PC or Mac. If you want to use a free online tool, try SmallPDF or Adobe Acrobat's online file compressor. You can also reduce a PDF's size using Preview for macOS, as well as Adobe Acrobat Pro.

[Edit]Steps

[Edit]Using Smallpdf.com PDF Compressor

1. Go to https://smallpdf.com in a web browser. If you need to reduce the size of a PDF file, you can do so in minutes using Smallpdf's free web-based tool.
   
2. Click the red tile. It's at the top-left corner of the page.
   
3. Click the button. It's at the center of the page.
   
4. Select your PDF and click . Your PDF will upload.
   
5. Select a compression option. The Basic compression option is free and gives you about a 40% reduction in file size. If you need a much smaller file, you can choose the Strong compression option, which gives you a 75% smaller file (with lower quality).
   
   • The Strong option is not free—you'll need a Pro membership, which you'll be prompted to sign up for.
   • Basic compression still reduces the file size quite a bit without sacrificing quality, so it should be enough for most uses.
6. Click the red button. It's below the compression options. When the compression is complete, you'll see a Download option in the right panel.
   
7. Click the blue button. It's in the upper-right corner. This saves the compressed PDF to your computer.
   
   • You may have to click Save or Download to start the download.

[Edit]Using Adobe Acrobat Pro

1. Open a PDF in Adobe Acrobat Pro. If you want to reduce the size of a PDF file without sacrificing quality, you can use Adobe Acrobat Pro. If you have Acrobat Pro, open it, click the File menu, select Open, choose your PDF, and then click Open.
   
   • If you don't have the paid version of Adobe Acrobat Pro, just head over to https://www.adobe.com/acrobat/online/compress-pdf.html in your web browser. Then, drag your PDF to the Compress PDF box, or click Select a file to select it from your computer to automatically reduce the file size—when the file is ready, click Download to save it.
2. Click the in the menu bar at the top of the screen.
   
3. Click either or . The option you see will vary depending on your version of Acrobat.^[1]
   
4. Select a location in which to save the image. You can also give the PDF a new name if you'd like.
   
5. Click . The smaller PDF is now saved to your computer.
   

[Edit]Using Preview on Mac

1. Open a PDF document in the Preview app. You can do this by double-clicking the PDF. If it opens in a different app, close that app, then right-click the PDF, select Open with, and select Preview.
   
2. Click the menu. It's in the menu bar at the top of the screen.
   
3. Click on the menu. Make sure you select Export and not Export as PDF.
   
4. Click the "Format" menu and select . If this option is already selected, you can skip this step.
   
5. Click the "Quartz Filter" menu and select . This reduces the overall file size.
   
   • Reducing the file size can degrade the quality of the PDF, especially if there are images.
   • If you still want to keep the larger version of the PDF as an original, you can save this smaller version with a different name. Just type the word "smaller" just before the ".pdf" in the file name at the top of the window.
6. Select a location in which to save the PDF.
   
7. Click the button. This saves the new smaller version of your PDF.
   

[Edit]Related wikiHows

• Compress a PDF File
• Digitally Sign PDF Documents
• Print a Booklet Using Adobe Reader

[Edit]References

[Edit]Quick Summary

1. ↑ https://helpx.adobe.com/acrobat/using/optimizing-pdfs-acrobat-pro.html