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How to compress a multi-page pdf file. Reducing PDF size

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 completed, you can now 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 another similar text editor.

The procedure for converting formats:




Using the optimizer

Using a special PDF compressor (optimizer) is one of the simplest and most effective ways to reduce 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 of data. 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.

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, and the appearance of 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 for a large number of 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 the level of protection of the 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 is 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 drive account and upload 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 the computer’s hard drive will begin.

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, Adobe Acrobat must be installed on your personal computer. 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 open source software, 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 the main page of the site: 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.

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.
PrimoPDF

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 pdf compression program that works 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 the 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 Internet 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, more precisely the 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.

The PDF format is quite popular. It is used to create files (including documents) in which it is necessary to combine various types of graphics with text. Due to its features, the final file usually weighs quite a lot. In this case, problems may arise when sending it via email. To ensure that the problem of transferring a file through various email (or social) services ceases to exist for you, find out how to reduce the size of a pdf file. Here are the main methods.

Convert PDF files through the program

There are free utilities available on the Internet with the functionality we need. For example, a program called PrimoPDF, which allows you to reduce ready-made PDF files, and with its help you can create new documents of this format. The last function can be useful if the interface of the program or technology you need only works with the PDF format. In this case, PrimoPDF emulates a virtual printer that, instead of printing the page, converts it to PDF. You can also try the CutePDF program, with its help you can also create or reduce a file of this format.

We are very close to the first answer to the question of how to reduce the size of a pdf file. After you have opened the desired file through one of the programs described above, follow the following sequence of actions step by step.


Change PDF file size online

As was already said at the beginning of the article, the method described above is not the only answer to the question of how to reduce the size of a PDF. The fact is that most modern computer programs have web counterparts. For the user, this means that it is not at all necessary to download and install the program - it is enough to use the interface of a certain Internet page. To do this, find a converter in a search engine that works online. Let's take the following services as an example.


Further actions in both programs are identical: wait until the document is processed, and then save it on your computer. If the file is already compressed enough, you won't be able to further optimize its size.

Make a PDF file smaller using the Shrink Size feature

If you have a paid version of Adobe Acrobat installed, answering the question of how to compress a PDF file will not take much time. Simply open the desired file in this program, after hovering your mouse over the “Save As” command, select “Reduced PDF Size” in the submenu that appears (you can also do this procedure through the “Documents” menu). Remember, it only works in the paid version of the program! If you don't have it installed, use other methods.

When the system asks you about the desired compatibility with different versions of the program, select the one you need. It is important to remember that the newer version you choose, the more likely it is that it will not be able to be opened using the older version of Acrobat. However, files compatible with new versions may be smaller.

Now you can save files (the functionality allows you to save several files at the same time).

Resizing with PDF Optimizer

Open the document you want to resize. Using the optimizer, you can achieve more precise control over reduction. If you are not an expert and do not know which settings are optimal for you, choose the default option. It is suitable in most cases. By clearing the file of duplicate fonts (as well as embedded ones), the optimizer will reduce the document size. It is recommended to change the file name before saving, as it is possible that you may not notice that the optimization has negatively affected the print quality. If you follow this advice, you will be left with a base file that can be optimized again with different, better settings.

To save the file, select “Save As” and then “Optimized PDF” from the “File” menu. The optimizer is also launched using the “Advanced” menu.

With the Estimate Space Usage feature, you can see (as a percentage) whether text or graphics are making a file large.

If you are unhappy with the default settings, adjust them. To optimize your document, you can change the transparency, font, or graphic quality.


Preview feature on Macintosh

This method is quite controversial and can lead to negative consequences (significant loss of document quality after processing), so be sure to create a copy of the file before starting work. When you have done this, you need to open the required file through the “View” function. Next, click on the “File” function, then “Export”. You will see a window with options, in it you need to select “Reduce file size” from the Quartz Filter menu. Once you have chosen a location to save the file, save it.

File compression method using basic OS functions

The most popular operating systems allow you to convert documents into zip archives without installing additional software. This method does not significantly reduce the file size and is more suitable for “bulk” compression of files of several sizes. Nevertheless, it may be useful to someone. In addition, other archivers (which need to be downloaded additionally) can compress the file more strongly, but before using them, check with the recipient whether the required software is installed on his computer.

Among the most popular programs, I would like to note the free 7Zip and paid WinRAR (there is a free demo version with a trial period of 40 days). You can equally comfortably achieve the desired result in any of the mentioned archivers.

Resize using Google Drive

Using your Google account, upload the required document to Google Drive, open the file in your browser. Send it to print, but instead of printing, select “Save as PDF”, save the file. A file weighing 50 MB will be reduced by more than one fifth (that is, 10 MB). Quite an impressive result, and without unnecessary steps.

By the way, if you often work with documents and do not have all the programs installed on your computer, the functionality offered by Google may be useful to you in the future. So even if you decide on another way to reduce the size of a PDF document, still take the time to familiarize yourself with the capabilities of Google Drive.

Resize tenfold using Microsoft Word



After opening the file in Adobe Acrobat, save it as a Microsoft Word document. Right-click on the resulting document and use the “Convert to PDF” function. Ready! A very fast method, but to use it you need Acrobat (a paid program from Adobe. If you do not have it installed, unfortunately, this method will not work. In this case, you need to either buy the necessary program, or choose one of the other methods, presented in this article.

Using the PDF Compressor website

Select up to 20 documents (this number of files can be worked with simultaneously through the site’s functionality, if the weight of each of them does not exceed 50 MB) on your computer and drag them into the window (or use the “Upload” button). Wait until the compression process is complete (this may take time if the files are heavy), then save each of them in turn or simultaneously in a zip archive. A very convenient way, the main thing is to make sure that you can unzip documents if you choose the “bulk” file saving function.

We have given you such a large number of ways to reduce the size of a PDF file. Which one seems more convenient is up to you to decide. But let us still give you some advice.

  • If you like one of the methods of web-based file processing, still install one of the desktop programs on your computer. This is in case the Internet is lost while working with a document (this, unfortunately, happens), you can achieve the required results even in the absence of a network. This will help avoid unpleasant situations when you have to postpone work due to external circumstances.
  • The mentioned programs and online services are not the only ones of their kind; they have a sufficient number of analogues (paid and free). If you find yourself comfortable working through a program that we forgot to include in our list, continue working with it. If you want to try something different, use our recommendations.
  • Paid programs, as a rule, have wider functionality and a more varied range of actions. But, if the only task you face is changing the size of a pdf file, there is no need to buy the professional version. Or if the functions you need are available in free programs.

The PDF file size can be large for two reasons:

  • high quality of documents, for example, a high resolution was selected when scanning;
  • a large number of pages in a document, while sometimes only one or a few pages are needed from the entire document.

How to save a single page from a multi-page PDF file

We will use the resource smallpdf.com. Upload your document to the site and select the pages that should be in the final document. The selection can be made using the mouse or simply specifying the required page numbers. Then click the “Split PDF” button and download the file with the result. This way you can remove one page and also leave one page in the document.

You can also simply print the necessary pages from the document on a virtual PDF printer; how to do this is described in detail.

How to reduce the size of a PDF file

Some people try to compress PDF files with archivers (an excellent article about that), but this does not give a serious result, since any images are almost not compressed, so you need to act differently - reduce the quality of the documents.

It is better to use the same site smallpdf.com for compression. Upload your document and click "Compress PDF". In most cases, the size of the original document will be reduced very significantly.

Sometimes the size can decrease several times, while the quality, of course, will deteriorate, but it is completely uncritical.

Read our other articles about working with PDF format and new questions, we will be happy to help you!