PDF files have been and still are an extremely popular document format for a long time. Moreover, the ability to edit pdf files is much weaker than other office documents, such as DOC or DOCX in Microsoft Word, ODG in LibreOffice Writer.
Yet PDF is used by a huge number of computer users. Sometimes the size of a pdf file takes several kilobytes, but more often the size can reach several tens of megabytes due to the large number of pages with heavy graphic elements. This may pose certain difficulties when trying to send pdf files via email or uploading them to cloud file storage.
To help you reduce the size of your pdf file, in this article I will review free tools that will help you compress the file and reduce its size. Among such tools I will present online services and individual windows applications. If you have your own options for cool pdf compressors, please recommend them in the comments.
If you're looking for a quick and easy way to make your PDF files smaller without the need for complex manipulation, then Smallpdf is for you. This is an online service that is easy to use, allowing you to simply drag and drop files onto the service and perform compression. This is really handy when you need to be able to periodically compress files from anywhere.
Smallpdf online service
Although the service is quite simple in its functionality, it does have some additional features, such as the ability to import a file from Google Drive or Dropbox and save it back to the cloud as soon as the compression operation is complete. The only downside is that there is a limit of 2 PDF compressions per hour. If you want more, you'll have to fork out $6 a month.
Compression results are mixed. The service is configured to compress a PDF file to 144 dpi without specifying any settings. From here different indicators compression. For example, a 5.72 MB source file can be compressed to 3.17 MB in size without any loss in viewing quality, which is not bad at all. However, it also happens that a file of 96.98 MB in size is compressed to only 87.12 MB. This once again proves that the Smallpdf service uses the simplest algorithms to reduce the size of a pdf file. However, if you just want a smaller file size, then Smallpdf is definitely for you.
iLovePDF
Platform: online
Another online service, but one that offers a little more compression options. iLovePDF allows you to upload a file from the system, Google Drive or Dropbox, and then choose one of three compression levels. The more compression you apply, the worse the quality of the output PDF file will be. But this also means that the output file will be smaller.
Online service iLovePDF
Using the same file as in the first case, 97 MB in size and applying extreme compression, I was able to compress it to 50.29 MB, i.e. cutting it by more than half is an excellent result.
I was able to download any pdf files; They compress quite quickly, and besides, I did not notice any restrictions regarding how many times the service could be used. The only limitation of the service is downloading one file at a time.
Files are automatically deleted from the service after about an hour. This limitation can hardly be called serious. During this time, you can have time to download the resulting pdf file to your computer or send it to the cloud.
If you are looking for an online PDF compressor that compresses PDF files with the highest quality without significant loss of quality, try iLovePDF.
Free PDF Compressor
Platform: Windows, offline
This lightweight compressor does what you need it to do and nothing more. Although it is not updated regularly, it works great on Windows 10 and previous operating systems up to Windows XP. If online tools various reasons are not available to you, then Free PDF Compressor may be useful to you.
Free PDF Compressor
Free PDF Compressor allows you to choose one of five presets to compress a PDF file. Just select the compression setting, select the path to the pdf file where the output file will be saved and click the button Compress.
My 97 MB file was compressed to 50 MB using the first compression setting. The process was faster than online services. Although, perhaps this is due to the installed hardware in the computer.
PDF Compressor
Platform: Windows, offline
If none of the above tools suits you, try PDF Compressor. Judging by the information on the resource provided, the application is guaranteed to work on Windows XP/Vista/7/8. But after checking how it works on Windows 10, I was convinced that this operating system is quite suitable for PDF Compressor.
Unlike competitors, you can compress more than one file at a time, and even more: you can specify a file with a list of PDF files that you want to compress, or specify an entire folder with files.
PDF Compressor
The only caveat to PDF Compressor is that sometimes the application free mode may not be effective in compression. Our 97 MB file lost just over 15 MB, which is not much compared to competitors. But it’s worth changing the compression parameters and a pdf file from 97 MB left only 46 MB - this best result. It’s a pity that all compressor settings are only in the paid version.
Other ways to reduce the size of a pdf file
Compressing a PDF by changing its quality is one way to reduce file size, but it is not the only way. You can delete pages or archive the pdf in ZIP. The 4 methods above will help you choose the most suitable one and reduce PDF files quickly and with minimal loss in quality.
What free tools do you use to achieve this goal?
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 file ov is 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.
Compressing PDF files is not like that complex process, as it might seem at first glance. There are a number of programs with which you can perform these actions easily and quickly. They will be discussed in this article.
Advanced PDF Compressor provides the user with the ability to reduce the size of the required PDF document. Here you can clearly see how much this file has been reduced. Also, thanks to Advanced PDF Compressor, you can convert images into one or more such documents, or group any number of PDF files into one. A significant difference from other similar programs is the ability to create profiles with different settings, which, in turn, simplifies its use by several people.
Free PDF Compressor
Free PDF Compressor is a free software tool that is only capable of reducing the size of a specified PDF document. For these purposes, there are several template settings that can be selected based on the required quality. Thus, the user is able to give a PDF file the quality of a screenshot, an e-book, and also prepare it for color or black and white printing.
FILEminimizer PDF
FILEminimizer PDF is a simple and easy-to-use program that does an excellent job of compressing PDF files. For these purposes, the user is offered four template options. If none of them suits you, you can use the settings and set your level. In addition, it is the only product that provides the ability to export a compressed document directly to for later sending by email.
CutePDF Writer
CutePDF Writer is a free printer driver that is designed to convert any document into PDF format. In addition, the program is capable of compressing PDF files. To do this, go to the advanced printer settings and set the print quality to be lower than that of the original. Thus, the user will receive a PDF document with a significantly smaller size.
The article contains the best software tools with which you can significantly reduce the size of the required PDF document. Unfortunately, none of the programs reviewed have been translated into Russian, but despite this, working with them is very simple and convenient. All you have to do is decide which solution to use, because each has its own unique capabilities.
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 PDF files. If you have Adobe Acrobat (not free), then this is much easier, but we will only use free methods.
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 the compressed PDF file will be saved.
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.
PDF is a convenient format for working with texts that supports many graphic elements. Such data submission method very visual and informative, but many documents in this format are large, which makes them difficult to transmit by email. To facilitate this process, pdf files are compressed, that is, they are reduced in original size.
Compressing a document is quite easy: there are various programs and online services for this. It must be mentioned that pdf is a cross-platform format, thus it can interact with different operating systems(OS) and devices.
Currently, there are many programs that compress pdf files, one of them is - CutePDF.
It allows you to convert data of any format, for example, word and excel to pdf file, as well as reduce the size of the original or converted document, thereby increasing or decreasing its quality. Once the installation of the program is complete, a folder with the product will be created in the system storage, and a shortcut to the virtual printer, that is, the program itself, will appear on the desktop.
In order to use the product, we produce next steps:
- Download the free converter and programs, and then install. Installing a converter is required, as without it the product will not work.
- We open the file in the original format and the corresponding program: for pdf files - Adobe Reader or others, and for doc / docx - MS Word.
- Open the “file” tab and select “print”.
- After opening the print window, select CutePDF Writer from the “printer” pop-up list.
- Go to the “properties” item, to the right of the selection block in the window that appears, click on the “advanced” tab or directly from the main menu (to the right of “properties”) and select the quality, which should be lower than that of the original document.
- Click on the “print” button and select a save location for the compressed file.
Please note that the program automatically performs the conversion, so the output will be a pdf document.
You can compress a PDF document in the Adobe system itself, but you do not need to use free program Reader, but paid Acrobat DC product. To do this:
- Open the necessary pdf data in Acrobat DC.
- We go to the “file” item and click on the line “save as another”, and then click “reduced PDF file”.
- In the window that opens, select which version of the program the file will be compatible with.
- Click on the “Ok” button and wait until the file is reduced, and then save it.
Selecting compatibility with latest version will reduce the size of the document to the maximum, but there is a possibility that you will not be able to open it in earlier programs.
How to compress a pdf file on the Internet?
If you do not want to download and keep unnecessary shortcuts on your computer, then you can compress the PDF on the Internet, which will save time.
It's very simple, just follow these steps:
- We go to the Internet and select the appropriate tool, for example, Smallpdf.
- Go to the website and download data from your computer or cloud storage Dropbox and Google Drive.
- We save the document to your computer or any digital storage.
- Smallpdf differs from others in that there is no limit on the size and number of files available for download.
One more useful resource is pdf2go.
Service pdf2go
PDF2go is a site that allows you to convert and compress documents created in MS Word, and perform the reverse conversion. These operations are performed as follows:
- Let's switch to the pdf2go service.
- In the menu on the left, select “convert PDF” and download the file, and then save it.
- Open the “compress PDF” tab, upload the converted document and wait for the process to complete. The file is reduced automatically.
- We save the result in the right place.
The service also provides a number of unique features:
- changing the order, as well as removing unnecessary and extra pages within the document;
- combining two PDF files or separating them;
- protection of documents of unauthorized actions (NSD).
Adobe Acrobat DC
This program is designed to work with documents located in cloud storage systems, for example, Google Drive. To reduce the document size, do the following:
- Go to Google Drive and log in.
- Double-click the mouse to open the PDF document and click on the printer icon.
- In the print window that opens, click on the drop-down list to the right of the “name” column and select Adobe PDF.
- Click on the “properties” button, and then select the “Paper and Print Quality” tab.
- In the window, click on the “advanced” button, which is located at the bottom of the window.
- Then in the window that opens, select the print quality. To confirm the selection, click “ok”.
- Save the file.
How to reduce the size of a PDF document in Mac OS X?
PDF documents created by Mac OS X are much larger than those typed in Adobe Acrobat, but have the same content. For Mac OS X users If you want to compress the created PDF file, there are many applications in the App Store, but the simplest are:
- TextEdit;
- Program "view/preview".
To compress a PDF document using the TextEdit application, perform the following actions:
- Download the application and open it.
- In the menu, select “file” and then “print”.
- Click on the PDF button located on the left bottom corner.
- After opening the list, select the line “compress PDF”.
- Save and use the document.
The operation to reduce a PDF document in the “view” program is performed as follows:
- Open the program and load data into the application through the main menu item “file/file”.
- Click on file again and select the line “export”.
- In the “format” drop-down list, select the DPF line.
- Open the list next to the “filter/Quartz filter” column, and then select “reduce file size”.
- We decide on the folder to save the compression result; to do this, click on the “where” pop-up list.
- Save by clicking on the “save” button.
Video
From the video you will learn how to compress a PDF file online without installation additional programs.
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