How to compress PDF files

You have to send a PDF file by email to your colleague but every time you try to do this, the sending of the email massage seems to take too long or doesn’t even get sent? Well, most likely it is because the attachment weighs too much! Given the situation, why not take a few minutes of free time and concentrate on reading this tutorial of mine entirely dedicated to how to make PDF files? I’m sure it will come in very handy.

In the following lines I will in fact indicate to you those that in my opinion represent the best online programs and services currently on the market thanks to which it is possible to compress PDF files and, consequently, to lighten their overall weight in such a way as to be able to share them more easily. All without altering the content! Don’t you think it’s fantastic?

So if you are actually interested in the matter, I would say not to waste any more precious time, to ban the chatter and start immediately to get busy. I am sure that in the end you will be able to tell yourself more than satisfied with the discoveries made and that in case of need you will also be ready and happy to provide all the necessary explanations to your friends eager to receive a similar tip.

Compress PDF files on Windows

If you use a PC with Windows installed and you need to compress PDF files going to act on multiple elements at the same time, I suggest you try  FileOptimizer . It is a free and open source program capable of optimizing various types of files by choosing from various compression profiles. It is also portable, which means that it does not need installations in order to function.

To download FileOptimizer on your PC, connect to the SourceForge page that hosts the application via the link I gave you a moment ago and first click on the folder at the top of the list (i.e. the one relating to the most recent version of the program , e.g.  7.80.1298 ) and then on the FileOptimizerFull.zip entry.

When the download is complete, open the ZIP archive that contains FileOptimizer, extract the contents to any folder and start the FileOptimizer64.exe executable if you are using a 64-bit operating system or the FileOptimizer32.exe executable   if you are using a 32-bit one .

Then drag the PDF files to be compressed into the software window and click on the Optimize all files button   to start optimization. Once this is done, the original files will be automatically overwritten with the compressed ones, therefore I suggest you make a backup copy before using the program.

Also note that, by default, FileOptimizer uses a resolution of 150 dpi to generate PDFs. To use a different compression profile, you have to click on the Options button  , then you have to select the PDF tab   and you have to choose one of the available resolutions in the Profile drop-down menu.

Compress PDF files on macOS

Do you use a Mac? In this case you can compress PDF files using the ShrinkIt application  . It is a small but very useful app that, in fact, allows you to compress PDF files with a simple drag and drop. Using this application is very simple, perhaps too much! Now I’ll explain everything.

To be able to compress PDF files on Mac with ShrinkIt, the first step you need to take is to connect to the application’s web page via the link I provided you with. Once this is done, click the Download ShrinkIt button   to download the program to your computer.

Then wait for the application download procedure to start and complete, then drag the software icon  to the macOS Applications folder  and double-click the app icon to start it immediately.

Once the application window is displayed on the desktop, drag the PDF on which you intend to go to act in the ShrinkIt window and wait a few moments for the software to process the document. ShrinkIt will therefore replace the original document with its compressed version and will create a safety copy (in a non-optimized version) in the same folder.

Compress PDF files online

iLovePDF

Would you like to understand how to compress PDF files but you don’t want or can’t install new programs on your computer? Then I can not help but advise you to contact  iLovePDF . It is in fact an online solution that not only allows you to reduce the size of PDFs but, in order not to miss anything, also allows you to convert various types of files, rotate document pages, merge them, divide them and much more.

The basic version of the service, which is totally free, does not require registration and allows you to process only one file at a time. Its upload limit is a whopping 200MB. I would also like to clarify how this service protects the privacy of users by automatically deleting the files that are uploaded to its servers after a few hours from the upload.

To use it, connect to the site using the link I gave you a few lines above and drag the document on which you intend to go to act in the browser window. If dragging does not work, select the document “manually” by clicking on the Select PDF file button  .

Wait for the file to be uploaded (the duration of the process depends on the weight of the file and the speed of the Internet connection in use) and select the level of compression to apply to it. Depending on what your needs are, you can choose from the following options:

• Recommended compression– Maximizes the size of the PDF without negatively affecting its visual quality;
• Maximum compression– Allows you to compress PDFs to the maximum at the expense of quality (so you will get “very light” PDFs with grainy images);
• Less Compression– Puts quality first but generates quite “heavy” documents.

After selecting one of the three aforementioned options, click on the Compress PDF button   and wait for the PDF to be processed and then automatically downloaded to your computer in its included version. If you have not made any changes to the default settings of your web browser you will find the compressed PDF in your computer’s Downloads folder .

Online2PDF

As an alternative to iLovePDF, you can turn to Online2PDF  to compress PDF files. It is in fact another excellent Web service that allows you to edit and convert PDF files in various ways and which, of course, allows you to reduce the overall weight in a few clicks. With this service you can upload up to 20 files for a total weight of 100 MB. 

To compress PDF files with Online2PDF, the first thing you need to do is to connect to the main page of the service using the link I just provided. Then, drag the documents to be compressed on the Select files button   or click on it and select the documents on your computer. Then expand the drop-down menu  Mode  and, depending on what your needs are, select the item  Create a new PDF file for each page  or  Standard conversion .

Next, click on the Compression tab   located at the bottom left and set your preferences regarding image quality, resolution of images in compressed documents and color mode of the latter. Clearly, the lower the quality / resolution of the images, the lighter the PDF file will be returned to you.

Once you have adjusted your preferences, click the Convert button   and wait for your files to be uploaded online and compressed (the duration of the process depends on the weight of the file and the speed of the Internet connection in use). At the end of the procedure, you will get a ZIP archive containing your PDFs in a compressed version. Again, if you haven’t made any changes to the default settings of your web browser you will find the compressed PDF in  your computer’s Downloads folder.

PDF Compressor

Another tool that I think you should seriously consider if you are looking for a way to compress PDF files online is PDF Compressor . It is a free and very simple to use Web service that, as easily understood by the name itself, allows you to compress PDF files directly from the Web browser. It has no limits to tighten you in terms of maximum weight of the documents on which to act and allows you to intervene on a maximum of 2nd file at a time.

To use it, connect to the official website of the service via the link I indicated earlier, then click on the Upload file button and select the PDF files to be compressed on your computer. Alternatively, drag them directly into the browser window, in the box that says Drag your files here. 

Then wait for the upload to be started and completed (the duration of the process depends on the weight of the file and the speed of the Internet connection in use). For each uploaded file you will then be shown, in correspondence with its preview, the percentage of compression that has been applied to the file.

To download the compressed PDF files, click on the Download button  that you find next to each preview or press the Download all button located at the bottom. If you have selected multiple PDF files, a folder containing all documents with reduced weight will be downloaded to your computer. If you have not made any changes to the default settings of your web browser you will find the compressed PDF in  your computer’s Downloads folder.