How to compress a pdf file. How to Compress a PDF File: Tips and Tricks

The question of reducing the file size in pdf format is often asked. active user computer. This is due to the large weight of the scanned images. Because of this, the document takes up hundreds of megabytes on disk. Let's look at the problem in more detail.

Using Adobe Reader

You can reduce the document size using free version programs Adobe Acrobat Reader. The compression function is only available at checkout paid subscription. The utility is installed without any problems, so let’s get straight to work.

From home menu go to the “File” tab. Click on “Open” and select the document. IN in this example We will use a textbook weighing 69.9 MB. It consists entirely of scanned pages of the printed publication. You can also open a document by clicking on it in file manager. Go to the menu shown in the screenshot.

Leave the default values in the called window. Select a location to save the compressed pdf. The example file now weighs 33.3 MB. The compression took about two minutes. The quality of the images has deteriorated. This may not be noticeable on a website or computer. However, after printing, the illustrations will be fuzzy or completely blurry. Disadvantage of this method: no flexible settings for the advanced user.

If installation is required additional parameters, then the optimizer will help. Open the document we need. Click on the button shown in the illustration below.

There are few settings, but they look difficult to master. Let's define the main ones. They are located in the left menu “Images”. Downsampling determines the resolution of images. To the right of the parameter you can set ppi (pixels per inch). Highly not recommended for printing. It is recommended when placing illustrations on the site. Below you can set the compression type. ZIP is used for simple images with a predominance of one color. JPEG - for any images. Its improved version is JPEG2000.

After setting, select a location to save the file. Let's compare the quality of the optimized document and the original. Left - source file, on the right - compressed.

Changes in quality are invisible even when the image is enlarged three times.

Using third party software

For the role free analogue PDF Compressor will do.

The intuitive interface and light weight of the program will appeal to any user. In the upper left part of the window, you must click the “Add Files” button to open the document. You can also drag the file directly into the program's work area.

To optimize, click “Start Compression”. The button is located at the top center. First you need to set the compression parameters by clicking the “Compression Settings” button.

After opening the settings menu, you will be notified about purchasing a license. She is needed for fine tuning compression. Click “Continue” and check the boxes in the “Compression” and “Optimization” tabs. Close the window and click “Start Compression”.

During the compression process, the weight of the example textbook decreased from 69.9 MB to 56.9 MB. Let's compare the quality. On the left is the document before optimization, on the right is after.

The result is worse than Adobe Acrobat Reader. Now in compressed file distortion is noticeable. The advantage of the program is that you can compress the file absolutely free. As a result - worse quality and larger size. The utility logo is also added to the first page.

Using WinRAR

WinRAR - free program with the option to purchase a license. Created to place files in an archive and then compress them. The quality does not change. The original can be retrieved from the archive at any time.

IN work area utilities shown file system your computer. Select the folder to create the archive. Click on “Add”. The button is on the left top corner. Here is the archive settings menu.

We are interested in the “Compression method” drop-down list in the “General” tab.

Their names speak for themselves. High-speed, less time-consuming, also has a low compression ratio. Maximum has the opposite characteristics.

Documents are added from the “Files” tab.

The file from the example was compressed in a few seconds. The file weight has changed from 69.9 MB to 68.3 MB. Conclusion: WinRAR does not work well with pdf files. The advantage of the program is that the original is preserved unchanged.

Using the online service ILovePdf

A convenient solution is web services for working with pdf files. ILovePdf can not only edit the contents of a file, but also reduce its size.

We start by clicking the big red “Select PDF files” button. An explorer will open where we specify the path to the pdf document.

After selecting it below, the compression settings will appear. They don't need any comments. Let's leave the recommended parameters. At the very bottom there is a “Compress PDF” button. Let's click on it.

After the compression process we get to new page and press the big red button again.

In the screenshot above we were also informed about changes in document weight. Instead of 69.9 MB, the textbook now weighs 55.9 MB. The result is similar to the result PDF applications Compressor. The difference is that you don’t need to download or install anything. Let's compare the quality. On the left is the optimized document, on the right is the original.

A slight loss of quality is noticeable; it does not affect the perception of information.

Using the SmallPdf online service

This service allows you to download files from Google Drive or DropBox. From a computer, documents are sent through Explorer or by dragging a file into a browser window.

Click on the big red button. To reduce the file size in pdf format, you don't need to click anything. It happens immediately after loading. Then download the document by clicking on the “Download file” button.

From the service, the document can be sent to Google Drive or DropBox (adjacent buttons). The illustration shows the volume of the compressed document. The file size has changed from 69.9 MB to 59.2 MB. Slightly more than the previous service. Let's check the quality. Left - compressed pdf, on the right is the original.

SmallPdf was able to compress the file with virtually no loss of quality. The downside of the service is the lack of compression settings.

To conclude, archivers do not work well with PDF documents, and best method compression is online services And standard tool Adobe.

Now many computers already have hard drives ranging in size from hundreds of gigabytes to several terabytes. But still, every megabyte remains valuable, especially when it comes to fast loading to other computers or the Internet. Therefore, it is often necessary to reduce the size of files to make them more compact.

There are many ways to compress a PDF file to the right size to then use it for any purpose, for example, for transmission over email in a matter of moments. All methods have their pros and cons. Some weight loss options are free, while others cost a fee. We will look at the most popular of them.

Method 1: Cute PDF Converter

Cute PDF program will replace virtual printer and allows you to compress any PDF documents. To reduce weight, you just need to configure everything correctly.

It is worth remembering that a decrease in quality entails file compression, but if the document contained any images or diagrams, they may become unreadable under certain conditions.

Method 2: PDF Compressor

More recently PDF program Compressor was just gaining momentum and was not so popular. But then too suddenly she gained a lot negative reviews on the Internet, and many users did not download it precisely because of them. There is only one reason for this - watermark in the free version, but if this is not critical, then you can download it.

The program compressed a file with an initial size of just over 100 kilobytes to 75 kilobytes.

Method 3: Save PDF at a smaller size using Adobe Reader Pro DC

Program Adobe Reader Pro is paid, but works great to reduce the size of any PDF document.

The method is very fast and quite often compresses the file by almost 30-40 percent.

Method 4: Optimized file in Adobe Reader

For this method, you will again need the program. Here you will have to tinker a little with the settings (if you want), or you can just leave everything as the program itself suggests.

Method 5: Microsoft Word

This method may seem clumsy and incomprehensible to some, but it is quite convenient and fast. So, first you need a program that can save a PDF document in text format(you can search for it among the Adobe line, for example, Adobe Reader or find analogues) and Microsoft Word.

That's it in three simple steps you can reduce the size of a PDF file by one and a half to two times. This happens due to the fact that DOC document saved in PDF with the weakest settings, which is equivalent to compression through a converter.

Method 6: Archiver

Most the usual way compress any document, including a PDF file, using an archiver. For work it is better to use 7-Zip or WinRAR. The first option is distributed free of charge, but the second program expires trial period asks to renew the license (although you can work without it).

The PDF file is now compressed and can be used for its intended purpose. Sending it by mail will now be much faster, since you won’t have to wait long for the document to be attached to the letter, everything will happen instantly.

We have considered the most best programs and ways to compress a PDF file. Write in the comments which method was the easiest and fastest for you to compress the file, or suggest your own convenient options.

Good day!

PDF files seem to be good for everyone, but they have one cornerstone... The fact is that the size of some PDF files is far from “ideal”; often, when they weigh even 100÷500 MB, sometimes it reaches 1 GB! Moreover, such a file size is not always justified: i.e. it doesn't have any very high-precision graphics that take up so much space.

Of course, when you are dealing with such a size, there are difficulties in transferring it to other PCs, tablets, phones (for example, your phone simply may not have enough memory for dozens of similar files!) .

In such cases, you can “slightly” reduce PDF size by compressing it. By the way, you can perform compression in different ways. Actually, this is what today's article will be about...

By the way! If you remove some pages from a PDF document, you can reduce its size. If this option suits you, then I recommend this note:

Method No. 1: archiving

Perhaps the simplest and most obvious is to add PDF files to the archive. Thus, sometimes it is possible to significantly reduce the size they occupy. In addition, it is much faster and more convenient to copy one archive file from one PC to another (rather than a dozen, or even a hundred PDF documents) .

Addition! The best free archivers for Windows -

To send a file to the archive, just 1-2 mouse clicks are enough. For example, in such a popular archiver as 7-Zip (you can also find it in the link above) : just click right click mouse over the file and select in the menu that appears "Add to archive..." . See screenshot below.

In fact, my file was compressed almost 3 times! Example below.

Advantages of the method:

after unpacking the archive, the PDF file does not lose its quality;
formats ZIP archives can open most modern ones;
one archive file (with hundreds of PDFs inside) is copied much faster than doing the same with the same files without adding them to the archive.

Disadvantages of this method:

to open a file, you need to extract it from the archive (and not all PCs/phones/tablets may have the required archiver installed);
Not all files can be compressed equally well: one can be compressed very decently, another by 0.5%...
When choosing some archive formats, it may take considerable time to pack the files.

Method number 2: compression using quality reduction (DPI)

DPI is the number of dots per inch. The more dots per inch, the higher the quality of the displayed image (and the larger the file weighs). Naturally, when resaving a PDF file, you can specify a new number of dots per inch (DPI) and thereby reduce the file size (along with its quality).

However, I’ll immediately note that not always when the DPI is reduced, the picture quality deteriorates (in many cases you won’t notice the difference by eye!).

You can do a similar procedure in many programs : Adobe Acrobat (not to be confused with Adobe Reader), Fine Reader, Cute PDF Writer, Libre Office, etc. Below I will give a couple of free examples...

1) Libre Office ()

A good and free office suite (I have previously recommended it as an alternative to MS Office). It has the DRAW program in its arsenal, which can easily and easily make changes to PDF (including changing DPI). Let's take a closer look...

To launch DRAW - launch Libre Office, and select "DRAW Drawing" from the menu.

A window will open with many options for saving. Here you can change the compression quality, resolution (DPI) and other parameters. In general, I have highlighted the most necessary things in the screenshot below.

After setting the parameters, click the export button to create a new file.

Fast, simple and easy! Isn't it?

2) CutePDF Writer ()

This free program, after installation, "creates" a separate special line when printing a document (with the necessary properties for compression)...

Those. install it, then open some PDF file, say, in Adobe Reader (can be done in any other program for PDF reader) and press “Print” (combination Ctrl+P).

Then select the line " CutePDF Writer", and open its "Properties".

Properties of CutePDF Writer

Then you need to open the print quality tab and go to “Advanced”.

Here you can set the print quality in DPI (and other parameters).

NOTE.

By the way, you need to install both files, which are available on the program’s official website!

Advantages of the method:

we do not lose compatibility (the file remains the same PDF);
the operation goes quite quickly;
The DPI change operation can be carried out by dozens of different programs.

Disadvantages of this method:

in some cases the quality drops significantly (for example, if you are dealing with schemes and high-quality portfolios, most likely this option won't fit).

Method number 3: converting to DjVU format

The DjVU format, on average, provides more strong compression than PDF. And we must admit that DjVU is one of the few formats that really competes with it.

To convert from PDF to DjVU, in my opinion, it is most preferable to use one small utility - PdfToDjvuGUI .

PdfToDjvuGUI

Of. website: http://www.trustfm.net/software/utilities/PdfToDjvuGUI.php

Note: Please note that the utility sometimes incorrectly reads the “names” of files written in Russian.

PDF to DjVU - a small utility

It’s very easy to use: just add required file(Add PDF), set the settings (you don’t have to touch anything) and press the button "Generate DjVU". A “black” window should appear for a while, after which the program will inform you that the file has been re-converted.

By the way, DjVU file the program will place it in the same folder where the original PDF was located. As an example, see the screenshot below. Without changing the quality (and the program allows you to change the DPI), we managed to reduce the space occupied by the file by almost 2 times!

Below are a few more online services that can perform a similar conversion operation.

Advantages of the method:

maximum file compression (i.e. saving disk space!);
the file can be immediately opened in the reader, just as you do with PDF (i.e. it is not an archive).

Disadvantages of this method:

Large files require significant conversion time;
quality may be “lost” during conversion (so check important graphs manually to see how they were compressed);
The DjVU format supports fewer programs than PDF.

Method #4: Using Online Tools

An excellent site for quick compression and conversion from one format to another. Files up to 20-30 MB in size are processed literally within 10-15 seconds! The service does not affect document markup, links, menus, etc. elements. Compression occurs due to graphics (that is, the PDI parameter).

Another universal service for quick PDF conversion in DjVU, or for PDF compression without changing the format. The result can not only be downloaded to your PC, but also immediately sent to cloud drive: Google Drive, Dropbox...

The service offers 3 compression levels: minimal, normal and extreme. It works very quickly, processes files up to 3-040 MB in 5-10 seconds. (By at least, this happened with my dozen test files) .

The files have been compressed // Service "I love DPF"

I will also note that on this service you can split a PDF file into several parts, convert it to other formats, combine several PDFs, etc. In general, it’s quite a multifunctional service, I recommend you check it out!

Advantages:

no need to install any programs on your computer;
services can be used even from mobile devices;
As a rule, compression of small files on services is faster.

Flaws:

confidentiality (I think not everyone will decide to send some of their documents to an unfamiliar service);
the need to upload/download files to the service (if the Internet is not very fast and there are a lot of files, this will turn into a headache).

Additions on the topic are welcome...

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 graphics 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. PDF compression files is a process that requires the use of special software. To reduce the file size you can use the following programs: Adobe Acrobat, by using standard compression on Windows. 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 the smallest 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.

Let's talk about how to compress a PDF file, because with all the advantages and undeniable convenience of this format, it is not easy to call it space-saving.

A little theory

The popularity of PDF files is explained by the ability to quickly create them, as well as long-term storage. Of particular relevance this format acquires if issue is expected printing products, as well as saving copies of scanned documents. Most often, the question of how to compress a PDF file as much as possible appears among users when they notice that the size of the pair identical documents significantly different. There are several reasons for this: compression method, font and pictures. Files large size may simply not fit on a flash drive or in email. Once you figure out how to compress the size of a PDF file, you can conveniently use it, view it, send it by mail, and even free up more space on your hard drive.

Preliminary stage

PDF provides widespread use color graphics, which allows you to colorfully design various documents. They can’t even accept such a volume quality services, specializing in email. Document being created should initially be saved in PDF format, this will allow you to reduce its output size to a colossal extent, while you will receive a file that will not lose its level of quality. Other formats, including JPEG, PNG and TIF, require significant amounts of space to store scanned copies of documents on your hard drive. In addition, compressed materials are transmitted to the recipient much faster, and they can be easily combined into in a single package documents. We emphasize that it is undesirable to compress encrypted information, since during its decompression, as a rule, disclosure of information occurs. This is unintentional, but quite likely.

Compression methods

The first answer to the question of how to compress a PDF file will be given to us by 7-Zip. In this case, the compression procedure occurs directly in Windows. If you right-click, the option to “Send” to a Zip folder appears. As a result, the size of the document will be significantly reduced, but the format will also become different.

Adobe Acrobat can also help us figure this out. Open the file you are interested in specified program. Find in it the function of saving a PDF file and reducing its size. All necessary parameters can be pre-set in the settings of this software solution. For example, in the output parameters you need to specify the name of the data and the address of the corresponding folder. However, you can also reduce the data size using the PDF optimizer available in Acrobat. In its settings, you can remove everything unnecessary from files, for example, you can exclude built-in fonts. Once the document is open, select "Save" and use the PDF file optimization feature. In this case, the settings can be saved as default or you can set your own. So we figured out how to compress a PDF file.