This wikiHow teaches you how to reduce the size of a PDF file. By compressing PDF files, they are smaller in size so they don't take up much storage space and the files can be more easily shared with others. Adobe Acrobat DC Pro features a built-in compressor, but you'll need to subscribe to the paid service (or try a free trial period!). You can also take advantage of a free online PDF compressor service like HiPDF or, if you have a Mac, you can use Preview to compress PDF files.
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Method 1 of 3: Using Preview on a Mac
Step 1. Run Preview
This program is Apple's built-in image reviewer that's included automatically in almost all versions of MacOS. Open the program by double-clicking its blue icon and it looks like two screenshots stacked on the “Applications” folder in the Finder window.
Alternatively, right-click the PDF file and select “ Open with… " Click " Preview.app ” on the application list.
Step 2. Open the PDF document via Preview
Locate the PDF file on your computer and double-click the file icon to open it in Preview (according to your computer's default settings). You can also follow these steps to open a PDF document in Preview:
- Choose " File ” in the menu bar at the top of the screen.
- Choose " Open… ” from the drop-down menu that opens.
- Select the PDF document via the dialog box that appears.
- Choose " Open ”.
Step 3. Select Files
This option appears in the menu bar at the top of the screen. Once the option is selected, a drop-down menu will appear.
Step 4. Select Export…
You'll find this option in the middle of the drop-down menu. Once the option is selected, a dialog box will be displayed.
Step 5. Enter a name for the PDF document (optional)
If you want to choose a new name for the compressed PDF document, enter a name in the field next to "Export as".
Step 6. Use "PDF" as the document format
Click the drop-down menu next to "Format" to select the "PDF" format.
Step 7. Select the “Reduce File Size” option next to the “Quartz Filter” text
Open the drop-down menu next to "Quartz Filter" and select "Reduce File Size".
Step 8. Determine the location to save the document
Open the drop-down menu next to " Where: " to specify the directory where the document will be saved. By default, the document will be saved to the “Desktop” folder.
Step 9. Select Save
The compressed PDF file will be saved to your computer afterwards.
Method 2 of 3: Using HiPDF PDF Compressor
Step 1. Visit https://www.hipdf.com/compress-pdf via a web browser
This address will take you to the website of the online PDF compressor HiPDF, a free tool that allows you to convert PDF files separately.
You can use HiPDF on Windows, Mac, Linux, iOS, Android platforms, and more
Step 2. Click Choose File
It's a blue button at the bottom of the page.
Step 3. Determine the compression level of the file
Click one of the three dots in the center of the screen to specify the compression level for the document.
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” High:
” This option compresses the file maximally to produce a document with the smallest size, but with lower quality.
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” Medium:
” This option applies moderate compression. The resulting document has a larger size, but with better quality.
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” Low:
This option applies low-level compression. The file size is only reduced by a small amount, but you can get the best quality.
Step 4. Click the Compress button
This blue button appears at the bottom of the page. The PDF document will be processed.
Step 5. Click the Download button
It's a blue button at the bottom of the screen. The compressed PDF document will be downloaded.
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If the document has many images, the compression effect can be seen more clearly. On the other hand, if the document contains only text, the compression effect will not be visible.
PDF compressor step3
Method 3 of 3: Using Adobe Acrobat Pro DC
Step 1. Run Adobe Acrobat Pro DC or Adobe Acrobat Reader DC on the computer
You must have an Adobe Acrobat Pro DC subscription in order to compress documents. However, you can also try the free seven-day trial service of Adobe Acrobat Reader DC. Both apps have icons that look like large cursive “A”s.
Adobe Acrobat Reader can be downloaded for free from
Step 2. Open the PDF document
Following are the steps to open PDF file from Adobe Acrobat Pro DC directly.
- Select menu " File ”.
- Click " Open ”.
- Locate the PDF document on your computer and click the file icon to select it.
- Choose " Open ”.
Step 3. Select Files
You can see this option in the menu bar at the top of the program window. A drop-down menu will open afterwards.
Step 4. Select Compress PDF
You can see this option in the middle row of the “File” menu.
- If you are using Adobe Acrobat Reader DC, select " Compress Now " Next, click " Try Now ” and fill out the form that appears to try out a seven-day free trial of Adobe Acrobat Pro DC.
- Alternatively, click the tab “ Tools " and select " Optimize PDF " After that, select " Compress PDF ” at the top of the screen.
Step 5. Select Choose a different folder
After that, you can select the folder to save the compressed PDF document.
Alternatively, click one of the most recently used storage directories in the box or select “ Document Cloud ” to save it to the Adobe Cloud service.
Step 6. Specify the PDF document storage folder
Find the directory where the compressed PDF document is stored in the file browsing window. Next, select a folder by clicking on it.
Step 7. Type a name for the document (optional)
To save a file with a different name, type the desired name in the text field next to " File name ".
Step 8. Select Save
The document will be compressed and the compressed result will be saved to the selected directory.
