Guide
How to Compress a PDF
Compressing a PDF works better when you know why it is large. Photos and many scans shrink by recompressing images. A text export usually does not. Follow this sequence, including what to do when the first pass changes nothing.
Quick answer
Try recompress images on Balanced. If the result says the PDF did not get smaller, either redraw the pages or extract only the pages you need to send.
Do this without uploading the PDF
Compress PDF runs in the browser tab. Confiles does not receive the file, and there is no account to attach it to.
The word upload on the button means choose a file from your device. It does not mean the PDF is sent to a conversion server. Keep the original. The download is a new file, and only when the result is smaller.
Check the file before you compress it
Open the PDF and try to select a sentence. If the text highlights, the page is real text, possibly with pictures. Start with image recompression so that text survives.
If you cannot select the words and the page looks like a photograph of paper, it is a scan. Image recompression may still help. If the size does not move, redraw the pages.
A file that is only a few hundred kilobytes and is mostly text is already small. Compression will not turn it into a tiny file.
Read the result before you download
A successful image pass names the old size and the new size, and it says the embedded images were recompressed and the text stays selectable.
If the message says the PDF did not get smaller, do not keep uploading the same file on the same setting. Change the method, or extract pages.
Redraw pages says the text is no longer selectable. That is expected. Keep the original if you still need search or copy and paste.
When compression is the wrong next step
If the recipient only needs a few pages, extract those pages. A shorter PDF is smaller even when each page cannot be compressed.
If you are building the PDF from phone photos, compress or resize the pictures first, then create the PDF. Shrinking the pictures before they are embedded is more reliable than compressing the finished document.
Split the file only when you need one PDF per page. Splitting does not reduce the total size of the set.
Recommended tool
The quickest way to do this task on this site is to use Compress PDF.
Open Compress PDFSteps
- 1.Select a sentence in the PDF to see whether the text is real or part of a scan.
- 2.Open Compress PDF and run Recompress images on Balanced.
- 3.Compare the sizes in the result. Download only when the new file is smaller.
- 4.If nothing changed, redraw pages for a scan, or extract the pages you actually need to share.
FAQ
Should I use Smaller file on the first try?
No. Balanced shows whether the images can shrink without jumping to the lowest quality. Use Smaller file when Balanced is still over your limit and the pictures can look a bit softer.
Will redrawing pages keep links and form fields?
No. Each page becomes a picture, so links, form fields, and selectable text are gone.
Can I compress several PDFs at once?
This tool handles one PDF at a time. Merge files only after each one is as small as you need, or the combined file grows again.