This article explains how to reduce the size of a PDF file using a PC or Mac. If you want to use a web service, you can try SmallPDF or the tool made available directly by Adobe on the official website. You can also achieve the same result using Preview on Mac or the Adobe Acrobat Pro program.
Steps
Method 1 of 3: Smallpdf.com
Step 1. Visit the URL https://smallpdf.com/it using your computer browser
If you need to reduce the size of a PDF file, you can do it in minutes using the free online service on the Smallpdf website.
Step 2. Click the red Compress PDF icon
It is located in the central right part of the page.
Step 3. Click the Choose File button
It is displayed in the center of the page.
Step 4. Select the PDF file you want to compress and click the Open button
The file will be uploaded to the Smallpdf site servers.
Step 5. Select a compression option
The option Basic compression it is free and allows you to reduce the file size by about 40%. If you need to use higher compression, you can choose the option High compression which allows you to reduce the file size by about 75% (while maintaining a good level of quality).
- The "High Compression" option is not free. In order to use it, you need to subscribe to the Pro service and you will need to create a specific account.
- The "Basic Compression" option can reduce the size of a PDF file without losing much in quality, so in most cases it should be enough.
Step 6. Click on the red Choose an option button
It is located below the two compression functions. At the end of the file compression process, the download option will be displayed in a panel located on the right of the page.
Step 7. Click on the blue Download button
It is located in the upper right corner of the page. The compressed PDF file will be downloaded to your computer.
For the download to start, you may need to click on the button Save or Download.
Method 2 of 3: Adobe Acrobat Pro
Step 1. Open the PDF file using Adobe Acrobat Pro
If you want to reduce the size of a PDF file without sacrificing image quality, you can use Adobe Acrobat Pro. If you have Acrobat Pro, start it, click on the menu File, select the item You open, choose the PDF file to compress and click on the button You open.
If you don't have the paid version of Adobe Acrobat Pro, visit this URL https://www.adobe.com/it/acrobat/online/compress-pdf.html using your computer browser. Now drag the PDF file into the box Compress PDF page or click on the button Select a file to be able to select a file stored on your computer. The chosen file will be automatically compressed. At the end of this phase, you can download it to your computer by clicking on the button Download.
Step 2. Click on the File menu visible on the bar located at the top of the program window
Step 3. Click the Reduce File Size option or Compress PDF.
The item displayed in the menu varies depending on the version of Acrobat you are using.
Step 4. Select the folder where you want to store the compressed file
If you wish, you can also give the PDF a new name.
Step 5. Click the Save button
The compressed PDF will be stored in the specified folder on your computer.
Method 3 of 3: Preview on Mac
Step 1. Open the PDF file using Preview
Double-click the file icon. If the file is opened using an app other than the one indicated, close the window that appeared, click on the PDF icon with the right mouse button, choose the option Open with and select the item Preview.
Step 2. Click on the File menu
It is one of the items listed on the bar visible at the top of the screen.
Step 3. Click on the Export menu option
Make sure you choose the item Export and not Export as PDF.
Step 4. Click on the "Format" menu and choose the PDF option
If the indicated item is already selected, you can skip this step.
Step 5. Click on the "Quartz Filter" drop-down menu and choose the Reduce File Size option
This will reduce the file size.
- In this case, reducing the file size on disk will also reduce the quality of the PDF, especially if it contains images.
- If you want to keep the original PDF version, you can save the compressed version to disk using a new name. For example, you can simply add the "compressed" suffix before the ".pdf" extension within the filename displayed at the top of the dialog.
Step 6. Select the folder where you want to store the new PDF
Step 7. Click the Save button
The compressed version of the PDF file in question will be stored in the specified folder on your computer.
