Two Methods to Downsize PDF

Elise Williams

2020-12-26 15:21:32 • Filed to: How-To • Proven solutions

There are several situations in which you need to downsize PDF documents. In most cases, it's either because you need to send it to someone via email (which has attachment size limits) or upload it to the web (large pages load slower), but you can also downsize PDF to save space on your storage device or computer's internal memory. To downsize a PDF file, you need one of two things: a downloadable application or an online PDF compression service. Either way, downsizing a PDF file size requires the program to remove all unwanted extra elements and reduce the resolution of large images. Here, we show you two fantastic tools for this purpose.

How to Downsize PDF File Size

PDFelement is an installable PDF editor with robust functions, one of which is the ability to downsize PDF documents and optimize the files' sizes for various purposes, such as uploading to a web server for online access, printing to hard copy, archiving, emailing, and so on. Let's look at how to downsize PDF:

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Step 1. Open the PDF for Downsizing

Open the PDF file to be downsized using the "Open files" button in the main interface, as shown in the screenshot below.

Note: PDFelement offers several ways to open a file. You can also drag the file from Explorer or Finder into the PDFelement icon when closed, or into the software window when open. You can also use the "File" menu at the top of the software window to open the file.

Step 2. Downsize PDF

The next step is to simply downsize the PDF file. To do this, go to "Tool" > "Optimize PDF". This will open a new window with downsizing options, as shown below. You'll be able to see a slider to control output quality and size. Choose the right downsizing quality and hit the "Apply" button at the bottom.

The job is done. You can now go to the "File" > "Properties" page, and check your output file size to confirm that your PDF has been downsized.

PDFelement comes with a powerful PDF compression engine that will optimize your files for any purpose. But that's not all it does. This PDF editor also sports some heavy artillery when it comes to document management. Here's a quick look at some of its key features.

Create PDFs from hundreds of different file types, including text files, images, spreadsheets, slide presentations, HTML, EPUB, and a range of other formats.
Edit PDFs like a professional with a comprehensive array of editing tools to add, remove, replace, resize, and reposition all types of content: text, images, headers, footers, watermarks, annotations, embedded media, hyperlinks, etc.
Convert PDFs into several other file types like images, MS Office formats, web pages, and more.
Annotate PDFs with a full range of markup tools, including highlighting, text boxes, callouts, stickers, stamps, shapes, etc.
Protect PDF documents with enterprise-grade security features such as encryption, action restrictions, watermarking, redaction, etc.
Fill, convert, and sign PDF forms with robust features like form field recognition, conversion to interactive PDFs, etc. Extract form data with just one click, including bulk files and large documents.
Perform OCR and use batch processes to handle big document workflows. Convert scanned files into editable content in PDF format.

Any task that needs to be carried out on a PDF file is possible with PDFelement. In addition, the conversion tools let you manage any and all document workflow requirements. But if you only need to downsize PDFs and aren't keen on installing any software on your computer, you can use HiPDF which is a full suite of online PDF tools.

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How to Downsize PDF Online for Free

HiPDF offers a range of features, including the ability to downsize PDF online. To optimize your PDF file for a particular purpose, all you need to do is follow the steps described below:

1. Go to the "Compress PDF" page on the HiPDF website.
2. Click "Choose File" and import the PDF in question into the web-based program.
3. Hit the "Compress" button after using the slider to select output quality.
4. Once the file has been downsized, you'll see the results of the compression and a "Download" button right under it; click the button to export your file to the computer or click one of the icons below it to directly upload it to a cloud service like Box or Dropbox.

Using the downloadable PDFelement, you can downsize PDF documents offline, and with HiPDF, you can do the PDF downsize task online for free. Both versions are equally capable, so it's only a matter of preference and convenience. In addition, if you're not using a secure Internet connection and you have to downsize a PDF containing confidential information, PDFelement is the better option.

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