Programs for compressing pdf documents. Using Adobe Acrobat and Microsoft Word

Surely it is 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 given file weighs a lot because of the many color, bulky and bright graphics and so on. Therefore, today we will consider the question: “how to reduce the size of a pdf file”, since most people have questions about this very reason. Some generally prefer to use other programs because of this problem. Compressing PDF 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 Windows compression. You can download Adobe Acrobat 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 we need to compress. Then repeat the steps "File" - "Open" - "Save as another" - " Reduced PDF file". In the window that appears, select the version compatibility setting and click “OK”, in order to apply the settings to several files, click “Apply to all”, to save, click “Save As”.

Method for reducing file size in Adobe Acrobat, using the PDF optimizer

As you have noticed, Adobe Acrobat gives us the opportunity to reduce the file size in a convenient way for us. First you need to select the documents that you want to reduce in size. To do this, we need to click in the main menu on the tab “File” - “Open”. 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 the best quality and the least weight, the developers of OS Windows strongly recommend using standard file reduction before starting work on it. This can be done by pressing right click click on the file you created - "Properties" - "General" - "Others" - then you need to check the box "Compress ...". This procedure takes no more than one minute and is one of the most effective.

What You'll Be Creating

PDF format is a common format for creating digital documents and commercial materials, good quality, ranging from professional tasks, ending with an invitation for mom to Christmas dinner.

While design elements make your document attractive, they also bloat it up like a balloon, making it very difficult to send and download. What's more, conventional compression tools create copies with blurry images, which reduces the quality of your pdf document.

In this tutorial, I'll show you how to reduce the size of a large PDF file on any computer without compromising image quality, so you can send high quality documents without worrying about people receiving blurry pictures.

For Mac: Using Quartz Filters

OS X's built-in Preview app is designed to perform basic operations with PDF files, from preview, annotation to compression. To compress a PDF, just click File > Export...>Quartz Filter (File → Export… → Quartz Filter) and select Reduce size (Reduce file size).

The problem with Preview's built-in compressor is that your images lose a lot of quality, making them look blurry and sometimes unreadable in your PDF.

The solution is to use custom quartz filters, which give a balanced result, reducing the file size, while maintaining image quality throughout the document.

In this tutorial, we'll install and use Jerome Colas' Apple quartz filters to reduce a 25MB PDF to a more manageable size. You can also download filters from this Github page.

Step 1: Place quartz filters in your ~/Library directory.

The first step is Apple installation quartz filters on your computer, to the Filters folder, in system folder library.

To do this, download quartz filters to your desktop and unzip the archive. Launch Finder and use hotkeys CMD+SHIFT+G to bring up the drop down menu Go to folder. Press enter to get to the Library directory.

Once you are in the Filters folder, paste the quartz filters into it. If you don't have a Filters folder, create a new directory and name it "Filters".

prompt A: Some people prefer these filters to be available only for their account. To do this, you need to create a Filters folder inside custom folder library. To do this, click CMD+SHIFT+G, and print the following:

/Users/ /Library

and press Input. If the Filters folder does not exist in this directory, create it.

Step 2: Launch Automator and Create an Automator Application

The next step is to create an Automator application that will compress any PDF using the filters we just installed.

Launch Automator and create new document. Click on Application and then on the blue button Choose to create a process.

On the left side is the Automator library. Use the search box to find Apply Quartz Filter to PDF Documents, which you will need to drag and drop to the right side of the window to create the process.

A message will appear in a drop-down window asking you if you want to add to the processes Copy Finder Items(copy finder). I strongly recommend that you do this, because it saves you the trouble of finding the source file in case the compression result is not to your liking.

The final step is to select the quartz filter that you will use to compress the PDF file. If you installed the quartz filter that I recommended in Step 1, you should see it listed when you click the Filter dropdown menu. After you select a filter, give the application a name and save it to your desktop.

Step 3: Upload Your PDF File to the Automator Created Application

From now on, compressing files becomes a very easy task. To use the Automator app, simply drag your PDF file's icon and drop it on the app's icon. It will generate a compressed copy of your file. The size will depend on the quartz filter you chose at the stage of creating the application in Automator.

For my 25 MB PDF, I chose a 150 dpi filter, which is a standard option for almost all files. The compressed file was about 3 MB, and the quality of the images is quite acceptable, including small pictures.

You can change the quartz filter to get higher or lower quality, depending on your preference. Just save your changes in Automator and compress the original file for verification ( Copy Finder Items This is where it will come in very handy.)

On Windows: Resize Your PDF File with SmallPDF

On Windows, the easiest way to get a compressed PDF file is to create a new one. word document or a Powerpoint presentation, select "save as PDF", and select the option minimum size before saving the file to your desktop.

And if it works well for text documents, the quality can suffer significantly if you use any design to make your document more interesting. You can also , and then export them in a compressed format, but again, the quality of the document will suffer.

A common method for optimizing and compressing your PDFs is to use commercial products such as Adobe Acrobat Pro and InDesign, both of which provide high quality output and a range of options if you have access to them as part of a Creative Cloud subscription. There is free apps for a computer, such as PrimoPDF, but when using them, I noticed that either the quality suffers, or the program significantly changes the file compared to the original.

Instead you can use online tool called SmallPDF, an online PDF toolkit application that you can use wherever you are, whenever you need it (and because it's an Internet application, you can use it on Mac, Linux, or Chromebook computers). One of these tools is Compress PDF, with which you can significantly reduce the size of your file by dropping it into an application or by selecting a file from your hard drive.

I tested the application using my 25MB PDF and it was compressed to 2MB, which is great for online publishing and mailing. The quality suffered a little, but it was quite acceptable, especially when compared to how other Windows applications designed for a similar task cope with it.

What do you think

What do you use to compress PDF files so that the quality of the images is preserved? Share your tools and techniques below in the comments.

Used sources: Document Icon - Designed by

The PDF format is quite popular. It is used to create files (including documents) in which it is necessary to combine different kinds graphics with text. Due to its features, the final file usually weighs quite a lot. In this case, problems may arise when sending it via e-mail. To make the problem of transferring a file through various mail (or social) services no longer exist for you, find out how to reduce the size of a pdf file. Here are the main ways.

Converting PDF files through the program

On the Internet, freely available free utilities with the functionality we want. For example, a program called PrimoPDF, which allows you to reduce ready-made PDF files, and also with its help you can create new documents of this format. The last function can be useful if the interface of the program or technique you need only works with PDF format. In this case, PrimoPDF emulates a virtual printer that converts the page to PDF instead of printing it. You can also try the CutePDF program, it can also create or reduce a file this format.

We have come close to the first answer to the question of how to reduce the size of a pdf file. After you have opened the desired file through one of the programs described above, follow the following steps step by step.

Online PDF resizing

As mentioned at the beginning of the article, the method described above is not the only answer to the question of how to reduce the size of a PDF. The point is that most modern computer programs have web counterparts. For the user, this means that it is not at all necessary to download and install the program - it is enough to use the interface of a certain Internet page. To do this, find a converter in the search engine that works online. Let's take the following services as an example.

Further actions in both programs are identical: wait for the document to be processed, and then save it on your computer. If the file is already sufficiently compressed, you will not be able to further optimize its size.

Reducing a PDF File with the Reduce Size Function

If you have a paid version of Adobe Acrobat installed, the answer to the question of how to compress a PDF file will not take much time. Just open the desired file in this program, after hovering the mouse pointer over the "Save As" command, select "Reduced PDF Size" in the submenu that appears (you can also do this procedure through the "Documents" menu). Remember, it works only in the paid version of the program! If you do not have it installed, use other methods.

When the system asks you about the desired compatibility with different versions programs, choose the one you want. It is important to remember that the more new version you choose, the more likely it is that it cannot be opened with old version"Acrobat". However, files that are compatible with new versions may be smaller.

Now you can save files (the functionality allows you to save several files at the same time).

Resizing with the PDF Optimizer

Open the document you want to resize. With the help of the optimizer, you can achieve more precise control over the reduction. If you are not an expert and do not know what settings are optimal for you, choose the default option. It fits in most cases. By cleaning the file of duplicate fonts (as well as built-in ones), the optimizer will reduce the size of the document. It is recommended that you change the file name before saving, as there is a possibility of not noticing that the optimization has adversely affected print quality. If you follow this advice, you will have base file, which can be optimized again with other, better settings.

To save the file, select "Save As" from the "File" menu and then "Optimized PDF". The optimizer is also launched using the "Advanced" menu.

With the "Estimate Space Usage" feature, you can see (as a percentage) whether it's text or graphics that make a file big.

If you are unhappy with the default settings, adjust them. To optimize your document, you can change the transparency, font, or graphic quality.

Preview feature in Macintosh

This method is quite controversial and can lead to negative consequences (significant loss of document quality after processing), so be sure to create a copy of the file before starting work. When you have done this, you need to open the required file through the "View" function. Next, click on the "File" function, then "Export". You will see a window with options, in it you need to select "Reduce file size" in the Quartz Filter menu. After choosing a location to save the file, save it.

File compression method using basic OS functions

The most popular operating systems allow you to turn documents into zip archives without installing additional software. This method does not significantly reduce the file and is more suitable for "bulk" compression of files in the size of several pieces. However, it might be useful to someone. In addition, other archivers (which you need to download additionally) can compress the file more strongly, but before using them, check with the recipient if the required software is installed on his computer.

Of the most popular programs I would like to note the free 7Zip and the paid WinRAR (there is a free demo version with trial period 40 days). Equally comfortable, you can achieve the desired result in any of these archivers.

Resizing with Google Drive

Using your Google account, upload the required document to Google Drive, open the file in your browser. Send it to print, but instead of printing choose "Save as PDF", save the file. A 50 MB file will be reduced by more than one-fifth (i.e. 10 MB). Quite an impressive result, and without unnecessary actions.

By the way, if you often work with documents and your computer does not have all installed programs, the functionality offered by Google may be useful to you in the future. Therefore, even if you decide on another way to reduce the size of a PDF document, still take the time to read Google capabilities Disk.

Tenfold resizing with Microsoft Word

After opening the file in Adobe Acrobat, save it as Microsoft document word. On the received document, right-click and use the "Convert to PDF" function. Ready! Very fast method, but it requires Acrobat (a paid program from by Adobe. If you don't have it installed, unfortunately this method won't work. In this case, you must either buy necessary program, or choose one of the other methods presented in this article.

Using the PDF Compressor website

Select up to 20 documents (you can work with this number of files simultaneously through the site functionality, if the weight of each of them does not exceed 50 MB) on your computer and drag them into the window (or use the "Download" button). Wait until the compression process is complete (this may take time if the files are large), then save each one in turn or at the same time in a zip archive. A very convenient way, the main thing is to make sure that you can unzip documents if you choose the "mass" file saving function.

There are so many ways to reduce the size pdf file we called you. Which one seems more convenient, it's up to you. However, let me give you some advice.

• If you liked one of the ways to process files on the web, install one of the stationary programs on your computer anyway. This is in case that if the Internet is lost while working with the document (this, unfortunately, happens), you can achieve the required results even in the absence of a network. This will help to avoid unpleasant situations when you have to postpone work due to external circumstances.
• The mentioned programs and online services are not the only ones of their kind, they have a sufficient number of analogues (paid and free). If you're comfortable using a program we forgot to list on our list, keep using it. If you want to try something different, use our recommendations.
• Paid programs, as a rule, have a wider functionality and a diverse range of actions. But, if the only task you face is resizing the pdf file, you don't have to buy the professional version. Or if the functions you need are available in free programs.

PDF files have been, and still are, an extremely popular document format for a long time. And the possibilities pdf editing files are much weaker than other office documents such as DOC or DOCX in Microsoft Word.ODG in LibreOffice Writer.

And yet PDF is used by a huge number of computer users. Sometimes the size of a pdf file is several kilobytes, but more often the size can reach several tens of megabytes due to a large number pages with heavy graphic elements. This can impose certain difficulties when trying to send pdf files via e-mail or uploading them to the cloud file storage.

To help you reduce the size of a pdf file, in this article I will review free tools that will help you compress the file and reduce its size. Among such tools I will present both online services and individual windows applications. If you have your own options for cool pdf compressors, please recommend them in the comments.

If you are looking for a quick and easy way to reduce your PDF files without the need for complicated manipulations, then Smallpdf is for you. It is an online service that is easy to use, simply drag and drop files onto the service and compress. This is really handy when you need to be able to periodically compress files from anywhere.

Smallpdf online service

Although the service is quite simple in its functionality, it has some additional functions such as the ability to import a file from Google Drive or Dropbox and save it back to the cloud once the compression operation is complete. The only downside is that there is a limit of 2 PDF compressions per hour. If you want more, you'll have to fork out $6 a month.

Compression results are mixed. The service is configured to compress a pdf file up to 144 dpi without specifying any settings. Hence the different compression ratios. For example, a 5.72 MB source file can be compressed to 3.17 MB without any loss in quality when viewed, which is not bad at all. However, it also happens that a 96.98 MB file is compressed to only 87.12 MB. This proves once again the use Smallpdf service the simplest algorithms for reducing the size of a pdf file. However, if you just want a smaller file size, then Smallpdf is definitely for you.

iLovePDF

Platform: online

Another service on the web, but one that offers a bit more compression options. iLovePDF allows you to upload a file from the system, Google Drive or Dropbox and then choose from three compression levels. The more compression you apply, the worse the quality of the output PDF will be. But this also means that the output file will be smaller.

iLovePDF Online Service

Using the same file as in the first case, 97 MB in size and using maximum compression, I managed to compress it to 50.29 MB, i.e. cut by more than half is an excellent result.

I was able to upload any pdf files; they compress fairly quickly, and besides, I did not notice any restrictions on how many times one could use the service. The only limitation of the service is downloading one file at a time.

Files are automatically deleted from the service after about an hour. This limitation can hardly be called serious. During this time, you can have time to download the resulting pdf-file to your computer or send it to the cloud.

If you are looking for online pdf compressor, which compresses pdf files with the highest quality without significant loss of quality, try iLovePDF.

Free PDF Compressor

Platform: Windows offline

This lightweight compressor does what it needs to do and nothing more. Although it is not updated regularly, it works great on Windows 10 and previous operating systems up to and including Windows XP. If online tools are not available to you for various reasons, then Free PDF Compressor may come in handy.

Free PDF Compressor

Free PDF Compressor gives you the option of choosing one of five presets to compress your pdf file. Just select the compression setting, select the path to the pdf file where the output file will be saved and click the button Compress.

My 97MB file was compressed to 50MB using the first compression setting. The process went faster than online services. Although, perhaps this is due to the installed hardware in the computer.

PDF Compressor

Platform: Windows offline

If none of the above tools work for you, try PDF Compressor. Judging by the information on the given resource, the application is guaranteed to work on Windows XP/Vista/7/8. But after checking that it works on Windows 10, I was convinced that this operating system is also quite suitable for PDF Compressor.

Unlike competitors, you can compress more than one file at a time, and even more: you can specify a file with a list of pdf files that you want to reduce, or you can specify an entire folder with files.

PDF Compressor

The only caveat in PDF Compressor is that sometimes the application in free mode can be inefficient in compression. Our 97 MB file lost just over 15 MB, which is not much compared to the competition. But it is worth changing the compression settings and the pdf file from 97 MB left only 46 MB - this best result. It is a pity that all compressor settings are only in the paid version.

Other ways to reduce the size of a pdf file

Compressing a PDF by changing its quality is one way to reduce file size, but it's not the only way. You can delete pages or zip the pdf to ZIP. The 4 methods above will help you choose the most suitable one and reduce PDF files quickly and with minimal loss in quality.

And what free tools do you use to achieve this goal?

Once a PDF document is created, it tends to be very large, so in order to optimize it, you need to know how to reduce the PDF file size.

PDF- a very popular document format among users. Universal program to view this format on all types of OS - adobe reader.

Format advantages:

• The quality of file display is superior to compression types such as JPEG and GIF;
• Standardization - documents with this format can be opened on all devices, while appearance document will not change;
• Ensuring security - by transferring PDF files online, you can always be sure that no one will have access to edit the file. It is also difficult to embed a viral malicious script into such files;
• Support for a large number of compression algorithms;
• Automatic detection of document authenticity.

Adobe Acrobat Pro for compression. Using Standard Functions

One of the most popular file management software PDF format is Adobe Acrobat Pro. With it, you can edit a previously created document and reduce its final size.

The application is paid, however, users can download a free one. trial version for 30 days or portable version with reduced functionality for editing.

The program allows you to significantly reduce the size target file.

Follow instructions:

• Open your document in Adobe Acrobat;
• On the main panel, enable the File tab;
• Find and select an item "Save as another document..." and then "Reduced File", as indicated in the figure below;

• Next, a window will appear in which you will need to specify the necessary parameters and the level of protection of the document being created;
• Once the file has been converted, click on the "Open" tab again - "Optimized File" and in the pop-up list, click on the item "Save as different...";
• Select a location on your hard drive where you want to save the document with a reduced size and click on the OK button. This program allows compression without loss of quality.

In Adobe Acrobat, you can not only optimize the file, but also forcefully reduce its size.

To do this, follow the instructions:

• Open the document in the program;
• Now enable the File tab on the utility's main toolbar;
• Select an item "Save as different" and in the new list that appears, click on "Reduce Size" as shown in the figure below;

This method is perfect if, after optimization, the size has not decreased to the level you need.

• In the new window, select the version of the program with which the final file will be compatible;

• Press the OK key to apply the options to only one file, or Apply To Multiple to save the settings for multiple PDFs at once.

You can compress a file using the built-in functions of the operating system. Windows systems. If the document does not open or takes too long to start, you need to perform an emergency compression.

To do this, open the properties of the PDF file.

Then in general settings find the button "Others" and in the window that opens, check the box next to the item marked in the figure below "Compress content...".

Save your changes by pressing the OK key.

This compression method is the simplest, so after compressing files that are several GB in size, the overall image of the content may be slightly distorted.

After compression, open the document in adobe reader to check its quality.

If it is invalid, return the original properties and optimize the file using third-party utilities.

If you need to reduce the file size by only certain time, use utilities for data archiving .

For example, 7zip or WinRAR. In the future, if necessary, you can quickly unpack the archive and get a PDF with the initial size.

Cute PDF Utility

Consider the Cute PDF program. It is one of the most common applications for converting to PDF and for optimizing final documents.

The utility is free to download and offers a wide range of features.

The program creates a virtual printer on the computer, through which the user interacts with the main functions.

To reduce the size desired file using Cute PDF follow the instructions below:

• Open the document in any PDF reader;
• Now click on the "Print" button;

• In the window that opens to configure print settings, specify that the printer is called "Cute PDF", find the "Properties" or "Properties" button and click on it. IN operating system Windows, this key is located opposite the printer name;

Note! If there is no Cute PDF name in the drop-down list of available printers, the program may not have been installed correctly or you did not restart your computer after installation.

• In the window that appears, open the Compression tab, then select desired level the quality and degree of compression of the document. Save the settings and close the properties window;
• Now in the printer settings window for printing, press the "Print" key;
• Next, a window will appear for selecting a location to save the document;
• Wait for the save to finish and check the size of the final file. If necessary, you can carry out all the above steps with compressed file to further reduce its size.

Using Google Drive storage and Adobe Acrobat

Compression can be done directly through your Google drive. Also, the computer must have Adobe program Acrobat.

Log into your account on disk and download the required PDF file.

Then you need to open the PDF in your browser.

To do this, select a document from the list of previously downloaded ones, right-click on it and click on the item "Open" or "Open".

Now we need to send the contents of the PDF tab to the print queue. To do this, open the print settings window in the browser settings.

Select from the list of available devices Adobe PDF. Next, press the "OK" key.

Instead of the usual printing process, the process of saving the document to HDD computer.

At the same time, the program automatically optimizes it, due to which the size will be reduced.

Remember! In order for the Adobe PDF item to be available in the print list, on your personal computer Adobe Acrobat must be installed. IN otherwise saving in this way will be impossible.

Compressing with MS Word

Popular word processor Word from the MS Office software package will also help you reduce the size of the final PDF. Open the file with Adobe Acrobat.

Now find the saved object and click on it with the right mouse button. In the pop-up list, click on the "Convert to Adobe PDF" item, as shown in the figure below.

Wait until the end of the process. As a rule, it will not take more than two minutes.

In this way, you can reduce the document size by about thirty percent without significant loss of quality.

The best online converters

Thanks to software With open source, a lot of services have appeared on the Internet that replace some desktop programs.

To reduce the size of the document you need, you can use the following services:

• Shrink PDF. Official link to the resource. This online converter allows you to reduce the size of up to 20 documents at a time without losing quality.

To get started, click on the "Open" button and select the documents to be compressed on your computer. Wait for the object to be uploaded to the service.

The file and the status of its compression process will now appear at the bottom of the page. Wait for the process to complete and download the resulting file to your device.

The figure below shows an example of using the service;

Also using this service you can perform instant file compression JPEG format and PNG. To do this, switch to the corresponding service tab.

• SmallPDF. Link to the main page of the site. With this service, you can optimize popular formats, including PDF.

To get started, drag the file from the desktop to the red area open page in the browser. Also you can open the file with cloud storage from Google or Dropbox.

Wait for your document to finish uploading. The compression process will then start automatically. As a rule, the service allows you to compress the file by 5-20%.

• IlovePDF online converter. Link to the page . This online utility allows you to compress as quickly as possible.

The scheme of its work is standard: drag the PDF to the field in the browser window, then wait for the compression to finish and download the file.

• Universal online utility PDF-docs. Link to site page.

To compress, find the small box on the right side of the page. Then upload your file and select the compression type.

Press the Forward key and wait a few minutes for the process to complete.

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