My PDF needs to be under 800kb for this upload but it’s way bigger right now. I already tried lowering the quality and it still won’t go through. How do I get it small enough?
That is annoying, especially when the upload limit is so tight. First check whether the PDF is scanned pages, as changing scans to greyscale and reducing them to about 150 dpi usually makes the biggest difference. If it is mostly text, try exporting it again with images removed or downsampled; I often do that for my tutoring practice sheets on my old laptop.
What worked for me with scanned pages was opening the PDF and printing it back to PDF in grayscale at a lower quality. Also check if the upload accepts 2 files, since splitting it is often easier than squeezing 1 big one.
Had the same thing last month with a site report packed with photos. I went back to the original Word file, dropped the picture quality, and then used ILovePDF to compress it further. That got me under 800kb and the upload went through fine. If it is a scan I would try making it black and white first.
I run into this all the time when uploading site plans and contracts. If lowering the quality didn’t work, give PDFcap a try. You just drop your file on pdfcap.com and use the compress tool. It usually shrinks it well under the limit without making the text unreadable. What device are you on if that doesn’t do the trick?
henry2010 that’s a handy suggestion, I’ve seen a few patrons use it at the library desk with good results. My extra tip is to check the file size after each pass so you stop before the text goes fuzzy, learned that the hard way on a lease form once. One thing to avoid is compressing the same file twice, it usualy just hurts quality without saving much.
first, check whether the PDF is mostly scans or embedded images, since those usually drive the file size. print to PDF can flatten pages, but choose the right paper size and “save as smaller file” in the print options. if it still won’t fit, try lowering the scanner resolution to around 150 dpi and using grayscale instead of color. you can also remove any unnecessary pages before exporting.
If quality drop alone isn’t cutting it, split it or strip out images one by one to see what’s bloating the size. Always keep a backup of the original before you compress, learned that the hard way.
hunter99 The backup advice is spot on, I learned that the hard way after flattening a grant report and having no clean copy left. For dark’s 800kb limit, going back to the original file usually beats compressing twice, so I’d try grayscale at 150 dpi first and only split if it still won’t fit.
If it is a scanned invoice, print it to PDF again and set it to black and white. Color scans bloat the size fast. That usually drops mine well under 800kb fwiw.