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Compress a PDF to under 100 KB, 500 KB, 1 MB or any size

Upload portals often refuse a PDF over a set size: 200 KB for a certificate, 1 MB for a CV, 2 MB for a form. Choose the limit and this tool keeps trying until the PDF fits, starting from the sharpest version. The file stays on your device.

How to use it

  1. Pick the limit, or choose Other… and type it in KB.
  2. Drop the PDF in the box.
  3. Click Compress and download. Long documents take a little while because each page is redrawn several times.

What changes in the PDF

Every page is redrawn as a picture. That is what makes large shrinks possible, but text can no longer be selected or searched. Keep your original file, and use the compressed copy only for the upload.

If you do not have a strict limit, the simple PDF compressor is quicker.

If it cannot reach your limit

  • Remove pages you do not need with extract pages, then try again.
  • Scanned colour pages are the biggest. If the portal accepts it, scan in grey or black and white.
  • Split a long document into parts with split PDF and upload them separately.

Questions

Is my PDF uploaded? No. Nothing is sent to howITwork.net; the work happens in this browser tab.

Password-protected PDFs? Not supported. Remove the password in the program that made the file first.