How to Compress a PDF for Free: Paper documents are less and less used because pdf, or electronic ones, now predominate. Greener, easier to use and store, they are a great convenience, and working with them is a must for any company.
How to Compress a PDF for Free
The problem is that these files, especially when they contain images and graphics, can become really heavy and difficult or impossible to send by mail. For this reason, many are looking for a way how to compress pdf online for free, in a safe way to reduce the size, but without losing quality.
You may be surprised to find out, but it’s so easy to do, more than you think. Thanks to numerous online services that have made compressing pdfs a breeze, today, you don’t need to have any technical skills or be an expert with the pc. In today’s article, I show you how to do it and the two best sites to use.
All you need is a little goodwill to follow this tutorial and an internet connection. I point out that the method works from both PC and phone.
How to Compress PDF ONLINE for Free
Although numerous programs do this, it is not always a feasible and comfortable solution. Often, the best way is to use a website that allows you to reduce the size of your pdf document directly online.
Adobe PDF Compressor
Today there are so many who are capable of doing a great job. Even if these are all different from each other, the procedure is always the same, and for this, I show you the steps that, in principle, you must follow.
To compress a pdf online for free, you have to.
- 1. Go to the Adobe site
- 2. Click on the Select a file button and upload your PDF
- 3. Select the desired settings and start compression
- 4. Click on the download button to download the compressed document
Four simple steps that take a few seconds but with which you can make your file even smaller. The only wait is when you have to compress too large files, which could take several minutes to be ready.
There is nothing difficult but, if the steps are not easy for you to follow, let’s try to explain well everything there is to do with lots of photos so that even if you really don’t get along with your pc or the smartphone, you will be able to compress the pdf.
Go to the Adobe site Or on a similar site that has the same functions.
Once you know which files you want to shrink, open your browser and go to a site that offers the compression service. I recommend you use Adobe’s PDF Compressor, which, although it is free, is really reliable, has no ads, and is very fast. On the other hand, Adobe created the PDF files, so who better than them can work on them: the loss of quality, in fact, is very minimal and often cannot be noticed, while the reduction is often considerable. By the way, the site also works perfectly from Android devices and iPhones, and iPads.
iLovePDF
One of the best alternatives comes from iLovePDF, where you have an entire suite to work on these types of documents at a professional level. Again, the results are excellent, and the service is free. Which of the two to choose depends a bit on your preferences, but both are more or less on the same level.
There are also many other portals that offer the same free tool, but be careful with your choice because some are full of advertisements, and you could end up on pages and websites that are better to block.
Upload your PDF
This is a very simple step. As you will have seen from the screenshot above, in the center of the screen, there is a large red button that you will need to use to upload your file to be compressed.
Select a file
So, click on the Select a file button, and a screen will open with the files on your computer. Find the folder where you saved the PDF and select the document.
Alternatively, if it’s easier for you, you can also drag the document to the white area of the page (where the button is). By dragging the document, you will see that it will change color, and by releasing the mouse button, the loading will start immediately.
Here, however, I want to make you a note. If there is sensitive data in the documents, I advise you not to use a random service because it may not be safe. In theory, your privacy is protected, and the uploaded files should be safe, but it is always better not to risk it and find an alternative way, just for greater security.
Select the desired settings
Once the document is loaded, before starting the actual reduction, most sites will give you the possibility to change several settings to get the result closest to your needs.
While Adobe is one of the best tools, it gives you few choices. Here, in fact, you can only decide the level of compression between high, medium, and low. Obviously, the more you compress the pdf, the more quality you lose.
Once the compression level has been set, click on the compress button and wait for the process to be completed.
The same settings are also found on iLovePDF, which gives you the same three options, however here, it is much easier for you to separate or merge pdfs since the dedicated features are at your fingertips.
If you work on this type of document and want to be able to edit the files and have more freedom and possibility of editing, you must probably switch to a paid subscription where all the advanced functions are unlocked.
Once the site has finished working, you will see that a new window will appear from which you have the option to download the now compressed PDF. Once you click the download button, the file will start downloading, and after a few seconds (or minutes depending on how big it is), it will be saved on your device, ready to be shared or sent.
If you have used Adobe, you have the possibility to download the file and access your account and save your documents in the cloud so that you can access them from all devices. This is a very useful and free feature, which you can use simply by registering on their site. All you need is an email address and fill in the registration form; if you don’t have one, you can create it by following the guide on how to create a new email.
Keep in mind that these sites reduce the size, but they don’t change the format or even create an archive. If you want to compress one or more pdfs in zipping, you can directly use the program or the features that are now included in every Windows and Mac PC.
In short
As you may have seen, there is absolutely nothing complicated about it. Already after the first time, you will hardly forget how to compress pdf online, and if you work or spend a lot of documents of this type, you will see how useful the sites I have indicated are. If you reduce them enough, you can maybe send them by email and not necessarily have to look for other services and ways such as sending large files, perhaps even for a fee.
In a world that is increasingly moving towards digital, abandoning paper, knowing how to make the best use of existing technologies, and working on various document formats is increasingly important. That’s why I hope this tutorial was useful to you. If you run into any problems, please feel free to leave a comment and let me know what you can’t do so I can help you.
