How to compress a PDF for email and job portals without ruining it

Why PDFs get so big

Scanned pages are photos. A 10 page scan at phone quality can reach 20 MB because every page is a full size image. Text based PDFs are usually small, so the fix is almost always about the images inside.

A simple way to get under the limit

• Open the compress PDF tool and add your file. It runs in your browser, so the file is not uploaded.
• Start with the medium setting and check the size.
• If it is still above the limit, use the strong setting. Text stays sharp, photos lose some detail.
• Open the result and read one page at full zoom before you send it.

If it is still too large

Split the file into two parts, or remove pages you do not need. Many portals accept several files, and two files of 900 KB are easier than one very squeezed file.