How to make a PDF small enough to email
Choose a compression setting, test the downloaded size and use page selection or a shared link when compression is not enough.
By PushPDF · Updated
Find the actual attachment limit
Check the limit shown by your email service or the recipient's upload form. Different services accept different sizes, and other attachments count toward the same message. Keep the original PDF while you work on a smaller copy.
For example, if a form accepts a 5 MB document, check the downloaded file against that limit. A compression button cannot promise a 5 MB result for every source PDF.
Compress once, then inspect
Open PDF compression and upload the file. Start with a moderate quality setting. Download the result and compare its size with the original. PDFs made of scanned images can often shrink more than documents that already contain compact text and vector graphics.
Zoom into the smallest text and check a page with photographs or diagrams. If labels become hard to read, return to the original and try a higher quality setting. Repeatedly compressing the same low-quality result can compound image damage.
Remove pages the recipient does not need
A full report may include cover sheets, blank scans and old appendices. Use Split PDF to make a copy containing only the relevant pages. Confirm the recipient allows a partial document before removing pages from an application or agreement.
Do this before collecting signatures. Keep page order and any references to attachments consistent so the recipient can follow the document.
Use a link when an attachment still fails
The conversion result includes a share action. A link avoids making the entire PDF an email attachment, but it also introduces an expiry and access decision. Open the link yourself, verify that it downloads the intended version, and tell the recipient if it expires.
If the compressed output is almost the same size, the source may already be optimized. Select fewer pages or share the file rather than promising a quality-preserving size reduction that the document cannot support.