PDF Too Big to Email? 5 Ways to Make It Smaller

The quickest way to make a PDF small enough to email is to compress it, because photos and scans cause most of the size. If it is still too big, split it into parts, remove pages you do not need or share a link instead.

You write the email, attach the PDF and press send. Then it bounces, or the mail app says the file is too large. It is one of the most common little problems in office work, and it nearly always has a quick fix.

Here are five ways to make a PDF small enough to send, starting with the fastest.

1. Compress the PDF

Compression is the first thing to try. Most of a PDF's weight comes from photos and scanned pages, not from text. A compression tool rebuilds those images at a smaller size, and the page looks almost the same.

1. Open Compress PDF.
2. Choose your PDF.
3. Pick a level. Recommended is a good start. Light keeps the best quality with a smaller saving, and Strong gives the smallest file with lower image quality.
4. Download the result and check the size.

If the first attempt is not small enough, run the original again on the Strong level rather than compressing a file that has already been compressed. Our guide How to compress a PDF without losing quality explains the levels in more detail.

2. Remove pages you do not need

A 60-page report may have a long appendix that the reader will never open. Dropping pages is the cleanest way to reduce size, because nothing is changed on the pages you keep.

Our guide How to remove pages from a PDF shows how to do it in a minute. You can then compress the shorter file as well.

3. Split the PDF into parts

If every page is needed, send the document in two or three emails. Split the file into sensible parts, such as one chapter each, and name them clearly: "Report part 1 of 3".

Use Split PDF to cut the document at the pages you choose. How to split a PDF into separate pages or files walks through the options. The reader can join the parts again later with Merge PDF.

4. Fix the problem at the source

If your PDF is made from scans or photos, the size is decided when the pictures are taken. A few settings make a big difference:

• Scan at 150 to 200 dpi for ordinary documents. Very high settings make huge files with no visible benefit on screen.
• Choose black and white or greyscale for pages that are only text.
• Crop out wide borders and dark edges before you save.

If you are turning photos into a PDF, resize them first or choose a smaller page size. See How to convert JPG to PDF.

5. Share a link instead of an attachment

When the file is genuinely large, such as a long scan with many colour pages, a link is easier for everyone. Upload the PDF to a cloud drive you trust and send the link. Check the sharing settings, so that only the people you mean to can open it.

This is also the right choice for files with private information, where you may prefer to control who can download them. For more on keeping documents safe, read Is it safe to use online PDF tools?

Which fix should I choose?

You can combine them. A common recipe is to remove the pages you do not need, compress the rest and then send.

What if the PDF is still too big?

Some documents resist compression. Examples are PDFs with very large images that must stay sharp, or files that were made by joining many other PDFs. If you have tried the steps above and the file still will not fit, ask one of our experts for a quote. We can rebuild the document at a smaller size while keeping the pages clear, and we tell you the price before any work starts.