How to get a PDF under 200 KB
Many job, visa and bursary forms stop you at 200 KB. A phone scan can easily be 3 MB or more, so the form rejects it. Here is how to get under the limit without losing a readable document.
Why the file is too big
Scans and photos are pictures, and pictures are large. A PDF that is only typed text is usually small already. If yours is a scan, the images are what need shrinking.
Steps
- Open the Compress PDF tool.
- Choose your file. It stays on your device and is never uploaded.
- Pick 200 KB as the size limit and press Shrink PDF.
- Check the result. The tool tells you the new size, and whether it reached your limit.
- Download the file and upload it to your form.
If it will not get that small
- Many pages: 200 KB across 10 scanned pages is only 20 KB a page. Remove pages you do not need with Remove pages, or split the file and send it in parts if the form allows.
- Try 500 KB first if the form actually allows it. Quality is better at a higher limit.
- Scan at lower settings. A scan at 150 to 200 dpi in black and white is far smaller than a colour photo.
What happens to quality
The tool lowers the quality of the images inside your PDF step by step and stops as soon as the file fits. At very small limits, text in a scan can look softer. If the tool has to turn pages into images to reach the limit, it tells you, and the text will no longer be selectable.
Is my file safe?
Yes. The work happens in your browser. Nothing is sent to a server. You can check this yourself.
Common questions
Does it work on my phone?
Yes, in a current phone browser. Very large files may be slow on older phones.
Will it change my original file?
No. You download a new, smaller copy.