You finally finish an application, and the portal says ‘File size must not exceed 2 MB’. Scanned documents and photo-heavy PDFs are often 10 MB or more. The good news: in most cases you can shrink them dramatically while keeping them perfectly readable.
Why are some PDFs so large?
- Scanned pages are stored as large images.
- Phone photos converted to PDF keep their full camera resolution.
- Embedded fonts and duplicate resources add extra weight.
How to compress a PDF with Vexara
- Open Compress PDF.
- Upload your PDF.
- Choose a mode: lossless (removes waste, quality untouched) or image recompression (much smaller files).
- Press Compress and compare the size before and after.
- Download the smaller file.
Which mode should I choose?
Lossless is best for text-based documents such as reports and CVs. Savings are modest, but nothing changes visually. Image recompression is best for scans and photos, where size can often drop by 70–90%. Start with a medium setting and zoom in to check that small text is still easy to read.
Tips to hit a strict size limit
- Remove unnecessary pages first with Delete PDF Pages.
- If you are building the PDF from photos, compress the images first with Compress Image, then use JPG to PDF.
- Black-and-white scans are much smaller than colour; try Scan Images to PDF.
- If one file is still too large, split it into parts if the portal allows multiple uploads.
FAQ
Is it safe to compress private documents?
Yes. Compression runs in your browser, so the file never leaves your device.
Why didn’t my PDF get smaller?
Text-only PDFs are often already efficient. The biggest savings come from PDFs with images or scans.
Will links and text stay selectable?
Yes for lossless mode. Image recompression affects pictures, not the text layer.
Conclusion
A few seconds of compression can be the difference between a rejected upload and a successful application. Try the lossless mode first, and switch to image recompression when you need a bigger reduction.