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Convert / PDF

Compress PDF

Podalls Convert compresses PDFs offline on Windows 10 and 11 to reduce file size for email or upload, with three settings: a lossless clean-up, Recommended, or Smallest. The original stays untouched and nothing is uploaded.

Download free for Windows How it works
Compress PDF Small enough to send.
Smaller files for email and uploads
v0.3.0 · Windows 10 and 11 · Offline · Free How to compress a PDF offline on Windows Malaysia · UTC+8
Opens
.pdf
Makes
name (compressed).pdf; the original is untouched
In the app
Tools › PDF › Compress PDF
Account
Not needed
Price
Free, for work too

How it works

How to compress a PDF offline on Windows

Three steps, all on your PC. Nothing is uploaded.

  1. Open Tools › PDF › Compress PDF, or from the Reader’s status bar on large files.

  2. Choose Keep quality, Recommended, Smallest or Custom.

  3. See how much you saved, e.g. 12.4 MB → 3.1 MB.

What you get

Built for the real document.

  • Presets that explain themselves

    Keep quality is lossless; Recommended keeps images at 150 dpi, Smallest at 96 dpi.

  • Only photos are squeezed

    Photos become JPEG; logos, diagrams and masks stay perfectly sharp.

  • Verified before kept

    The copy is reopened and checked, and kept only if it is really smaller.

  • Greyscale and metadata

    Optionally turn pages grey and remove document metadata.

Your choices

Every choice, before it starts.

The Compress PDF dialog, drawn from the app with its defaults selected. The notes say what each choice does.

Compress PDF

Compression level

Keep qualityRecommended(selected)Smallest fileCustom

Recommended: email, sharing, everyday use.

Image resolution (dpi)

Keep300200150(selected)9672

With Custom. Lower is smaller; 150 prints well.

Photo quality

LosslessHighMedium(selected)Low

Graphics and text are always kept sharp.

Also

Store images in greyscaleRemove document properties and metadata

Greyscale removes colour from pictures and scans; text and drawings keep theirs.

Copies are saved as “name (compressed).pdf” next to the original. Originals are never changed.

Under the hood

How it decides.

What it reads, what it saves, and the rules it follows, taken from the app itself.

Reads 1 file type

  • .pdf

Saves as

  • report (compressed).pdf

Never over another file, and never over your original.

  • The three levels

    Keep quality only tidies the file. Recommended brings photos down to 150 dpi at JPEG quality 75; Smallest file to 96 dpi at 55.

  • Measured where drawn

    A picture’s resolution comes from the size it is shown on the page, and only pictures well above the limit are scaled down.

  • Always tidied

    Page thumbnails and leftover data are dropped, identical parts stored once, and the rest packed tighter.

  • Signatures asked about

    Compressing breaks a digital signature, so signed PDFs are skipped unless you choose to compress them anyway.

App or website?

Why not an online converter?

Online tools ask for your file first. Podalls Convert never does.

Topic Podalls Convert Windows appOnline converters In the browser
Your file Stays on your PCUploaded to their server
Internet Not needed to convertNeeded for every file
Size and pages What your PC can handleOften capped on free plans
Many files Drop a whole folder: every job joins the queueUsually one at a time
Account Not neededOften asked for
Price Free, for work tooFree tier, or a subscription

Good to know

Honest limits.

What this tool does not do, said plainly.

  • Signed or certified PDFs are left alone unless you allow it, because compressing breaks the signature.
  • Some image types, such as JPEG 2000 and JBIG2, are kept as they are.
  • Files that cannot get smaller show No savings instead of a bigger copy.

First time? The install guide shows every screen, including the Windows warning.

Questions

Compress PDF, answered.

6 answers

Another question? Everything about Podalls Convert.

How much smaller will it get?

It depends on what is inside. Photo-heavy scans shrink the most; text-only PDFs have little to remove.

How do I compress a PDF for email?

Choose Recommended. It is made for email and sharing: photos drop to 150 dpi, which still prints well, and text stays sharp. If it is still too big, try Smallest file.

Will the text get blurry?

No. Only photos are re-encoded. Text, drawings and graphics are kept exactly as they were.

Why does it say No savings?

The PDF is already about as small as that setting can make it, so no copy is kept. Try a smaller setting, or Custom with a lower resolution.

Is Compress PDF in Podalls Convert free?

Yes. Podalls Convert is free for personal and commercial use, with no account and no subscription. Every tool in it, including this one, comes in the same free download.

Is my file uploaded anywhere?

No. Podalls Convert does the work on your PC and saves the result there. It only goes online to check for and download its own updates.

In the same free download

Keep going.

Every tool below comes with Podalls Convert. One app, one queue, nothing uploaded.

Compress PDF, without the upload.

Download free for Windows

What you are getting

Tool
Compress PDF, in Tools › PDF › Compress PDF
Makes
name (compressed).pdf; the original is untouched
Works on
Windows 10 and 11, 64-bit
Version
0.3.0
Price
Free for personal and commercial use