When a form says "resize the PDF to 200KB", it means the weight of the file, not the dimensions of its pages. The two are unrelated: an A4 page stays 210 by 297 millimetres whether the file is 80KB or 8MB. This page resizes the kilobytes. You type the number the form states, in KB or MB, and the finished PDF measures at or below it while every page keeps its size on paper.
There is no preset here because the figure comes from your notice, and notices vary: 150KB on one portal, 250KB on the next, 300KB on a third. A lower bound can be set as well, for the forms that state a range. The compressor then works through its three stages, stopping at the first that fits, and names the one it used on the result card.
How to use it
- Enter the figure from your form in the size box and choose KB or MB next to it.
- If the notice gives a range, switch on "My form also has a minimum size" and enter the lower number too.
- Add the PDF and press Compress; the before and after weights appear on the card.
- Download the file and open it once to confirm the pages look as expected before uploading.
File size and page size are different things
A PDF carries its page dimensions in points, 595 by 842 for A4, and those numbers are not touched by anything this page does. Resizing in KB changes how the content is stored: unused objects are dropped, photographs and scanned page images are re-saved at a lower JPEG quality or smaller pixel dimensions, and in the last resort each page is rendered as a picture at a lower resolution. A page that was A4 before is A4 after, prints on the same sheet and shows the same margins. What changes is how finely the pictures on it are sampled.
Resizing to a range such as 100KB to 300KB
Some application forms set both a floor and a ceiling for a document upload. With the minimum switched on, the compressor aims at the maximum first, taking the highest quality that fits under it, which usually lands inside the range by itself. If the file is small, say a one-page typed letter of 40KB that must be between 100KB and 300KB, unused padding data is added inside the file structure until the weight crosses the floor; no viewer shows it and the pages are not altered. The ceiling stays a hard limit, checked on the finished file, so a result stays inside the range at both ends.
Choosing the figure to type
Type the limit exactly as written rather than rounding down by half, since a tighter target costs quality for no benefit. The one exception is a portal whose error message shows sizes in round thousands, such as "file is 205,000 bytes, maximum 200,000"; it counts 1KB as 1,000 bytes, and typing 195 instead of 200 gives a result that passes its arithmetic as well as the usual kind. If the notice gives only a page count or a DPI, the weight is not the problem and this page is not the fix.
Frequently asked questions
- Does resizing a PDF in KB change the page dimensions?
- No. The width and height of every page, stored in points inside the file, are copied over as they are. A4 stays A4 and Letter stays Letter. Only the stored pictures and the file structure are reworked to reach the weight you typed.
- I need the PDF in cm or in pixels, not in KB. Is this the right page?
- No. This page only changes the file weight. Page dimensions in a PDF are fixed by whatever created it; if a portal asks for A4 pages, print the document to PDF again from its source with A4 selected, then return here if the file is too heavy.
- What happens if my PDF is already under the figure I typed?
- The page says so and offers the original back as it is, since reworking a file that already fits could only lower its quality. If you also entered a minimum and the file sits under that, padding is added until it crosses the floor.