Productivity · Adobe Acrobat desktop

How to Compress a PDF While Preserving Readability

Source-checked 15 August 2026About 3 minutes

Answer

Open the PDF in Adobe Acrobat. On Windows, select Menu > Save as Other > Reduced size PDF; on macOS, select File > Save as Other > Reduced size PDF. Choose a compatibility level, save under a new name, then compare the file size and inspect the copy before sharing it. PDF compression is not guaranteed to be lossless.

Keep the original

Open the PDF in Adobe Acrobat and note its file size in File Explorer or Finder. Leave the original in place so you can compare it with the compressed copy.

Save a reduced-size copy

On Windows, select Menu > Save as Other > Reduced size PDF; on macOS, select File > Save as Other > Reduced size PDF. Choose the compatibility required by the people who will open it, select OK, then use a new filename and select Save.

Open Adobe Acrobat Help's guide

Compare the result

Close and reopen the compressed copy, then compare its file size with the original. Check the smallest text, detailed images, links, forms, signatures, and attachments that the document actually uses before uploading or sharing it.

Optimize only when needed

If the copy is still too large, return to the original and select Menu > Save as Other > Optimized PDF on Windows or File > Save as Other > Optimized PDF on macOS. Select Audit space usage, review what consumes the most space, and change only the relevant settings before saving and checking another new copy.

If it does not work

If the file becomes only slightly smaller, open Optimized PDF > Audit space usage. A PDF that is already optimized, mostly text, or dominated by content you must keep may not shrink much safely.
If small text or images become unclear, discard the compressed copy and return to the untouched original. Use less aggressive image settings in PDF Optimizer and compare another new copy.
If forms, links, bookmarks, accessibility tags, signatures, or attachments disappear, discard that copy. Adobe warns that optimizer options can remove or flatten these features, so leave unfamiliar discard settings at their defaults.

Sources and verification

Checked against official documentation on 15 August 2026. Scope: Adobe Acrobat desktop.

Source-checked against current Adobe Acrobat desktop guidance. The page is deliberately image-free because Menu or File, Save as Other, Reduced size PDF, the compatibility menu, and Save are self-identifying controls in one short path. The three migrated images show a different product, iLovePDF, and cannot instruct this Acrobat workflow.