How to compress a pdf file to reduce the size before emailing on Windows?

Here is where things get interesting for anyone trying to compress PDF file size. When you print an existing PDF to the Microsoft Print to PDF printer, Windows re-renders the entire document from scratch. During this re-rendering process, it applies its own default compression settings to images, fonts, and other elements inside the file. This often results in a smaller output than the original, especially if the original PDF contained high-resolution images or heavy metadata that Windows strips away.

Step-by-Step

1. Open your PDF file using any application that can display it.

2. Press Ctrl + P on your keyboard to open the Print dialog box. This is the same shortcut you would use to print a physical document.

3. Look at the Printer selection dropdown near the top of the dialog box. Click it and select "Microsoft Print to PDF" from the list of available printers.

4. Adjust any settings you want to change. Under "More Settings" or similar options, you can sometimes lower the page scaling or choose different paper sizes. Printing at a smaller scale can help further compress PDF file size because the resulting pages contain less visual information. However, leaving settings at their defaults usually works fine.

5. Click the Print button. Windows will ask you where to save the new PDF file. Choose a location, give it a name, and click Save.

6. Compare the file sizes. Navigate to both the original PDF and the new one, right-click each, and select Properties. Look at the "Size" field. You will likely see that the new version is smaller.