The PDF format is one of the most well-known and widely used storage formats today due to its practicality when presenting documents, as it prevents the file’s content from being modified or corrupted. This is why large companies and institutions frequently use this portable document format.
This document saving method is completely independent of any program included in the Microsoft Office suite and can contain all types of graphics, images, an unlimited number of words, and even multimedia files with sounds, as well as hyperlinks and links that can redirect you to other websites. It also adapts to any platform you wish to present it on, including Linux, Windows, macOS, and others.
However, depending on the file’s content, they can sometimes become extremely large and take up valuable hard drive space, which we later don’t know how to recover. But the size of a PDF document will no longer be a problem , as in today’s article, we’ll learn how to compress a PDF file without installing any external program, with a very simple step-by-step guide.
Steps to compress PDF documents and reduce their size without installing any program
Typically, to compress a PDF file, we install an external program that allows us to reduce the size of the document and make it much easier to send via email, WhatsApp, Google Drive, or any other means.
However, there are ways you can do this without having to install any of the programs available on the web , thus avoiding filling up your hard drive with additional information that already adds to the size of your PDF file.
Using the Chrome extension – Small PDF
Small PDF is a very versatile tool for compressing PDF documents . This compressor also works as a Google Chrome browser extension , making it easier to use. This extension only allows two free downloads every 60 minutes.
To perform compression, follow these steps:
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Smallpdf: Edit, convert, compress, and summarize your PDFs with AI – Chrome Web Store
Developer: Unknown
Price: Free
- To go directly to the plugin and install its latest version, click above.
- After that, click on the “Add to Chrome” box.
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- Once this action is performed, a confirmation window will appear and you must click on “Add extension”
- In the box where it previously said “Add to Chrome”, it will say “Checking…” for a few seconds
- A window will then appear stating that “Smallpdf has been added to Chrome”below the extension icon, which will be located next to the address bar. The extension has been successfully installed.
- At this point, click on the extension iconlocated at the top right, next to the navigation bar.
- Select the “Compress” option and you will immediately be directed to the page where you will complete the process.
Once there, the website will give you the option to upload the document from your computer, Dropbox, or Google Drive. Once you upload the file, you’ll have to wait for it to upload, which should only take a few seconds. When the process is complete, SmallPDF will tell you the compression percentage , as well as its original and final weight. You’ll just have to click ” Download File ” to get your much lighter document.
With online compression tools
There is another very valid option to be able to reduce the size and weight of our files without the need to download and install any external software on our computer, for this in this case we will use applications and online tools , which will make the work really efficient since they are specialized in these processes, below we leave you some examples of them, although there are many others, such as the well-known iLovePDF .
PDF2Go
It’s one of the easiest tools to use, as all you need is a computer and an internet connection. This way, you’ll be able to compress your file quickly, securely, and virus-free, unlike other sites that can put your PC at risk.
To use it you just have to:
- Enter the following URL in your preferred browser for direct access: com
- Now go to the “Compress PDF”option
- There you will have the option to upload the document from your computer, Dropbox, Google Drive or enter it directly from the URL
- Once the file is uploaded, you must wait for the upload process to complete. Once it is complete, select the “Save Changes” box.
- A new window will open with the online process, and once complete, the file download will begin automatically. Afterward, you can compare how much the file size has decreased.
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