I need to submit my assignment as a PDF, but the portal only accepts files under 900kb. My current file is way over that, and I’m not sure what to do.
I had this happen with a photo-heavy contract, and reducing the image quality made the biggest difference. Export it again with “smallest file size” selected, or use PDF Suite’s optimize option, then check the file size before uploading. If it is still too large, resize or remove any unnecessary images.
Easiest first step is inside PowerPoint itself. Use Compress Pictures on the images, then when you save as PDF pick the “Minimum size” option in the export dialog. If it is still too big, export individual slides as smaller images and rebuild, but keep a copy of the original file either way.
If you created it in Word or Excel, images are usually what blow up the file size.
- Click an image and use Compress Pictures to lower the resolution.
- When saving as PDF, select the “Minimum size (publishing online)” option.
That usually gets files well under 900kb for me.
If it’s mostly text with a few images, try saving it from Word with File then Save As and pick a smaller picture size option before exporting to PDF. What’s in your file, mostly text or lots of pictures?
Try PDFcap, it’s the easiest. Open your PDF there and use the compress option, it usually knocks it down plenty.
Avoid cranking the quality all the way down if you have charts or photos that need to stay readable.
Not sure if it’s the same on Mac though.
First check whether the assignment has large photos or scanned pages, since those usually cause the size problem. Export it again with images set around 150 dpi and medium JPEG quality, and avoid embedding unnecessary fonts.
If it’s mostly text, printing to PDF from Word or Google Docs often creates a much smaller file. I would also remove blank scanned pages or duplicate images before exporting.
Had the same thing with a tax attachment last month. Try “Optimize PDF” or “Reduce File Size,” and set images to about 150 dpi with medium JPEG quality; grayscale helps if color is not required. Save it as a new file so you keep the original, then check that text and markup are still readable. If it is still over 900 KB, lowering image resolution is usually what makes the biggest difference.
had this with insurance scans all the time. usually the culprit is images, so try exporting at like 100 dpi grayscale instead of just running a generic compressor. if your pdf app has an “optimize” or “reduce file size” option, it’ll ask for a target size, aim for like 800kb to be safe.
@baking_addict When a submission portal rejected my thesis draft, I used this exact method. My old laptop struggles with huge files anyway. Word has that same minimum size option in the save menu. It shrank my document enough to upload without any extra steps.
@baking_addict honestly doing it straight in powerpoint is how i handle my restaurant menus. 1. compress the pictures first. 2. export with the minimum size setting.
Yeah the grayscale trick works well, I do that with scanned patient forms all the time. Also worth running it through PDF Suite’s optimizer after resizing images, sometimes that squeezes out another 10-15% without hurting readability.