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Quick Answer

Open the PDF, press Ctrl + P, change the printer to Microsoft Print to PDF, and click Print. This saves a new, flattened copy of the file that is significantly smaller.

How to Shrink a Large PDF File Size for Emailing ​

Estimated Time to Fix: 3 minutes

Applies to: General IT, Microsoft Word
Article Type: How-To
Last Updated: 2026-07-20

Summary ​

Most corporate email systems (like Outlook and Gmail) will block any email attachment larger than 20 to 25 Megabytes (MB). If you try to send a massive PDF full of high-resolution images or architectural plans, the email will bounce back. This guide explains how to shrink the file size so it sends successfully.

Prerequisites ​

  • You need the original PDF file saved on your computer.

Instructions ​

Method 1: "Print" to a New PDF (The Quick Fix) ​

like you can extract a single page from a PDF by "printing" it to a new file, you can often shrink a bloated PDF using the exact same trick. The browser usually strips out unnecessary invisible metadata when it creates the new file.

  1. Right-click your large PDF file.
  2. Select Open with > Google Chrome (or Microsoft Edge).
  3. Once open in the browser, click the Print icon in the top right.
  4. Change the Destination/Printer to Save as PDF (Chrome) or Microsoft Print to PDF (Edge).
  5. Ensure Pages is set to All.
  6. Click Save.
  7. Name the new file something like MyDocument-Compressed.pdf.
  8. Check the size of the new file. It is often 30-50% smaller.

Method 2: Compress via Microsoft Word ​

If Method 1 didn't shrink it enough, and the PDF is mostly a text document (not a scanned image), you can run it through Microsoft Word's compression engine.

  1. Open the Microsoft Word desktop app.
  2. Click Open, then Browse, and select your large PDF.
  3. Word will warn you that it is converting the PDF to a Word document. Click OK.
  4. Once the document opens, do not make any changes.
  5. Click File > Save As.
  6. Click the Save as type dropdown and select PDF (*.pdf).
  7. Right below that dropdown, look for a section called "Optimize for:".
  8. Select the radio button for Minimum size (publishing online).
  9. Click Save. Word will compress all the images inside the document to make the file as small as possible.

Method 3: Zip the File ​

If you absolutely cannot lose any image quality and the methods above distort the file, you can "Zip" it.

  1. Locate the large PDF on your computer.
  2. Right-click the file.
  3. On Windows 11, select Compress to ZIP file. (On Windows 10, select Send to > Compressed (zipped) folder).
  4. Windows will create a new folder with a zipper icon. This folder is usually much smaller than the original file and can be attached to an email.

Troubleshooting ​

WARNING

Do not upload confidential company documents to free "PDF Compressor" websites. You have no idea where those servers are located or who is keeping a copy of your files. Use the built-in, offline methods above.

Symptom / ErrorPotential CauseSolution
The PDF is still over 25MB after trying everythingToo many raw imagesThe file is too big for email. You must upload it to a cloud storage service like OneDrive or SharePoint, and then email a link to the file instead of attaching the file itself.
The recipient can't open the ZIP fileBlocked attachmentsSome ultra-strict corporate firewalls block .zip files entirely. You will need to use a OneDrive link instead.