Changelog: Compress PDF

1.5.0 2026-09-13

New Exact size option: set a limit such as 200 KB and get the best picture quality that fits under it, found in at most six tries.
When a PDF cannot reach the limit, you can still download the smallest possible version, with an explanation of what is left and a link to split it.
Shortcut pages open with a size already chosen: Compress PDF to 200 KB, 300 KB and 500 KB.

A progress bar shows each step while a PDF is compressed, with the time left for longer files, and very large pictures no longer freeze the page.
The result explains what is inside the PDF (pictures, fonts, colour profiles, text and structure), how much each part shrank, and, when a file cannot get smaller, exactly why.
Pictures left alone are named by reason, such as JPEG 2000 pictures, black-and-white scans or small logos.

Print-ready PDFs from design apps now shrink: photos stored in print colours (CMYK) are converted to accurate screen colours and resized, and print colour profiles are removed.
A 72 x 36 inch banner went from 11.6 MB to 389 KB at Recommended with no visible change.
When a PDF really cannot get smaller, the result says it is already optimised and suggests splitting it instead.

After compressing, the size at all three levels is shown, and any level that gives the same file as another is labelled.
Transparent pictures shrink more: their transparency layer is scaled down with the picture.
Light now includes every clean-up that does not change how the document looks, so it saves more.
Small savings are shown as they are instead of being hidden, and the hint to try Strong only appears when Strong would do more.

Much smaller results: embedded fonts are rebuilt to hold only the characters in use, with every letter unchanged.
Pictures are resampled to 220, 150 or 72 pixels per inch at the size they appear, so the three levels differ clearly.
Duplicate images and fonts are stored once, and private editing data and page thumbnails are removed at Recommended and Strong.
The result explains how many pictures and fonts were made smaller, and why anything was left alone.

First release: three compression levels, picture resizing and re-saving with text left untouched, lossless clean-up of unused and uncompressed data, all without uploading.