How to use it
- Choose the size you need — 100 KB, 200 KB, 300 KB, 500 KB, 1 MB — or tap “Custom” to type any size in KB.
- Tap “Select PDF” and pick your file. Turn on “Black & white” for an even smaller file.
- Wait while every page is compressed. You'll see the progress page by page.
- Check the new size and tap “Download PDF”.
How this PDF compressor works
Scanned PDFs are big because every page is a large photo. ToolDabba redraws each page as an image and then searches for the sharpest resolution and JPEG quality that still fits your target. It tries several quality levels at once, drops any that would go over the limit, and lowers the resolution only when it has to. The result is the clearest PDF that is at or just under the size you picked.
The trade-off: because pages become images, text in the new PDF can't be selected or searched. That is exactly how a scanned document behaves anyway, which is why this method works so well for certificates, marksheets and filled-in forms.
Which size should you pick?
Use the limit written in the form or notification. If it says “maximum 300 KB”, choose 300 KB — the closer you are to the limit, the sharper the result. As a rough guide:
| Target | Works well for |
|---|---|
| 100 KB | One-page certificates and ID proofs (turn on Black & white for text) |
| 200 – 300 KB | Marksheets and certificates with colour seals, or 2–4 pages in black & white |
| 500 KB | Multi-page documents such as experience letters or a set of marksheets |
| 1 MB | Longer documents and colour scans that must stay sharp |
Tips for the best result
- Black & white turns grey, noisy paper into clean white, which makes text-only pages much smaller and easier to read.
- Upload only the pages the form asks for — every extra page shares the same size budget.
- Starting from photos? Make a PDF with JPG to PDF, then compress it here. Several PDFs to submit as one? Join them with Merge PDF first.
- If the form accepts a JPG instead, a single photo often looks better at the same size — use Compress Image.
When not to use it
A resume for a job portal should keep its selectable text, because many hiring systems read it automatically. Digitally signed PDFs, such as DigiLocker certificates or e-Aadhaar, lose their digital signature when they are rebuilt — if a portal wants the signed original, upload it unchanged. Documents made in Word or Google Docs are usually small already: if your PDF is under the limit, the tool tells you so and leaves it untouched.