How to Compress a PDF or Save It as Images or Text

Two questions arrive together: “how do I make this PDF smaller?” and “how do I get this PDF into another format?”. PDFkitt answers both from the download dialog. Compress shrinks scan-heavy files by re-saving each page as a JPEG image; Other formats saves pages as PNG or JPG pictures, or pulls the text out into a plain .txt file. All of it runs on your device.

Compress a PDF

1. Open the PDF. Drop it onto the upload card. The toolbar shows the current size next to the file name.
2. Click Download. The download dialog opens.
3. Tick Compress (smaller file). Read the note beneath it: every page will be saved as an image.
4. Click Download PDF. A progress bar shows each page being processed. The compressed file is saved to your downloads folder; check its size in your file manager.

Save pages as images (PNG or JPG)

1. Go to the page you want. The current page number shows in the navigation bar at the bottom of the viewer.
2. Click Download, then open Other formats. It is the collapsed section under the Download PDF button.
3. Choose a format. “Page N as PNG” gives a lossless image, best for sharing a page in a chat or slide. “Page N as JPG” is smaller, good for photos. “All pages as PNG” saves every page (up to 60) as separate images.
4. Find the files in your downloads folder. Images are rendered at twice the on-screen resolution, so they stay sharp.

Extract the text (.txt)

Under Other formats, click Text only (.txt). The editor reads the text of every page in order and saves it as a plain text file you can open in any editor or paste into Word. Formatting, images and tables are not kept, and a scanned document yields no text, since a scan is a picture.

Other ways to make a PDF smaller

• Delete pages you do not need. Often the fastest win; see deleting pages.
• Split a long document into parts and send only the relevant one; see splitting a PDF.
• Insert smaller images. Images you add are limited to 3000 px on their longest side, but a photo straight from a phone is still large. Resize it first if size matters.
• Re-export from the source. If you have the Word or design file the PDF came from, exporting it again with “minimum size” or “web” settings usually beats any after-the-fact compression.

Frequently asked

How much smaller will my file get?

It depends entirely on what is in it. A 300 dpi color scan can drop by 70–90%. A text document may not shrink at all.

Can I convert a PDF to Word?

Not directly; real conversion needs layout reconstruction that would not be reliable in the browser. The .txt export gives you the words to paste into Word, and the PNG export gives you pages to insert as pictures.

Can I convert images to PDF?

Yes: open any PDF (or insert a blank page in one), use Insert → Image and Fit width, and download. See adding images.