# Why a compressed PDF loses selectable text

The Compress PDF tool on this site does not work like Adobe's compressor. It paints every page and builds a new picture-PDF. That is why a phone scan of a contract usually shrinks, and why a digital invoice often grows and can no longer be searched.

## What the tool actually does

Each page is drawn onto a white canvas and saved as a JPEG. Those JPEGs are placed back onto pages of the same size. The new file is a stack of pictures. It is not the original PDF with a smaller image stream inside it.

Photos and scans are already pictures, so a stronger JPEG squeeze is what makes them smaller. A 10-page phone scan of a signed contract is often 8–15 MB because each page is a large photo. The Balanced setting usually brings that kind of file down. The type gets slightly softer.

A PDF made only of real text is already compact. Turning those letters into pixels often makes the file bigger. The size line under the buttons is there so you can reject that result and keep the original.

## What you lose

- Find, copy, and screen readers lose the words, because the letters are now pixels.
- Form fields are flattened into the picture. You cannot fill them in afterwards.
- There is no way to put the original text layer back. Compress first only if you no longer need the words.
- This is not Adobe. Adobe can subset fonts and recompress streams while keeping text. A browser cannot do that job. This page only rasterizes and rebuilds.

## The three quality choices

Smaller is the right choice when you need to email a scan and softness is acceptable. Balanced is the default compromise. Clearer keeps more detail and usually makes a larger file. Use Clearer when someone still has to read small print, and expect less of a size cut.

None of the three choices restores selectable text. If you still need the words, run PDF to Text or PDF to Word on the original file before you compress it.

## Size, page limit, and passwords

Long pages are scaled so the long side stays around 2,400 pixels. Files over 40 pages are cut off with a warning. Split the PDF first if you need the rest.

Password-protected files are refused. This page does not remove or bypass passwords.

The PDF libraries load from a CDN, so opening the tool needs a connection. The PDF itself is read in the tab. See what the browser does with a file if you want the precise split between the script and the document.

## A worked comparison

Take two files into the same Balanced setting. The phone scan should drop. A 200 KB digital invoice, where the words are real text, can come out larger. If the new file is bigger, download is still offered so you can compare, then keep the original.

Do not use this tool on a form you still have to complete, on a drawing export that is already small, or on a file you will later search. Use it when the pages are photos and a slightly softer picture is an acceptable trade.

## Questions

### Will this match Adobe's compressor?

No. Adobe can keep the text and only recompress images and fonts. This page paints each page and builds a new picture-PDF. The 40-page limit is stated on the tool.

### Why is my file larger?

The original was probably real text or an already-small scan. Try Smaller, or skip the tool and keep the original. The comparison line is the check.

### Can I compress a password-protected PDF?

No. The file is refused. This page does not remove passwords.

Tool: https://pctoolsonline.com/tools/compress-pdf.html