Get your PDF ready to email
Attachment too large or too sensitive to send as-is? Shrink the PDF, split out only the pages that matter, or add a password before attaching it. Each step runs in your browser, so the document is never uploaded while you prepare it.
- Compress PDF for emailSlip under the 25 MB limit.→
- Password-protect a PDF for emailEncrypt before attaching.→
- Split out the pages you needSend a few pages, not the whole file.→
The attachment limit problem
Gmail caps attachments at 25 MB and Outlook at roughly 20 MB, but scanners, cameras, and export dialogs routinely produce PDFs far larger than that. Compressing the PDF re-encodes its pages in your browser and usually brings a scanned packet under the limit without touching the text. If the file is still too big, splitting it into the pages the recipient actually needs is often the better answer — a five-page excerpt arrives faster than a ninety-page archive anyway.
When size is not the issue but content is, splitting works the other direction too: extract the signature page, the relevant exhibit, or the single chapter someone asked for, and send only that.
Attachments worth locking first
Email is forwarded, archived, and occasionally sent to the wrong address. Bank statements, identity documents, contracts, and medical paperwork all deserve a password before they go out. The encryption step here runs locally — the document and the password are never transmitted to this site — then you send the locked file and share the password through a separate channel like a call or a secure messenger.
A practical order of operations: merge the pieces into one file, split away anything the recipient does not need, compress what remains so it sends cleanly, and add the password last so the final attachment is the protected one.
Preparing mail on a deadline
Because every step runs in your browser, there is no upload wait on a slow connection and no queue behind other users' files. The whole prepare-and-send loop — shrink, trim, lock — typically takes under a minute once the PDF is in hand.
Common questions
- What is the email attachment limit?
- Gmail allows 25 MB per message and Outlook around 20 MB; some corporate gateways are stricter. Compressing the PDF or splitting out the needed pages usually gets a file under the limit.
- Should I compress or split the PDF?
- Compress when the recipient needs the whole document but the file is too large. Split when only some pages matter — a smaller excerpt is often more useful than a squeezed full document.
- How do I share the password safely?
- Send the locked PDF by email, then deliver the password through a different channel — a phone call, SMS, or a secure messenger — so the two never travel together.
Last updated