Optimize PDF for Web
Fast-loading, linearized PDFs.
Optimize PDF for Web runs on our secure server
- Encrypted upload
- Your file is uploaded directly to short-lived object storage over a pre-signed URL.
- Safety checks
- Each file is checked before any processor sees it: an empty file, a file whose type contradicts its name or this tool, or a PDF with no PDF header is refused. Whether a malware scan runs as well is reported by the live server, and shows here once this page has heard from it.
- Processing
- A separate processing server — not this website — fetches your file from that storage and does the work.
- Download
- You get a signed, expiring link to the result — no account required.
- Auto-delete
- Inputs are wiped right after processing; outputs auto-delete within the retention window.
Checking our secure server…
About this tool
Linearize a PDF for Fast Web View, so its first page can show while the rest downloads — not compression. Runs on a server that deletes the input after the job.
Files are processed on a secure server, which deletes the upload when the job ends and serves the result for a limited time.
More details
Optimize for Web rewrites a PDF in linearized form, the layout Acrobat calls Fast Web View. An ordinary PDF keeps its object index at the end, so a viewer opening it from a link must fetch the tail before drawing anything. A linearized file puts what page one needs at the front, plus a hint table, so a viewer that requests byte ranges can show the first page while the rest arrives and fetch other pages as they are opened.
The work is done by qpdf with its --linearize option and nothing else. qpdf changes the order and layout of the stored objects, not what they draw: no page is re-rendered and no image is downsampled, though by default qpdf may losslessly re-compress streams as it writes them. It is not a size reducer; for a smaller file, use Compress PDF.
qpdf is a native program, so linearizing cannot happen in your browser: the PDF, at most 100 MB and one per job, is uploaded over TLS to pdf.xyz's secure server. Your original is removed from our server as soon as the job is over, successful or not. The linearized result stays fetchable for 60 minutes; after that its link is dead, and a storage rule on a daily cycle deletes what remains.
When to use it
Manuals and catalogues linked from a website
A long manual served from your own site can show its cover quickly instead of making the visitor wait for the whole file, as long as the server answers byte-range requests.
Reports hosted in a document portal or intranet
Annual reports and policy handbooks are read a few pages at a time; linearized, a web viewer can fetch just the pages a reader opens.
Meeting a Fast Web View requirement
When a publishing checklist or a client asks for Fast Web View, this produces a qpdf-linearized file you can verify yourself (see the questions below).
The final step after compressing or editing
Shrink the file with Compress PDF or finish your page edits first, then linearize last. A later rewrite by another editor generally throws the linearized layout away again.
How it works
1Wait for the server check
On load the panel asks the server status endpoint whether a server is ready to accept jobs, and shows the answer in a badge, which reads “Secure server” on the live site. The drop box takes a file at once, and it goes to our secure server only once that answer is yes and you press the button: while the check runs the panel says “Checking our secure server…”, a failed check offers “Check again”, and if our server is not enabled it offers “Notify me when this ships”, which only adds one to a count of requests for this tool.
2Add one PDF
Drop the PDF on the dashed drop zone, or click that zone to open a file picker. It takes a single document; drop several and all but the first are ignored. The chosen name then replaces the zone, with “Remove” beside it to start over. The upload is requested with the file's size and a type read from its name, so a file over 100 MB, or one whose name does not end in .pdf, is turned away before any of its bytes are sent.
3Click “Optimize on our secure server”
There are no options to set. The button shows each stage in turn: “Uploading your file…”, “Waiting for our server…” while the job is queued, “Optimizing on our secure server…” while qpdf linearizes it, then “Downloading the result…”. Before the result is accepted, our server checks that it is not empty, has a PDF header near its start and an end-of-file marker near its end, and is actually linearized.
4Download the result
When the job completes, the page fetches the result straight away, and a button reading “Download” plus the new name saves it; catalogue.pdf, for example, comes back as catalogue-web-optimized.pdf. The page keeps no link to our server's copy, which stops being served after 60 minutes anyway, so if you reload before saving, run the job again.
Common questions
What does it mean to linearize a PDF?
It reorders the objects inside the file so the first page and a hint table come first, letting a viewer that requests parts of a file render page one early and fetch other pages on demand. What the pages show does not change.
Does a linearized PDF load faster everywhere?
No. It helps when a viewer that requests byte ranges opens the PDF from a server that honours them. An email attachment is downloaded whole before it opens, and a file on your disk can already be read in any order, so neither gains anything.
How can I check that the result is linearized?
In Adobe Acrobat or Reader, open File › Properties and check that the Fast Web View line reads Yes. From a command line, `qpdf --check-linearization yourfile.pdf` reports whether the linearization data is valid.
Why was my PDF refused or why did the job fail?
Before qpdf runs, the file must have a PDF header (%PDF-) near its start and an end-of-file marker (%%EOF) near its end. A file with no header is refused as not readable as a PDF; it is usually not a PDF at all, and Repair PDF refuses it too. A file with a header but no end marker is refused as damaged or cut off, which is what an interrupted download loses; Repair PDF accepts such files and the message sends you there, so repair it first and optimize the repaired copy. Deeper damage in a file that has both markers is not refused: if qpdf can work around it the job succeeds, and qpdf's warnings are listed above the download so you can check the rebuilt parts against your original. Encrypted files that ask for a password before opening fail, because this tool hands qpdf no password and has no field for one; take the password off with Unlock PDF first. A qpdf error, a timeout, or output that is missing either marker or is not actually linearized ends in a failed job with no download, never a half-written file.
Is it safe to linearize a digitally signed PDF?
No. Linearizing rewrites the whole file, so the byte ranges a certificate-based digital signature covers no longer match and the signature will stop validating. If a document needs both, linearize the unsigned version and sign it last. Signing tools usually append the signature as an update at the end of the file, after which a viewer may no longer report it as linearized, so run the check above on the signed copy.
How large can my file be?
Up to 100 MB per file.
What does Optimize PDF for Web change?
It linearizes the PDF (Fast Web View): the parts needed to show the first page are moved to the front, with an index, so a browser that loads a PDF in pieces can show page one while the rest is still downloading. What is on the pages — text and images — is not changed.
Does Optimize PDF for Web make my PDF smaller?
Not reliably — linearizing is not compression, and reducing size is not what it is for. It rearranges the file rather than compressing it, and the whole file is rewritten, so its size can change in either direction. To make a PDF smaller, use Compress PDF.
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