Linearize PDF
Reorder a document so a reader can show page one before the rest arrives.
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Or paste them, or pick them from this device. Nothing is uploaded: the work happens in this tab.
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Linearize the file
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What this does
A linearized PDF is arranged so that everything needed to draw page one comes first, which lets a reader show that page while the rest is still arriving. It matters for a large document served over a network from somewhere that answers byte-range requests, and it makes no difference at all to a file opened from a disk. The document itself is unchanged: same pages, same order, same size on paper.
What it will not do
Every tool here says what it cannot do, in its own words, before you rely on it.
- Pagecraft reorders the objects so that page one and everything it draws with come first. It does not write the hint tables a fully linearized file carries, so a reader that insists on those will fall back to reading the whole file.
- The difference is only visible over a network, and only from a server that answers byte-range requests. Opening the file from a disk is exactly as fast either way.
- Nothing about the document changes: same pages, same order, same size on paper.
Questions people ask
Will this make my file smaller?
No. It reorders the objects rather than removing any. For a smaller file, use Compress PDF.
Will I notice a difference?
Only over a network, and only from a server that supports byte ranges. Locally, a PDF opens at the same speed either way.
Is my file uploaded anywhere?
No. The work happens in this browser tab, on your own machine. There is no server in this product to send a file to, which is why the promise is checkable rather than something you have to take on trust: open your browser's network panel and watch it do the work without making a request.
Is there a size limit, or a limit on how many files?
None that we impose. The limit is your own machine's memory, because that is where the work happens — a few hundred megabytes is comfortable on a laptop, and less on a phone. There is no daily task counter, no queue and no account.
What does it cost, and what is the catch?
Nothing, and there is no paid tier that unlocks features: the whole product is the free one. That is affordable because running it costs us nothing — your computer does the work — so there is no per-file cost to recover, no advertising and no data to sell.