When no setting gets there, Bindery says so instead of passing off an over-limit file as a fit. It shows the smallest size this PDF reaches and why — the pictures still weigh too much at the lowest setting, or the text, fonts and structure alone are bigger than the limit — and offers Split into parts under 10 MB, or the smallest version, clearly marked as over the limit. Split opens with that smallest version and the limit filled in, and measures each part by really writing it, so you can send the parts as separate emails. For a one-pass alternative, choose Upload-ready’s Email attachment destination: it checks the file against 15 MB and against passwords and printing or copying restrictions, fixes what it can, checks again and gives you a plain-text report of every check and change. Either way the attachment, often the private part of the message, stays in your browser tab and is never uploaded.
How it works
- Drop the PDF — Compress opens with 10 MB set and searches for the best fit on your device
- Check the result: the real size and the setting used, or why the file cannot fit — type another limit and press Fit to search again
- Download and attach it, or choose Split into parts under 10 MB and send each part as its own email
Questions people ask
Why aim for 10 MB when Gmail allows 25 MB?
Because the cap is on the message, not the PDF. Email encoding adds about a third, so a 10 MB file travels as roughly 13 MB — inside Outlook’s 20 MB and Gmail’s 25 MB with room to spare. If you know the limit at the other end, type about three quarters of it into the size box and press Fit: a server that stops at 10 MB needs 7, and a bare number like that is read as megabytes. “Save these settings as my default” keeps your limit for the next time you open Compress from the app; this page always starts at 10 MB.
Will the attachment still look like the original?
As close as 10 MB allows, and the result tells you exactly how close. If lossless cleanup fits, it reads “lossless — every pixel identical”. Otherwise it names the image setting it chose, such as “images at 150 DPI, quality 60” — the highest-quality setting whose real output fits. Text is never turned into pixels, so it stays sharp and selectable, and grayscale appears only among the three lowest settings, when colour cannot fit at all.
Does the free plan’s watermark or daily limit change the result?
The 10 MB applies to the file you download. On the free plan the small “Made with Bindery” line is added before the final size check, and if it tips the file over, the search runs again with less room. Finding the fit does not use one of your three daily jobs; only the completed compression does. The free plan opens files up to 25 MB; a larger PDF needs Pro, which has no file caps.