How to change the page size of a PDF

Changing a PDF's page size is done with Pages > Change page size in PDF by Zaweba. Pick the new size and decide what happens to the content: it can be scaled to fit the new page, or kept at its own size and centred on it. The change is made on your own PC, and saved into the file when you save.

The classic case is Letter and A4. A document made in America arrives on Letter paper, and printing it in Britain or Europe on A4 leaves odd margins or clips the bottom. Converting the pages once fixes it for everyone who prints the file afterwards.

Scale to fit, or centre

The two choices suit different documents.

Scaling to fit makes the content bigger or smaller so it fills the new page. Use it when the whole page should still be used, as with a letter, a report or a form moving between similar sizes. Text gets a little larger or smaller, but nothing is cut off.

Centring keeps the content at exactly its own size and places it in the middle of the new page. Use it when size matters more than filling the sheet, such as a drawing at a set scale, a label that has to measure what it measures, or a page going onto larger paper with a border round it. If the new page is smaller than the content, centring will leave the edges outside the page, so choose scaling for that case.

Changing the size

Choose the pages in the thumbnails panel (press F4 if it's hidden), or stay on the page you want to change. To change every page, select them all first. Then choose Pages > Change page size, pick the new size and the way the content should be placed.

Look through the result. If you're happy, save. Save as keeps the original file untouched under its old name if you might want both. And every change is an undo step, so Ctrl+Z puts it back.

Page size, crop and print scaling

Changing the page size is one of three things people often mix up, and the right one depends on what you want.

Crop pages changes which part of a page is shown, without changing the content's size. It's for trimming margins and unwanted edges.

Change page size changes the sheet itself, and moves or scales the content to suit.

Print scaling, in the File > Print window, fits pages to the paper only as they're printed, without changing the file. If all you need is one good printout on A4, fitting to the paper in the print window may be all it takes. Change the file when everyone who opens it should get the new size.

Mixed page sizes in one document

Documents put together from different sources often end up with a mix of sizes, say an A4 report with a Letter page from a supplier and a scanned page that's slightly smaller than either. Choose all the pages and give them one size, scaled to fit, and the document prints evenly.

Wide pages in a tall document, like a landscape table in a portrait report, are often meant to be that way. Pages > Select pages can pick just the portrait pages or just the landscape ones, so you can change one group without touching the other.

PDF by Zaweba is free software for Windows that works offline with no account, so documents are resized on your own computer.