Reduce PDF to a Specific Size

Due to the internal structure of PDF, it is impossible to predict the document size. It is also not possible to even have a hint about the "best possible" without knowing the document.

That said, there are a few things you can do to reduce the file size. The very first is (don't laugh) do a proper Save As... which will rearrange the internal structure and clean up most of no longer needed stuff.

The next step would be Advanced --> PDFOptimizer… and then click on Audit Space usage… The result will give you hints on where the biggest potential in reducing the file size is. And then you are already in the PDFOptimizer, where you can start fiddling around with optimization options.If you have raster images, you may reduce their resolution (but be aware of lower image quality), if you know that your users have certain fonts embedded, or for that document, viewing fidelity is not a top priority, you may think about unembedding fonts. If your document has been created (or in its lifetime being processed) with an external application, such as Illustrator, you can get rid of that third party's editing information.

However, in none of these cases, you can predict the final document size.

HTH.

Thanks for taking the time to answer my questions.

I know about the Save As trick. It has never reduced the file size for me.

"fiddling around " with the PDF Optimizer is not really ideal in a work situation when deadlines need to be meet.