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Local file processing

Turn phone photos of documents into one PDF under an upload portal's size limit

Workflow recipeBy the Toolkitta teamUpdated October 15, 2026

Open this workflow Tested October 1, 2026 3 page photos, 14.7 MB → 1.60 MB PDF + text

Visa, university, job and benefits portals usually want one PDF, often with a size cap such as 2 MB per file, while phone photos are several megabytes each and come in odd sizes. This recipe places each photo on an A4 page, caps very large photos at a 2480 px longest side, adds “Page 1 of N” numbers, compresses the PDF to a 1.9 MB target and gives it a dated name. A second branch reads the finished pages and saves their text, so you can search your own copy later. Your documents stay on your device.

The workflow

You addPhotos of the pages, in order (JPG, PNG, HEIC and more)

Branch 1

  1. Image to PDF

    A4, automatic orientation, small margin, reduce image size

    A4 pages print and preview predictably. Automatic orientation puts a landscape photo on a landscape page. Reduce image size caps the long side at 2480 px and uses JPG quality 80. Effective dpi depends on page placement; inspect small text.

  2. Add Page Numbers to PDF

    “Page 1 of N”, bottom centre

    When a reviewer prints or splits your file, numbers show at once whether a page is missing, and “of N” tells them how many to expect.

  3. Compress PDF

    Target 1,900 KB, keep text

    Many portals cap uploads at 2 MB. A 1,900 KB target leaves a margin, because some portals count a megabyte as 1,000,000 bytes and others as 1,048,576. The compressor picks the lightest setting that fits, so pages are not compressed more than needed.

  4. Rename files

    documents-2026-10-01.pdf

    A dated, plain name is easy to find again and does not reveal anything about you if the file is forwarded. Change it to what the portal asks for, such as your surname and the document type.

Branch 2 · continues from step 4, Rename files

  1. Extract Text from Image & PDF

    English text from every page

    Photographed pages are pictures, so the PDF cannot be searched. Reading the text on your device gives you a searchable record of what you sent. Choose Turkish in the step for Turkish documents.

You getOne A4 PDF targeting 1.9 MB, plus a separate text file of its pages

A measured run

We ran this recipe on 1 October 2026 in a Chromium-based desktop browser on a Mac. We do not publish photos of real documents, so we drew three text pages at 3,115 × 4,032 px, about a 12-megapixel phone photo, with uneven paper shading and sensor-like grain, and saved them as JPGs at quality 90 (4.9 MB each).

Three page photos14.66 MB3,115 × 4,032 px JPGs
A4 PDF, numbered2.10 MB3 pages, images reduced to 2,480 px
Final PDF1.60 MBUnder the 1,900 KB target, dated name
Text file10.8 KBAll three pages read

The PDF on its own was over 2 MB, so the target did real work: the compressor settled on its lightest setting that fit. The first lines of the text file matched the pages word for word. Real photos with shadows, folds or handwriting read less cleanly, so check both files before you send or keep them.

Take photos that read well

  • Photograph in daylight or under even light, without your own shadow across the page.
  • Hold the phone straight above the page so the lines stay parallel.
  • Fill the frame with the page. The PDF step adds its own margin.
  • Select the photos in page order. The PDF uses the order of the input list, and you can reorder files there before running.

How to use the workflow

  1. Select Open this workflow, then add the page photos in the Input pane and check their order.
  2. If the portal's limit is not 2 MB, open Compress PDF and set the target a little under it.
  3. Select Run workflow. Open Compress PDF to see the final size, and Extract Text to check what was read.
  4. Download the PDF from Rename files. Keep the text file for your records; portals do not need it.

What this recipe does not do

It does not straighten tilted pages or embed the text inside the PDF; the text is a separate file. Compression and page numbers change the file, so do not use this recipe on a document that has to keep a digital signature.

Check every page before you send it. Compression is lossy, and a faint stamp or pencil note can fade more than printed text. The compressor does not judge text readability. If it misses the target at its lowest allowed setting, it returns its smallest result within its limits; inspect faint marks and small text yourself. Check the size in its Output pane and remove a page or choose Flatten pages if needed.

Questions

Can I use HEIC photos from an iPhone?

Yes. HEIC and HEIF photos are decoded in the browser and placed on the pages like any JPG.

Why A4 and not Fit image?

Fit image makes every page the size of its photo, so pages differ in size and print at odd scales. Choose US Letter in the first step if your recipient uses it.

How accurate is the text file?

Clear, evenly lit pages read well; handwriting, stamps and shadows do not. The text is for your own searching, not a legal copy.

Related guides

How to reduce PDF file size (and why a PDF is big in the first place)

Why PDFs grow, which level to pick for email, portals and print, how to hit a limit such as 1 MB, and what to do when a scan will not shrink — no upload.

Read the guide

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