Gmail tops out at 25 MB. Outlook at 20. Some corporate servers cap inbound at 10. Your PDF is 38 MB and the meeting is in an hour.
You've got three options and one of them will work in under two minutes.
Option 1: compress aggressively
Most PDFs are 60-90% compressible without visible quality loss. Run yours through Flint's compressor at the highest setting. A 38 MB report typically lands around 4-8 MB.
If it's still too big, the file is probably image-heavy. Drop the image quality one notch and try again.
Option 2: split into parts
If compression isn't enough, split the PDF into two or three smaller files. Send them as separate emails labelled "Part 1 of 3", "Part 2 of 3".
Not elegant, but reliable. Works when no other option does.
Option 3: link instead of attach
Upload the PDF to a shared drive (Drive, Dropbox, OneDrive, SharePoint) and paste the link in the email. No size limit, faster send, easier to revise without bouncing copies around.
For anything sensitive, set the link to require sign-in, or password-protect the PDF first.
FAQ
What's the actual size limit on Gmail?
25 MB for attachments. Above that, Gmail offers to upload to Drive and share a link automatically.
Will compressing reduce quality?
Usually imperceptibly. PDFs with lots of photos see more visible loss; documents with mostly text compress with no visible change.
Can I send multiple PDFs in one email?
Yes, up to the total size limit. Merge them first if you want one file instead of several.
Do recipients see the compressed version differently?
No. Once they open it, they see whatever quality you compressed to. They have no way of knowing the original was larger.
Hitting attachment limits is solvable. Compress the PDF, split it, or link it — whichever fits your situation.