Your `/Decks` folder has 20 PDFs averaging 35 MB each. Total: 700 MB. Most are 80% bigger than they need to be. You want them all under 10 MB before the next quarterly review.
One batch pass handles the lot.
Audit the folder first
Sort by size, descending. The biggest five files probably account for half the total. Those are your highest-ROI compressions.
If any deck is over 50 MB, it's almost certainly carrying full-resolution images that nobody can see at presentation size. Those compress dramatically.
Compress each via Flint
Open Flint compress. Drag a deck in, compress, download. Repeat. Each deck takes about 10 seconds. Twenty decks = 3–4 minutes of clicking.
For truly batch operation, queue them in tabs — open Flint compress in 5 tabs, drag a deck into each, hit compress in parallel. Cuts the wall-clock time by half.
Save compressed versions in a sibling folder
Save the compressed outputs to `/Decks/_compressed/` rather than overwriting. Verify a couple of them look fine before replacing the originals.
For sensitive originals (board decks, M&A material), keep the uncompressed source separately and use the compressed copies only for distribution.
Replace and archive
Once verified, replace the originals with the compressed versions. Move the originals to `/Archive/Decks/Originals/` if you want to keep them.
Result: a 700 MB folder becomes a 120 MB folder. Backups are faster, sync is faster, and email attachments stop bouncing.
FAQ
Do compressed decks look noticeably worse?
For typical screen and projector viewing, no — the compression targets oversized image data that's invisible at presentation resolution. For print at A3+ or high-DPI displays, use lighter compression.
How long does compressing a 50 MB deck take?
5–10 seconds in the browser. The browser does the work locally.
Should I worry about losing animations or transitions?
PDFs don't have animations or transitions — only embedded video, which most compressors leave alone or downsample carefully. If your decks have embedded media, test one before batch-compressing.
Is there a way to do this without clicking each file?
Currently each file is a manual drag. For most users this is fine for the volumes involved; for truly massive folders (100+), a desktop batch tool may be worth a one-time use.
A folder of decks is one pass away from being lean. Compress the heaviest one in Flint first and feel the satisfaction.