How to Make a LinkedIn Carousel: PDF Format and Size

A LinkedIn carousel is a document, almost always a PDF, that you attach to a post and that readers swipe through page by page. To make one, you design pages that are all the same size, export them as a single PDF, and add it to a post with the "Add a document" option. LinkedIn accepts files of up to 100 MB and 300 pages. The technical rules below come from LinkedIn's Help Center, checked on October 24, 2026.

What is a LinkedIn carousel?

There is no "carousel" button in the LinkedIn editor. Carousel is the name everyone uses for a document post: you upload a file and LinkedIn shows it in the feed as a series of pages, with arrows on desktop and a swipe on mobile. According to Upload and share documents on LinkedIn, the accepted file types are PPT, PPTX, DOC, DOCX and PDF, and LinkedIn recommends converting to PDF whenever possible for the best upload quality. A few rules from the same page are worth knowing before you start:

• You can't edit the document after posting. You can change the post text or delete the post, not swap a page.
• Anyone who can see the post can download it as a PDF, for accessibility reasons.
• Videos and animations inside the file display as static images.
• Pages of different sizes must be fit to the same page size, and a PDF with layers must be flattened.

One more detail: LinkedIn's boost FAQ lists documents among the post types that can't be boosted. A carousel lives on organic reach alone.

How do you make a carousel on LinkedIn, step by step?

1. Write the content before you design anything

Start in a plain text document where each paragraph becomes a page: a title line, then two or three lines at most. Page one is your hook, the last page carries a single request. A carousel built on a real project, with your own numbers, reads better than recycled tips.

2. Design every page at the same size

Keep one size for the whole file. The usual choice is 1080 x 1350 pixels, a 4:5 portrait that takes the most height on a phone, or a 1080 x 1080 square.

3. Export a single PDF

Export all pages into one PDF, in order, with a screen setting rather than print, and check it stays under 100 MB and 300 pages.

4. Post it as a document

• On your homepage, click "Start a post".
• Click "More", then the "Add a document" icon.
• Choose your PDF from your computer, or from Dropbox or Google Drive.
• Give the document a title and click "Done".
• Write the post text and click "Post".

On mobile, tap "Post", then the "More" icon and "Document", pick your file, add a title, tap "Next", write your text and post.

5. Work on the text above the carousel

The first lines of the post decide whether people stop, so make them point to page one without repeating it. Our LinkedIn post preview shows where the "see more" cutoff falls on mobile and desktop.

How do you make a LinkedIn carousel in Canva, PowerPoint or Google Slides?

Canva: create a design at a custom size of 1080 x 1350 px, or start from a LinkedIn carousel template and check its dimensions. Duplicate the first page to keep the same layout, then go to "Share", "Download", choose "PDF Standard" and, under presets, "Digital" (per Canva's download guide).

PowerPoint: go to "Design", "Slide Size", "Custom Slide Size", set a portrait size with a 4:5 ratio, then export as PDF. LinkedIn takes PPTX files too, but recommends PDF itself.

Google Slides: open "File", "Page setup", choose "Custom" and enter 1080 x 1350 pixels. Then use "File", "Download", "PDF document".

Without design software: our LinkedIn carousel generator turns plain text into pages. A blank line starts a new page, you pick 4:5 portrait or square, and you download a PDF ready to post, with no watermark.

What size and format should a LinkedIn carousel be?

LinkedIn gives no pixel dimensions for documents. The 1080 x 1350 habit comes from images: LinkedIn's photo guidelines allow ratios from 3:1 to 4:5, so 4:5 is the tallest shape the feed shows. Landscape pages work on desktop, but on a phone they shrink, and your text shrinks with them. Image, banner and profile photo dimensions are in our guide to LinkedIn image sizes.

How many slides should a LinkedIn carousel have?

The cap is 300 pages, and LinkedIn publishes no ideal number. Use as many pages as the idea needs: if you can remove one without the reader losing the thread, remove it, because people who drop off midway never reach your call to action.

What design rules keep a carousel readable on a phone?

• Large type that reads without zooming once the page is shrunk in the feed.
• One idea per page. A six-point list goes over two pages.
• Strong contrast between text and background, and no text over a busy photo.
• A page number so readers know there's more coming.
• Your name in the footer, since the PDF can be downloaded and shared outside LinkedIn.

Before you post, swipe through the PDF on your own phone. Once it's live, you can't fix a typo without deleting the post.

How do you measure a carousel's results?

Click the impressions count under your post, or "View analytics". LinkedIn's post analytics page groups the numbers into discovery, profile activity and social engagement, including saves and sends, and only you can see them. For a carousel, look at saves and sends first: they show people kept or forwarded your document because it was useful. Compare each carousel with your own past posts rather than with averages found online.

Those numbers won't tell you whether the carousel brought you potential clients. Makelead imports the people who react to or comment on your posts, sends them a connection request and writes a first message with AI from their first name, job title, company and location. Each prospect stays linked to the post that brought them in, so you can see which carousel actually started conversations. If that's the part you care about, read how to turn LinkedIn post engagement into leads.