It is not uncommon for PDF files to feature numerous images and graphics – these often make the documents too big. On top of eating a lot of space on your Mac, these documents could present a problem if your goal is to send them via email. These issues can be solved by compressing the document. In this article, you will learn how to reduce a PDF size on Mac without losing quality.
- Adobe Compress Pdf
- Pdf Viewer Mac
- Edit Pdf Mac
- Pfp Resizer
- Resize Pdf Mac Free Online
- Resize Pdf Mac Free File
- Compress a PDF in Preview on Mac. In the Preview app on your Mac, open the PDF, then choose File Export. (Don’t choose Export as PDF.) Click the Quartz Filter pop-up menu, then choose Reduce File Size.
- Download Resize Pdf Mac Software. PDF Editor Mac v.3.6.1 PDF Editor Mac is a OS X free application that allows users to add text, insert images, put watermarks to label their copyright, changing font size and color, and perform other editings of a PDF document. Batch TIFF & PDF Converter v.1.0.0 Batch TIFF & PDF Converter is an All-In-One.
Our PDF compressor is browser-based. It works on Windows, Mac, Linux, and even mobile devices. This PDF compressor is 100% free. No registration or installation is required. Related File Compressors and PDF tools. Compress PNG; Compress JPEG; GIF Compressor; Image Compressor; Split PDF; Resize PDF; PDF Merge tool.
How Does Compressing PDFs Work on Mac?
You probably experienced this: you are uploading a PDF onto a webpage or you are trying to attach a PDF file to your email, and then you get a notification saying that your PDF size exceeds the file size limit. This is the time when you should need to reduce the PDF size.
Since PDF can be bulky easily when it contains a lot of information, PDF size reduction, or PDF compression, is of great importance for those who need to deal with PDF files daily.
When you compress a PDF file size, you reduce the size of the PDF. Consequently, the file reduction process will result in the creation of files that you can store in the basic database systems without any need to purchase and add a new database drive. The need to use the systems to compress a PDF file size will lead to more efficient documents.
PDF compression has no information loss during the process, compared to other file format compression. For example, we use the image or JPEG compression, but image compression normally results in image quality loss or data loss. In this case, PDF compression seems to be the best way to compress a document.
Reduce PDF size on Mac with Preview
The Preview feature is available on all computersrunning OS X. It is an inbuilt feature capable of handling all the basic PDFneeds, including compressing the Portable Document Format (PDF) file. Previewusually uses the Quartz filter to compress the PDF file.
The steps we have outlined below will take you through the process of reducing the size of your PDF file using the Preview feature:
Step1: Locate the fileyou would like to compress on your Mac. Open the file with Preview.
Step2: Once the file isopen, tap File > Export on the menu bar.
Step 3: On the popup window that appears, choose the Reduce file size option in the Quartz Filter Setting (this should be available under the Format setting).
Adobe Compress Pdf
Note: While the overall quality of the PDF documentmay not be reduced too much, the image quality and the dpi will be reduced tomake the document smaller. If your goal is to retain the image quality and dpi,the Preview feature may not be the best option for compressing your PDF document.
Make a PDF Smaller on Mac Using ColorSync
ColorSync is available by default on all computers running on OS X. The application is usually used as a color management system – it helps Mac users modify images by adding effects, adjusting brightness or colors, tweaking the color space, etc. You can, however, use ColorSync to reduce the size of a PDF file. To learn how to reduce a PDF size on Mac using ColorSync, follow the steps below:
Step1: Navigate toFinder > Application folder and then launch the ColorSync Utility.
Step 2: Select File > Open. Now locate the file you would like to shrink and open it in ColorSync.
Step3: In the Filtermenu, select Reduce File Size and then hit the Apply button.
Step4: Finally, go toFile > select Save As > Hit Save.
Note: Similar to Preview, the ColorSync feature maynot produce a high quality compressed document. If the quality of the documentsis a major concern, avoid using the ColorSync – in this case, try the computerprograms introduced in the following sections.
Use PDF Compressors Online
It is possible to use a web-based application to reduce the PDF file size. If you decide to use an online program to shrink your PDF document, ensure that the document does not feature private or sensitive information.
While the online programs do claim that they respect the user’s privacy, there is always the possibility that your sensitive information may be accessed by third-parties.
Below, we will show you how to reduce PDF size on Mac without losing quality using various Online Programs:
CleverPDF.com
Step1: Launch yourbrowser and visit cleverpdf.com.
Step 2: Select the Compress PDF option.
Step3: Drag and dropthe PDF files you would like to compress to the file area. Depending on thefile size and internet connection speed, you may need to wait for a couple ofseconds to minutes for the upload to complete.
Note: The online program does allow you to add PDFfiles from Google Drive or Dropbox.
Step4: The compressingwill be initiated automatically after the file upload is completed. You canthen download the compressed document to your Mac.
Pdfcompressor.com
Step 1: Visit https://pdfcompressor.com/ on your computer web browser.
Step 2: Drag and drop the PDF files you would like to compress into theworking area.
Step 3: Wait for the upload to finish. After the upload is complete, theonline program will initiate the conversion automatically.
Step 4: After the conversion, simply tap Download or Download All. Thiswill depend on whether you had uploaded a single file or multiple files.
Using PDF Compressor Software
PDFelement
PDFelement is another ideal computer software that you can use to reduce your PDF file size. On top of allowing you to reduce your PDF file size, the tool has other features, including allowing you to remove annotations, add watermarks, include custom footers and headers, add hyperlinks, etc.
As you have probably guessed, the application is not 100% free. However, you can use the application’s free trial version. The free trial will, however, feature some limitations. To learn how to reduce PDF size on Mac without losing quality using PDFelement, follow the steps below:
Step 1: Install PDFelement on your Mac. Next, open the PDF file you would like to shrink in PDFelement. To do this, simply launch PDFelement and then tap the Open File button available at the bottom of the home screen.
Step2: Navigate to File> Save as Other and then select the Optimize PDF option.
Step3: From thedropdown menu that appears, you should be able to choose the ideal compressionoption. The options that appear include High, Medium, and Low. To get ahigh-quality document after the compression, you should select the Highoption.
Step 4: After selecting your preferred compression option, tap the Save As button. PDFelement will resize the PDF file immediately.
Note: After resizing the PDF file, the tool will display both the original document and the resized one. You can compare the two files before saving the shrunk file.
Pdf Viewer Mac
Step5: To apply thechanges and save your document, simply tap the Save button.
Note: This tool does allow batch compression. If you have numerous PDF files that you wish to reduce their sizes, you can add all the files to PDFelement and compress all of them in one go.
Cisdem PDF Compressor for Mac
Cisdem PDF Compressor is an application that works on macOS computers. The tool is capable of reducing the size of more than 1 PDF file. You can import up to 50 files to the program and reduce all PDF size on Mac at once.
The tool features a 100% success rate. Yourdocuments will be compressed without losing their quality. Below, we have thesteps that you should follow to compress your files using Cisdem PDF Compressorfor Mac:
Step1: Download thetool on your Mac and install it.
Step2: After launchingthe program, drag and drop the PDF files you would like to compress into theprogram.
Step3: From the 4compression modes available, choose the mode that works for your needs.
Step4: Click theCompress button to initiate the compression.
Note: This tool is not 100% free. However, you can use its free trial version to shrink your documents.
Summary
If you are trying to email your thesis which features numerous images, tons of pages, tables, diagrams, and numerous graphics, you may need to shink your document. Also, if you would like to reduce the space occupied by PDF files on your Mac computer, compression is an ideal solution. The options we have outlined above should help you compress your documents quickly and easily.
If quality is a major concern, try to avoid using the default features available on macOS. While the default features can reduce the PDF size on Mac, the output document may not feature the best quality. If you do not want to pay for a computer program, use online programs for your less sensitive documents. For sensitive documents, you can always use a free computer program trial version.
For PDF compression on Windows, click here.
Lily, a student who needs to complete a research articles recently, there are abundant document literature in PDF on her Mac. But, now she is very upset, those PDF files takes a lot of storage space so that her Mac run out of memory everyday, and she can not delete those PDF files. Is there free way to resize PDF file on Mac? The answer: Yes!
Preview: Resize a PDF on Mac Easily and Free
If there are a handful of PDF files on your Mac, you can directly use Preview to resize PDF files on Mac one by one. For some users those turned to Mac from Windows, they may don't know that they can directly resize PDF file on Mac free with built-in Preview. Preview is the application that enables users to open image and PDF file on Mac. And it also provides multiple functions, including reducing PDF file size, add signature to PDF, etc.
Steps to Resize PDF file on Mac with Preview
- Find your PDF file that want to resize and open it on Mac with Preview.
- Next, go to the top menu bar, and click the 'File', then you need to choose 'Export' as shown in the figure, after choosing, a window will pop up.
- Now, you should rename your resized PDF file, and you also have to do another thing, selecting 'Reduce file size' on the drop-down list of 'Quartz Filter'. And just click 'Save' to complete the whole process of resizing PDF on mac.
Pros:
- Free
- No need to download and install any application on mac
- Preview the PDF before resizing
Cons:
- No batch PDF resizing
- File quality will be sacrificed during the PDF resizing
Automator: Resize Multiple PDFs on Mac Free
Automator is a free mac tool enabling users to build custom workflows for simple or complex tasks, for example, cropping images, combining multiple PDF documents or PPT files, extracting PDF text, playing movies, setting itunes, etc. With Automator, you will be able to resize a or multiple PDFs on mac for free.
Steps to resize PDF file on Mac with Automator
- Go to Applications and run Automator on your mac
- Choose “Workflow” to resize pdf on mac for free
- Drag the following workflows from the left column to the right column.
Files & Folders > Get specific Finder Items
PDFs > Combine PDF pages
PDFs > Compress Images in PDF Documents
Files & Folders > Open Finder Items. - Then drag the PDF file that you want to resize into the section of “Get Specified Finder Items”(for resizing multiple PDFs, drag and drop all the PDFs into the section and hold “Shift” when selecting files to choose all files for resizing)
- Hit “Run” on the top right to start resizing a PDF on mac for free
- Go to File>Save, the resized PDF file will be saved on your mac.
Pros:
- Free
- No need to install any applications
- Batch resizing PDF on mac for free
- Combine all the resized PDFs into one
Cons:
- Image resolution is greatly sacrificed since Automator resizes PDF files by compressing the images in PDF files.
- Not easy-to-use, several steps are required to resize a pdf
Third Party PDF Resizer: Batch and Good-Quality PDF Compression on Mac
Edit Pdf Mac
As you can see, free solutions to resize a pdf on mac is not perfect to keep the original file quality. If you need to deal with plenty of PDF files, and you don't want to resize them one by one with Preview. Or you have higher requirement on resizing PDF files on Mac, you can try a third-party PDF resizer.
Cisdem PDFCompressor is your best choice, which makes it amazingly simple to reduce the size of 1 or multiple PDF files. This application provides 5 compression models for users, including Minimal File Size(1 dpi), Small File Size(72 dpi), Medium File Size(150 dpi), Large File Size(300 dpi) and Customized(Manually Input Parameters). And it will show you the compressed PDF file size of each mode, you can easy view the difference in quality as compared to the original, as well as the compressed PDF file size. More important, PDFCompressor for Mac supports batch mode, you can easily resize multiple PDFs at a time.
Steps to resize PDF file on Mac with Cisdem PDFCompressor
- Click the”Free Download” button to start downloading the Cisdem PDF Resizer, and then you should launch it on your Mac. Free Download
- Next, importing PDFs that need to be resized by clicking “Add Files…”,or by drag-n-drop, you can import up to 50 PDF files to the panel for resizing at one time.
- Then you need to choose PDF compression model to resize pdf on mac as you like.
- Click “Compress” to start resizing PDF file on Mac, just wait a moment, it will complete compression process since this application can compress a 500-page PDF file within 1 minute.
Pros:
Pfp Resizer
- Batch resizing pdf
- Fast speed
- Multiple resizing modes
- Easy to use
Resize Pdf Mac Free Online
Cons:
Resize Pdf Mac Free File
- Not free