Click the Select a file button above, or drag & drop files into the drop zone. Select the file you want to make smaller. After uploading, Acrobat automatically reduces the PDF file size. Download your compressed PDF file or sign in to share. Open the 'Utilities' folder. Double-click the 'ColorSync Utility' icon to open the application. Click 'File' in the top menu bar, then click 'Open.' Locate the PDF you want to resize on your Mac.
Is there a method to compress PDF files on Mac without losing quality? When you need to send some PDF files to Email or Cloud service, there might be a restriction to the large size of the PDF. As for some important PDF files, how do you reduce the size of a PDF without losing quality on Mac?
If you just need to resize the PDF files, you do not have to purchase a PDF compressor or editor. The article introduces 3 free PDF resizers to reduce PDF file size on Mac. Choose the desired one according to your requirement from the article now.
Reduce PDF Size on MacPart 1: How to Reduce PDF Size on Mac Online for Free
In order to compress PDF files on your Mac with a high quality, Free Online PDF Compressor is an online PDF high compression tool to reduce the size of PDF files with the maximum quality. Moreover, it supports all the browsers on Mac/PC, or Android/iPhone.
Step 1Click the 'Select PDF File' to select the PDF file you want to reduce or compress from your Mac. You can also drag-n-drop the PDF files directly into the online PDF compressor on Mac.
Step 2Once the PDF files are uploaded, the online tool will slim the PDF and maintain the maximum quality. You can also check the size and how much percentage your PDF has been compressed.
Step 3Click the 'Download the PDF' button to download the compressed PDF files to your Mac. You can also reduce the size of another PDF file with the 'Compress Next PDF' option.
Part 2: How to Compress PDF Size on Mac via Preview
Preview is the default PDF viewer on Mac, you can also use it as a free method to reduce PDF files on Mac. Moreover, you can either split the large PDF file into several parts or reduce the size of PDF with a good quality via the Quartz filter.
Make a PDF File Smaller with Quartz Filter
Step 1Launch the Preview program on your Mac, click the 'File' > 'Open…' to load the large PDF file into the program.
Step 2Go to the 'File' menu and choose the 'Export…' option, you can access to the 'Quartz Filter' layer to reduce PDF file size on Mac.
Step 3Unfold the options of 'Quartz Filter' and choose the 'Reduce File Size'. Click the 'Save' button to export a compressed PDF file.
Shrink a PDF File into Several Parts
Step 1Just drag-n-drop the desired large PDF file into Preview. Make sure the 'Thumbnails' mode is enabled. Go to 'View' > 'Thumbnails' to enable the option.
Step 2Navigate to the PDF page you want to save, you can drag and drop the thumbnail from Preview into the Finder location. Each one will be saved to an individual PDF document.v
Step 3After that, open one dragged PDF file with Preview, you can enable the 'Thumbnails' again and drag more others in the correct order to combine them as one PDF file.
Part 3: How to Shrink a PDF on Mac with Adobe Acrobat DC
Now, here is the method to reduce a PDF on Mac with Adobe Acrobat DC. It is not a free PDF compressor; instead you should pay a high price. But you can take advantage of the 7 day free trial to reduce the PDF files with a good quality as below.
Step 1Launch the program and choose the 'Optimize PDF' option. After that you can select the 'Open' option to select the large PDF file into the PDF compressor.
Step 2Click the 'Reduce File Size' option in the top menu. Choose the file version compatibility from the drop-down menu option. The program is able to reduce the PDF size on Mac.
Step 3Keep the default setting of 'Retain existing' and click the 'OK' button. If you do not want to replace the original PDF file, select a new name before clicking the 'Save' button.
Conclution
When you need to reduce a PDF size on a Mac, you can use the default Preview on Mac, which provides a poor quality. Of course, you can use the Adobe Acrobat DC within the trial period. If the two above solutions do not work for you, you can always choose the Apeaksoft Free Online PDF Compressor to reduce the PDF file with a good quality. More queries about how to compress PDF size on Mac for free, you can share more details in the comments.
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 the 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.
What is PDF Compression? How Does It Work?
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.
Top 4 Ways to Shrink a PDF File on Mac
1. Use Preview on Mac to Reduce PDF size
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).
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.
2. 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.
3. Use Online PDF Compressors to Compress PDF on Mac
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 Mac scrolling screenshot. : Launch yourbrowser and visit cleverpdf.com.
Step2: Select theCompress 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.
Make a PDF File Smaller with Quartz Filter
Step 1Launch the Preview program on your Mac, click the 'File' > 'Open…' to load the large PDF file into the program.
Step 2Go to the 'File' menu and choose the 'Export…' option, you can access to the 'Quartz Filter' layer to reduce PDF file size on Mac.
Step 3Unfold the options of 'Quartz Filter' and choose the 'Reduce File Size'. Click the 'Save' button to export a compressed PDF file.
Shrink a PDF File into Several Parts
Step 1Just drag-n-drop the desired large PDF file into Preview. Make sure the 'Thumbnails' mode is enabled. Go to 'View' > 'Thumbnails' to enable the option.
Step 2Navigate to the PDF page you want to save, you can drag and drop the thumbnail from Preview into the Finder location. Each one will be saved to an individual PDF document.v
Step 3After that, open one dragged PDF file with Preview, you can enable the 'Thumbnails' again and drag more others in the correct order to combine them as one PDF file.
Part 3: How to Shrink a PDF on Mac with Adobe Acrobat DC
Now, here is the method to reduce a PDF on Mac with Adobe Acrobat DC. It is not a free PDF compressor; instead you should pay a high price. But you can take advantage of the 7 day free trial to reduce the PDF files with a good quality as below.
Step 1Launch the program and choose the 'Optimize PDF' option. After that you can select the 'Open' option to select the large PDF file into the PDF compressor.
Step 2Click the 'Reduce File Size' option in the top menu. Choose the file version compatibility from the drop-down menu option. The program is able to reduce the PDF size on Mac.
Step 3Keep the default setting of 'Retain existing' and click the 'OK' button. If you do not want to replace the original PDF file, select a new name before clicking the 'Save' button.
Conclution
When you need to reduce a PDF size on a Mac, you can use the default Preview on Mac, which provides a poor quality. Of course, you can use the Adobe Acrobat DC within the trial period. If the two above solutions do not work for you, you can always choose the Apeaksoft Free Online PDF Compressor to reduce the PDF file with a good quality. More queries about how to compress PDF size on Mac for free, you can share more details in the comments.
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 the 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.
What is PDF Compression? How Does It Work?
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.
Top 4 Ways to Shrink a PDF File on Mac
1. Use Preview on Mac to Reduce PDF size
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).
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.
2. 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.
3. Use Online PDF Compressors to Compress PDF on Mac
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 Mac scrolling screenshot. : Launch yourbrowser and visit cleverpdf.com.
Step2: Select theCompress 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.
How To Make A File Size Smaller
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.
4. Reduce PDF File Size on Mac Using PC 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.
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.
Create A Pdf On Mac
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.
