How To Make A Pdf File Smaller On Mac

PDFs are very versatile documents that can be used to send documents, presentations, portfolios, etc., over mail or other services. When you create a PDF file with a lot of images and data, its size can increase dramatically. Here we will see, how to reduce size of pdf on mac without losing quality.

As you may know, sending files of over 25 MB is not possible on Gmail, and a PDF file with lots of images and content in it can easily exceed that threshold. However, Mac has inbuilt compression features that will reduce the size of a PDF file in mac if it has pictures in it.

Table of Contents

How To Make A Pdf File Smaller On Mac

Read the instructions provided below to see how to compress a PDF file on your Mac.

Sign in to your Mac and open the Finder application.
Choose the PDF file you want and draw out the contextual menu by right-clicking on it. Click on Open with and select Preview from the menu.

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Once the PDF file has opened in Preview, hover over to the toolbar and click on File.
Select Export from the list.

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Click the box next to the Quartz Filter option and select Reduce file size.

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The file will now be resized and saved as a copy of the original file.

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Using ColorSync Utility to Make A Pdf File Smaller On Mac

The ColorSync Utility application can also be used to reduce the size of a PDF file in mac. Read the instructions provided below to learn how to do that.

Sign in to your Mac and open the Finder application.
Select Applications from the side menu.
Scroll down and open the Utility folder.
Open the ColorSync Utility app.
Hover the cursor over to the menu bar, click on File, and select Open from the menu. Subsequently, you can also use the Command-O shortcut to open the file.
Choose the file you want to compress and click Open.
Once the PDF file opens up, click on the Filter tab at the bottom of the screen and choose to Reduce File Size from the menu.

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Hit Apply, and the PDF will be saved.

ColorSync Utility will downscale your PDF to 50% of its original size, and the resolution of the pictures inside it will be reduced to 512 by 128 pixels.

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Extracting Images Using the Preview App on Mac

You can select and extract specific parts of an image using the Preview app on Mac. Read the instructions provided below to see how it is done.

Sign in to your Mac and open a Finder window from the dock or use a Spotlight search to do the same. Press the Command-Space shortcut to launch the search bar, type in “finder,” and hit return.
Search for the image that you want to choose and open it. If it opens in an application other than Preview, right-click on the file, select Open with and choose Preview from the list.
Click the Show markup toolbar button, which should be right beside the search button.

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Choose the Selection Tools menu from the markup toolbar and select the Smart Lasso tool.

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Use the smart lasso tool to trace around the edges of the portion of the picture that you want to select.
Once the area is selected, click the Edit tab from the menu bar and select Save.
Subsequently, to delete everything except the highlighted portion of the picture, click on the Edit tab on the menu bar, select Invert selection from the list, and hit the Delete button.

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How to Extract a PDF Page as an Image With Preview?

It is only possible to use the Selection Tools menu when the said document is an image. If you have a PDF file, you won’t be able to see the Selection Tools drop-down menu; you need to extract the PDF as an image file, and then you’ll be able to use the Selection Tools on it. Keep reading on to find out how to do that.

Sign in to your Mac and open a Finder window from the dock or use a Spotlight search to do the same. Press the Command-Space shortcut to launch the search bar, type in “finder,” and hit return.
Search for the PDF that you want to choose and open it. If it opens in an application other than Preview, right-click on the file, select Open with and choose Preview from the list.
Once the PDF file has opened in Preview, click the File tab on the menu bar and select Export from the list.
Choose the location you want to save the file and click on the Format tab, select either JPEG or PNG for the best results, and hit Save.
Now you can open that image file in Preview and use the Selection Tools on it. `

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How to Apply Filters to a PDF File on Mac?

Applying filters to a PDF File is very easy using the Preview app on Mac. Read the instructions provided below to see how to do it.

Sign in to your Mac and open the Finder application.
Select the PDF you’re looking for and right-click on it. Select Open with and choose Preview.
Once the PDF file has been opened in Preview, hover the cursor over to the menu bar, click on File, and select Export from the list.
A new pop-up window will be displayed; click on the box next to the Quartz Filter option.
Choose any filter you want from the list and hit Save.

A new duplicate of the PDF file with the filter will be saved in the same location if you haven’t provided a new one.

How to Hide the Sidebar in Preview?

Follow the steps mentioned below to learn how you can hide the sidebar in Preview.

Open your Mac and load any document you want to in Preview.
Hover the cursor over to the menu bar and click on View.
Select Hide sidebar from the list. Subsequently, you can also use the Option-Command-1 shortcut to do the same.

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How to Compress PDF Files Using Preview on Mac?

PDF files can get quite large if they have a lot of images in them. You can compress a PDF file using the Preview app on your Mac. Read the steps provided below to know more.

Sign in to your Mac and open a Finder window. If you cannot find the app on the dock, you can use a Spotlight search to do the same. Press the Command-Space shortcut to open the search bar, type in “finder” without quotation marks, and hit the return key to open the app.
Find the JPEG file you want to turn into a PDF and double-click to open it. If the image file opens in some other app, close the file and right-click on it to show the context menu.
Click on Open with and select Preview from the list.
Once the file has opened in Preview, move the cursor to the Menu bar and click on the File tab.
Select Export from the list and click on the small section next to the Quartz Filter option.
Choose Reduce File Size from the list and select a location to save it on your Mac.
Click on Save when you’re done.

Conclusion

As you saw, there are several ways you can reduce the size of a PDF file on a Mac. The best way is to use the Preview app, as it is straightforward and intuitive.

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Robert

Robert is a tech expert (with more than 10 years of experience in using mac os and iPhone) who loves to help others learn about the Mac operating system and iPhone. He provides helpful tutorials on how to use Mac OS, tips and tricks for getting the most out of your Mac operating system, iPhone tips and tricks, and more. He’s always up for a challenge and enjoys learning new things about his favorite OS. When he’s not helping people get the most out of their technology, he enjoys spending time with his wife and two cats. Check out more.