Open Preview for me. 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. See also Add effects to a PDF in Preview on Mac Resize, rotate, or flip an image in Preview on Mac Save a document as a PDF in Preview on Mac. 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. Online PDF resizer. With this tool, you can instantly resize your PDF documents online for free (personal or business). It's useful for downsizing large files to save disk space, bandwidth, and computer memory and for changing the paper size for printing. Without the need to buy, download, and install any PDF editor software on your machine.
Choose files
Online PDF resizer
With this tool, you can instantly resize your PDF documents online for free (personal or business).
It's useful for downsizing large files to save disk space, bandwidth, and computer memory and for changing the paper size for printing.
You can upload and resize multiple PDF files at once and download the results (batch processing),
without the need to buy, download, and install any PDF editor software on your machine.
It will resize your PDF documents to one of the quality presets you select:
- low quality (72 dpi images) for screen viewing;
- medium quality (150 dpi images) for eBooks;
- high quality (300 dpi images) for printing;
- very high quality (300 dpi images, preserving all colors) for high quality and resolution prints;
It can also resize (scale) page size. Just choose the paper size from the provided list of presets.
Because it will reduce PDF size at the cost of some quality, we do not recommend making smaller files that are meant to be used for large format printing.
Conveniences come at a cost, PDF documents are no different. We benefit from PDF documents, but some of its features just lead to large PDF file size. Large PDF files sometimes are big problems, it makes annoyingly inefficient to email, upload or share your file, and it takes your storage space as well. We need to make a PDF smaller.
Here we will introduce several ways to make a PDF smaller on Mac for easy emailing, uploading, etc, without Adobe Acrobat. Please read on to find your way of making a PDF smaller on Mac.
#1 Using Cisdem PDF Compressor
Cisdem PDF Compressor is a powerful PDF compressor to make single or multiple PDFs smaller on Mac. It provides four modes to make a PDF smaller in size but with a preferred dpi. In addition, you can customize the setting to get a reduced PDF file, while keeping their original quality formats. It can help you free up storage space and makes it easier and faster to email and share PDF files. It is the most efficient tool to shrink PDF file without losing quality on Mac.
Advantages:
- Provides 4 compression modes
- You can tweak image quality setting for more customized compression
- Can make PDFs smaller in batch
- Fast compression
- Highly retains PDF quality
- Can work offline
How to make a PDF smaller on Mac with Cisdem PDF Compressor?
- Step 1. Download and install Cisdem PDF Compressor for Mac.
Free Download - Step 2. Drag the PDFs you want to make smaller into this Cisdem.
- Step 3. Customize settings.
There are 4 compression levels: Small, Medium, Large, Custom. Select an option according to your need. To apply the same settings to all imported PDF documents, just select the checkbox before Apply to all. Click OK. - Step 4. Start making a PDF smaller on Mac.
In the main interface, click Compress. Click the folder icon to find the PDF files with smaller size.
Note: Remember that there is always a tradeoff between compression/file size and good quality. There really is no magic solution for all documents, just try different settings and see which give the balance that you like best.
Resize Pdf Mac Free
#2 Using Mac Preview (Free)
To make a PDF smaller on a MacBook or iMac, Preview can be a good solution. As the built-in app of Apple, Preview is undoubtedly the most convenient way to reduce PDF file size for Mac users, though it does not support making batch PDFs smaller at one time.
Advantages:
- Easy to use
- Can work offline
- A solution built-in to macOS
- Provide decent result most of the time
Disadvantages:
- You can’t control the compression level
- Sometimes fails, resulting in even larger size
- Preview doesn't support making batch PDFs smaller in size on Mac
- File quality is lost when making a PDF smaller with Preview
How to make a PDF smaller on Mac with Preview?
- Step 1. Open the PDF document you want to shrink with Preview.
- Step 2. In the top menu bar, select File > Export. A dialog box will appear. If you don’t want the processed PDF to replace and overwrite the original file, rename it in the Export As field.
- Step 3. Click the Quartz Filter dropdown list, and select Reduce File Size.
- Step 4. Click Save.
#3 Using Mac Archive Utility (Free)
Archive Utility is a hidden app on macOS to create and decompress ZIP files, while a Zip file is a collection of single or multiple files compressed into a single and smaller file. That’s why we can use Archive Utility to zip and make PDF files smaller on Mac without installing any 3rd party software.
Advantages:
- Easy to use, no need to launch the program in advance
- Compress one or more PDF files at the same time
- Compress images, videos, audios or other files
- Decompress Zip files easily
- Original file quality is kept
Disadvantages:
- Cannot make PDF files much smaller than original (5%~40% smaller)
How to make a PDF smaller on Mac with Archive Utility?
- Right click on PDF files.
- Choose “Compress XX Items”.
- (Optional) To decompress and view the PDF files, right click on the file and open with Archive Utility.
#4 Using Online PDF Compressor
You can also use web-based tools to make a PDF smaller on Mac as well as other operating systems such as Windows and iOS. Smallpdf is one of them. It also allows users to import PDF from cloud storage services such as Google Drive.
Pdf Adjuster
Advantages:
- Handy and easy to use
- Can work for all platforms
- No need to install any software
Disadvantages:
- Can’t work offline
- Can’t make multiple PDFs smaller at once
- You have no control over the compression
- Slow when compared with the offline solutions
How To Compress A Pdf File
How to make a PDF smaller on Mac with Online Tool?
- Step 1. Go to https://smallpdf.com/compress-pdf.
- Step 2. Upload the PDF you want to resize. Wait for the uploading. Once the uploading is finished, the shrinking will automatically start.
- Step 3. Click Download File to download the outputted file.
Just as with any web-based app, it requires Internet connection. You need to upload your PDF to its server to make the file smaller. The site will permanently delete your file from their server. That being said, if your document contains something confidential, the best choice is to use desktop software with utmost security.
To sum up
Resize Pdf Mac Free File
This article on how to make a PDF smaller on Mac talks about several great ways that can help you shrink big MB-sized PDF to small KB-sized PDF with good quality. If your work involves lots of PDFs, then desktop software like Cisdem PDF Compressor will be useful. If you only occasionally resize one or two PDF files, you can use online tool.