There are ways to compress various file types on a Mac. This guide walks you through the procedures to compress multiple file types in macOS.
How to ZIP Large Files on a Mac
Zipping your large files is one of the quickest and easiest ways to compress your files. What’s more, the ability to create a ZIP file on macOS is actually built right into the context menu.
Simply select your files, click an option, and your files are all compressed. Here’s how you do this:
Open a Finder window. Find the files that you want to compress. Right-click any one file or folder, and select Compress. macOS will create a ZIP archive in the same folder as your original files.
You’ll notice the size of your compressed archive is much smaller than the size of your actual individual files.
How to Compress a PDF File on a Mac
There are many ways to compress a PDF on macOS. One way is to use the built-in Preview app to compress your files. The other way is to use a free app from the Mac App Store.
Here we cover both methods.
1. Compress a PDF on a Mac Using Preview
If you aren’t willing to install a third-party app, here’s how to use Preview to compress your PDF files:
Right-click your PDF and select Open With followed by Preview. Click the File menu at the top and select Export. On the resulting screen, choose Reduce File Size from the Quartz Filter dropdown menu. Then, click Save.
Your output PDF will be smaller than the original PDF. Keep in mind there will be quality differences in your compressed and non-compressed PDFs.
2. Compress a PDF on a Mac Using a Free App
The Mac App Store has a free app called Lightweight PDF that lets you compress your PDF files.
Here’s how you can use that app:
Download and install the Lightweight PDF app on your Mac. Open the app. Drag the PDF you want to compress onto the app interface. The app should tell you the size of the compressed file.
How to Compress Word and Other Office Documents on a Mac
When it comes to compressing Word or other MS Office documents on a Mac, you have multiple options.
One way is to save your documents in the latest Office document format, which adds an x at the end of the file type. Your apps should be using this option by default if you haven’t changed it.
Compared to older .doc or similar file formats, the latest .docx and other similar formats use less storage. This is because these formats save your content in a compressed archive.
Another way to compress your Office documents is to change the way you add images to your documents. If you copy and paste an image into your document, that actually increases the size of your document. An optimized way to do this is to use the insert option in your Office apps to add your images.
That will produce documents that are relatively smaller in size.
How to Compress a Video File on a Mac
There are many ways to shrink the size of a video on a Mac. Here we cover two of those ways.
1. Compress a Video on a Mac By Lowering Resolution
One way to compress a video is to downscale the resolution of your video. This significantly affects the quality of the video, but if you want to do this, here we show how:
Right-click the video you want to compress and select Open With followed by QuickTime Player. Click the File menu at the top and select Export As. You’ll see various quality options in the expanded menu. Click the one that you like and your video will use this new resolution. Remember, the lower the resolution, the smaller your video will be. Hit Save on the following screen to save the compressed video.
2. Compress a Video on a Mac With Less Impact on Video Quality
The other way to compress a video in macOS is to change the file format of the video.
There are certain formats that tend to use less storage while still maintaining the quality of the video. You can use any of the video converter apps for macOS to do this task.
In the following steps, we show how to use HandBrake (a free video converter) to compress a video on a Mac.
Install HandBrake on your Mac. Open the app, click File > Open Source, and add the video you want to compress. Choose MKV File from the Format dropdown menu. Feel free to adjust other options as you see fit. Click Start to start compressing your video.
How to Compress MP3 and Other Audio Files on a Mac
Audio files are easy to compress. This is because all you need to do is reduce the bitrate for your file and that shrinks the size of the original file. Learn how audio compression works in our comprehensive guide.
Keep in mind this will have an effect on the quality of the audio. Try not to decrease the bit rate too much and you should be fine.
Here’s how to use Audacity (free) to compress MP3 and other audio files in macOS:
Install Audacity on your Mac, if you don’t already have it. Open the app, click File > Open, and add your audio file. When the file loads, click File > Export and choose the output format for your compressed file. Select Constant from the Bit Rate Mode options on the resulting screen. Choose a lower bit rate from the Quality dropdown menu. Try 128 kbps if you are not sure what to choose. Then, click Save.
Shrinking File Sizes on a Mac
If your files are way too large and you’re experiencing issues storing or sending them to someone, use the methods outlined above to compress your files on your Mac.
To further clean up your storage, you can use other techniques like reducing the size of your Mac backups as well.
