# Compress a PDF for email on your Mac

> Make a scanned or photo-heavy PDF lighter on your Mac to attach it to an email or a portal. Selectable text, links and forms stay, and nothing is uploaded.

- URL: https://meetsmally.com/compress-pdf-for-email/
- Language: en
- Spanish version: https://meetsmally.com/es/comprimir-pdf-para-correo/
- Site map for assistants: https://meetsmally.com/llms.txt

Smally for Mac makes a PDF with scans or photos lighter right on your Mac, so it is easier to attach to an email or a portal. A confidential document never goes to someone else's server.

## Drop. Check. Keep.

1. **Bring your file.** Drag it onto Smally, open it with Smally from Finder, or choose Compress with Smally from the Services menu. There is no setting to pick.
2. **Have a look.** See the new size in the row and compare the copy with its original before you keep it.
3. **Keep the lighter copy.** Save puts it next to the original, named like photo-smally. Smally never replaces your original or any file already there.

## What makes a PDF heavy, and what Smally does

PDFs with photos or scans get lighter: Smally recompresses the images inside, one by one, and scales an image down to 220 dpi when the page draws it above 300 dpi. Text and vector pages are left as they are.

A PDF that is mostly text, like a typical office document, often comes out less than 1% lighter. Then Smally keeps the original and the row says Already small.

## What stays in the copy

- Selectable text, and links to other pages in the same PDF.
- Bookmarks, fillable forms, accessibility tags, and comments or highlights.
- Smally checks that nothing else in the file changed. If it cannot show that, it leaves the PDF as it is and says why.
- PDF/A files: Smally makes the copy by changing only the images inside. The PDF/A declaration and its color profile stay as they were, and Smally does not validate PDF/A conformance afterwards.

## Before you attach it

- Smally promises no size, so check the new size in the row against the limit of your email provider or portal.
- PDFs with digital signatures, attached files, audio or video, actions or scripts that run when it opens, and PDF/X print-production files are left as they are. Password-protected or damaged PDFs are skipped, with a note that says what to do.
- PDFs up to 100 pages and 200 MB. Save puts the copy next to the original, which is never replaced.

## Why not in the browser

Documents are often the files you least want to send anywhere, so Smally does PDFs only in the app, on your Mac. The browser version at /compress/ is for JPEG, PNG and WebP images.

## Quick facts

| This kind of file | Smally in the browser | Smally for Mac |
| --- | --- | --- |
| What it takes | Not PDF: the row says Smally for Mac takes it, and nothing is uploaded | PDF, up to 100 pages and 200 MB |
| What it makes | Nothing: PDFs are done only in the app | A PDF with its images recompressed one by one; text and vector pages as they are |
| What stays | The file, untouched | Selectable text, links, bookmarks, fillable forms, accessibility tags and comments |
| Per batch | Not handled here | Up to 50 files at a time |
| Where it is processed | In this tab, on your device. Nothing is uploaded | On your Mac. Nothing is uploaded |
| When the original is kept | Always: PDF is not handled here | A copy would not be at least 1% lighter, or the PDF is one Smally leaves alone |

## Questions

- **Is my PDF uploaded when I compress it?** No. Smally for Mac compresses on your Mac, and your files never leave it.
- **Will the text still be selectable?** Yes. Smally leaves text and vector pages as they are and recompresses only the images inside.
- **Will my PDF get small enough for email?** Smally promises no size. A PDF with photos or scans gets lighter; one that is mostly text often comes out less than 1% lighter, and then Smally keeps the original.
- **What happens to a signed PDF?** PDFs with digital signatures are left as they are, and the row says why.
- **What about PDF/A files?** Smally makes the copy by changing only the images inside. The PDF/A declaration and its color profile stay as they were, and Smally does not validate PDF/A conformance afterwards. PDF/X print-production files are left as they are.

## More

- [Compress PDF](https://meetsmally.com/compress-pdf/)
- [Batch image compressor](https://meetsmally.com/batch-image-compressor/)
- [Compress JPEG](https://meetsmally.com/compress-jpeg/)

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Smally for Mac. Smally for Mac 0.16.0 (build 35, beta) needs Apple silicon and macOS 26 or later; download: https://downloads.meetsmally.com/latest. Files are never uploaded. Source of truth: https://meetsmally.com/compress-pdf-for-email/