# Compress a PDF on your Mac

> Make a PDF lighter on your Mac and keep its selectable text, links, forms and bookmarks. Nothing is uploaded to a server. Smally for Mac.

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

Smally for Mac makes a lighter PDF right on your Mac and keeps your original. A contract, an invoice or a scan 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.

## How Smally lightens a PDF

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.

## What it leaves alone

- PDFs with digital signatures, attached files, audio or video, actions or scripts that run when it opens, and PDF/X print-production files.
- Password-protected or damaged PDFs, with a note that says what to do. PDFs up to 100 pages and 200 MB.
- It is not a general PDF editor.

## 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

- **Does Smally upload my PDF?** 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.
- **Do links, forms and bookmarks survive?** Yes: links to other pages in the same PDF, fillable forms, bookmarks, accessibility tags and comments stay in the copy. If Smally cannot show that nothing else changed, it keeps the original and 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.
- **Why did my PDF not get smaller?** A PDF that is mostly text has little to lighten. When a copy would not be at least 1% lighter, Smally keeps the original.
- **Does it work on Windows or an iPhone?** Smally runs on Macs with Apple silicon and macOS 26 or later. For images, the browser version works anywhere.

## More

- [Compress video](https://meetsmally.com/compress-video/)
- [HEIC to JPG](https://meetsmally.com/heic-to-jpg/)
- [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/