Anyone who has ever tried to send a large file over email knows the frustration of dealing with file size restrictions. Even with access to high-speed internet, large files can take forever to upload or download in your living space. If you find yourself in this situation often, there is an easy way to reduce the file size of your Mac without compromising quality.
By following a few simple steps, you can compress your files and make them much easier to share. In most cases, you will be able to reduce the file size by up to 70%. So the next time you need to send a large file, don’t hesitate to compress it first. It will save you time and frustration in the long run.
Delete large files you don’t need
One of the easiest ways to reduce file size on your Mac is to delete any large files that you don’t need. Over time, it’s easy to accumulate a lot of files that we no longer use. These files can quickly eat up storage space on your hard drive. To free up some space, take some time to go through your files and delete anything that you no longer need.
If you’re not sure what to delete, there are a few ways to find out. First, you can use the Finder to sort your files by size. This will show you which files are taking up the most space on your hard drive. You can also use a third-party storage app like DaisyDisk to scan your hard drive and see which files are taking up the most space.
How to reduce a file size on mac
Once you’ve identified the large files that you don’t need, you can delete them by moving them to the trash. To do this, simply select the file and press Command + Delete on your keyboard. You can also right-click (or Control-click) on the file and select Move to Trash from the menu.
If you’re not sure whether you need a file or not, you can always move it to the trash and see if you miss it. If you don’t, then you know you can safely delete it. But if you find that you need it after all, you can always restore it from the trash.
Reduce the resolution of your photos and videos
Another easy way to reduce file size is to lower the resolution of your photos and videos. If you don’t need a photo or video in full HD or 4K, then there’s no reason to keep it at that high resolution. By reducing the resolution, you can easily reduce the file size without compromising quality.
To reduce the resolution of a photo or video, open the file in Preview and click on Tools > Adjust Size. From here, you can lower the resolution of your photo or video. Just make sure to not reduce it too much, as this will start to degrade the quality of the image or video.
Compress audio and video files
If you have a lot of audio or video files, you can compress them to save space. For audio files, you can use iTunes to convert them to a lower bitrate. This will reduce the file size without affecting the quality of the audio too much. To do this, open iTunes and select the song that you want to convert. Right-click on the song and select Create MP3 Version from the menu. iTunes will create a copy of the song at a lower bitrate, which you can then delete the original file.
For video files, you can use QuickTime Player to reduce the file size. To do this, open the video file in QuickTime Player and click on File > Export As. From the menu, select Movie to iPod Touch & iPhone Lower Resolution and click Save. QuickTime will create a copy of the video at a lower resolution, which you can then delete the original file.
