If you’re having trouble emailing a PDF from your Mac, it may be because your PDF is too large to email. Files over 8-10 MB are bigger than most email providers will accept.

Did you know you can shrink the file size of a PDF? Here are two ways to do it.

PDF Shrink

This software, which costs $35, will reduce the size of PDF files. It also lets you make some choices about how small you want the document to be, while still making it the right resolution for its intended purpose.

Preview

Yes, the Preview software that comes with the Mac can shrink the size of PDF files, but without any options like the ones PDF Shrink lets you choose. Here’s how to use Preview to shrink your PDF.

1. Open your PDF in Preview. (Easiest way to do it is to drag the PDF onto the top of the Preview icon in the Dock.)
2. From the File menu, choose “Save As.”
3. When the Save window opens, go down to the bottom part of the box. For the pop-up that says Format, choose “PDF.” For the pop-up that says Quartz Filter, choose “Reduce File Size.”
4. Up at the top of the Save window, choose where you want to save the smaller file. And I’d suggest renaming the file in case you need to go back to the old one.