How to Compress and Convert Files with a Right-Click on Mac
Finder already has a few Quick Actions in its right-click menu, such as Convert Image and Create PDF. File Acture adds one more, Quick Actions > File Acture…, which compresses PDFs and photos, converts images, merges PDFs, removes metadata and packs or unpacks archives in the background, with the settings you last used, without opening the app's window.
Updated September 24, 20264 min read
By the File Acture team
Most file jobs are small: shrink a PDF before you email it, turn iPhone photos into JPGs, zip a folder. Opening an app, finding the tool and dragging the files in takes longer than the job itself. Right-click the files in Finder instead and the job runs where the files already are.
Which Quick Actions does Finder already have?
Select files in Finder, right-click and open Quick Actions. Depending on what you selected, macOS offers Rotate Left, Markup, Create PDF, Convert Image and, from macOS 14, Remove Background.
Convert Image turns photos into JPEG, PNG or HEIF at a few fixed sizes, and Create PDF combines the selected images or PDFs into one PDF. They are handy, but there is no way to compress a PDF, reach a file size, strip metadata or make a ZIP with a password from that menu.
How to run File Acture tools from the right-click menu
Select one or more files in Finder, right-click and choose Quick Actions > File Acture…. A small panel lists the tools that fit every file you selected: Compress PDF, Merge PDFs (two or more PDFs), Compress Images, Convert Images, Remove Metadata, Images to PDF, Extract Archive and Create ZIP.
Pick a tool and it runs in the background with the settings you last used in File Acture, and saves to the output folder you chose there. A small progress panel appears at the top right with a Cancel button, and a notification tells you when the new files are ready, with a button to show them in Finder. The originals are never changed.
Tools that need something typed, such as a password or page ranges, and the PDF editor stay out of the menu; use Open in File Acture to reach them with the same files.
How do you turn it on?
macOS adds new Quick Actions switched off. Open File Acture's Settings > General > Finder Quick Actions and click Extensions Settings…, or choose Quick Actions > Customize… in Finder, then turn on File Acture in the list. After that, File Acture… appears in every right-click menu for PDFs, images and archives.
Tips for right-click jobs
Set a tool up once in the app, then use it from Finder.
- Set the target first. The menu uses your last settings, so set a size such as 1 MB once in Compress PDF or Compress Images.
- iPhone photos: set Convert Images to JPEG once, then HEIC to JPG is one right-click away.
- Mixed selection? The panel only offers tools that take every selected file; select PDFs or photos on their own for more choices.
- Need the full window? Open in File Acture opens the tool with the same files.
Is it available in the free version?
Running tools from Finder in one click is part of File Acture Pro. In the free version, the same menu opens the tool in File Acture with your files, where each run uses one of the 3 free runs on each Mac, with up to 5 files per run. See pricing for Pro.
Either way the files are processed on your Mac and never uploaded.
How to compress files from the right-click menu with File Acture
- 1
Turn it on once
In File Acture, open Settings > General > Finder Quick Actions, click Extensions Settings… and turn on File Acture.
- 2
Select the files
In Finder, select the PDFs, photos or archives you want to process.
- 3
Open the menu
Right-click and choose Quick Actions > File Acture….
- 4
Pick a tool
Click a tool such as Compress Images. It runs in the background with your last settings.
- 5
Open the results
When the notification says the files are done, click Show in Finder.
Compress and convert files with a right-click in Finder.
Free to try · runs on your device
| Job | Finder's Quick Actions | File Acture… |
|---|---|---|
| Compress a PDF | No | Yes, to a set size |
| Compress or resize photos | Convert Image, fixed sizes | Yes, to a set size |
| Convert HEIC to JPG | Convert Image | Yes, with your quality |
| Combine files into one PDF | Create PDF | Merge PDFs, Images to PDF |
| Remove location and metadata | No | Yes |
| Create a ZIP with a password | No | Yes |
Questions
Why don't I see File Acture… in the right-click menu?
macOS adds it switched off. Turn it on in System Settings, from File Acture's Settings > General > Finder Quick Actions or Finder's Quick Actions > Customize…. It also appears only for PDFs, images and archives.
Which settings does the right-click menu use?
The ones you last used for that tool in File Acture, including the output folder. Change them in the app and the menu follows.
Can I compress several files at once from Finder?
Yes. Select them all, right-click and pick the tool; they are processed together and a notification tells you when they are done.
Does it work in the free version?
The menu opens the tool with your files in the free version. Running tools straight from Finder in the background is part of Pro.
Are the original files changed?
No. Every result is a new file, and the originals stay as they were.