# Guides: everyday file questions on a Mac, answered

> Straight answers to everyday Mac file questions: compressing without uploading, zip passwords, HEIC in bulk, photo location, big email attachments.

Source: https://whizra.com/guides

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# Guides

Straight answers to the file questions people search for, with the free Mac way first.
- [Is iLovePDF safe for confidential documents?](https://whizra.com/guides/is-ilovepdf-safe-for-confidential-documents) Before you upload a passport, contract or tax PDF to a PDF website: what uploading means, what to check, and how to do the same jobs without uploading.
- [Compress a PDF without uploading it](https://whizra.com/guides/compress-pdf-without-uploading) Compress a PDF on your Mac without uploading it or being online: Preview’s free filter, and Whizra by typing “compress it”. What each one does to the file.
- [Why Preview makes a PDF bigger](https://whizra.com/guides/why-preview-makes-pdf-bigger) Preview’s Reduce File Size filter can make a PDF bigger or blurry. Why it happens, and how to compress a PDF on a Mac with a choice of quality.
- [Zip with a password on Mac](https://whizra.com/guides/zip-with-password-on-mac) Finder can’t add a password to a zip; Terminal’s zip -e can, but uses weak ZipCrypto. How to make an AES-256 zip on Mac that Finder still opens.
- [Can’t open a zip on Mac (error 79 or error 1)](https://whizra.com/guides/cant-open-zip-on-mac-error-79) What Archive Utility’s error 79 and error 1 mean when a zip won’t open on Mac, and four ways to get the files out, from a new download to Terminal.
- [Remove location from photos before sharing](https://whizra.com/guides/remove-location-from-photos-before-sharing) Photos often carry where they were taken, the camera and the date. How to remove them on a Mac before you share: Photos, a free browser tool, or Whizra.
- [HEIC to JPG on Mac in bulk](https://whizra.com/guides/heic-to-jpg-on-mac-in-bulk) Convert a whole batch of iPhone HEIC photos to JPG on a Mac: Finder’s Quick Action, Preview, a free in-browser tool, or Whizra by typing it.
- [Send a big PDF by email](https://whizra.com/guides/send-big-pdf-by-email) Gmail stops attachments at 25 MB and Outlook at 20 MB. How to get a big PDF under the limit on a Mac: compress it, split it, or share a link.
- [Can Siri convert files on Mac?](https://whizra.com/guides/can-siri-convert-files-on-mac) Siri AI on macOS 27 finds and summarises files, but says “I can’t” to converting, compressing, renaming or zipping them. Tested 27–28 Oct 2026.

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