What are the best free tools for converting EPS to PDF on my Mac?

I really need an application (with an icon) to convert eps figures to pdf. This capability was removed from Preview in Sequoia. Actually, Acrobat on Sequoia provide this capability, but this application requires a subscription and I will soon become too expensive for me. Another application, TexShop, has this capability built in for free, but this application also encapsulate LaTex, a huge component. Would it be possible for someone to build a simple and lightweight application, similar to Preview, with the capability to display ps and eps files? I would pay for that (but no subscription please).


[Re-Titled by Moderator]

Posted on Sep 20, 2024 5:48 AM

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Posted on Sep 20, 2024 7:46 AM

The free Skim application can open .eps files and display them. You can then save it as PDF. I just did this on Sequoia v15.0 with the Finder right-click Open With menu.


Apple has removed all of the frameworks capable of converting or displaying .eps files so unless an application developer pays for a third-party PDF library that supports .eps conversion, the functionality won't be possible on macOS Ventura or later.


Once you have Skim installed into your Applications folder, you can run the following AppleScript which will prompt for only .ps or .eps files and instantly tell Skim to save them as PDF in their original location.


Open the following in Apple's Script Editor, click the compile (hammer icon), and then run.


--skim_eps_to_pdf

-- select a Postscript or encapsulated postscript file and have Skim
-- convert it in the same location as a PDF.

use scripting additions

set theEPS to (choose file of type {"ps", "eps"}) as text

tell application "Finder"
	set ext to name extension of alias theEPS
end tell

if ext is "eps" then
	set thePDF to (text 1 thru ((offset of ".eps" in theEPS) - 1) of theEPS) & ".pdf"
else if ext is "ps" then
	set thePDF to (text 1 thru ((offset of ".ps" in theEPS) - 1) of theEPS) & ".pdf"
end if

tell application "Skim"
	activate
	set myeps to open alias theEPS
	save myeps in thePDF
	close myeps saving no
end tell
return


Tested: macOS Sequoia v15.0 with Skim v1.7.4

31 replies

Sep 20, 2024 10:34 AM in response to VikingOSX

All we need is a strip down version of TexShop. Any eps figure can be drag over the TexShop icon to show its picture, preserving the bounding box and the capability to zoom. This should not be so difficult to create such an application as the only thing to do is to take an existing application and to remove its LaTeX capabilities. This is not as asking to create anything new. Why nobody did that in two years of complaints by hundred of frustrated users? I don't understand.

Sep 20, 2024 11:39 AM in response to canadian_teacher

Although the University of Oregon does offer the TeXShop sources to build locally using Xcode 14 or later your suggestion of ripping out everything unrelated to displaying EPS and exporting to PDF would be a monumental task that even the maintainers of TexShop (who are familiar with the application) would avoid like the plague.


What you trivially suggest that no one has attempted in two years is exceedingly non-trivial.

Sep 20, 2024 1:03 PM in response to Matti Haveri

I would've thought you were correct, but...


In conclusion, while PDFs can contain both raster and vector elements, it's possible to vectorize the raster portions of a PDF to improve its quality and scalability. Free tools like Inkscape can help you achieve this, ensuring that your documents maintain a professional appearance across various applications and devices.

https://logovector.co.uk/blogs/news/how-to-vectorize-a-pdf#:~:text=Yes%2C%20you%20can%20vectorize%20a,Inkscape%2C%20and%20online%20conversion%20services.

Oct 2, 2024 3:09 AM in response to Luis Sequeira1

Luis,


An update. I recently updated TeXShop to 5.46 on Sequoia 15.0 and have the Ghostscript 10.04 installed. TeXShop engine panel is set to use the default /usr/local/bin where the gs binary lives. This is on an M2 Mac Mini Pro and under no circumstances can I get TeXShop to display any .eps file.


The same TeXShop v5.46/Ghostscript 10.04 is installed on Monterey 12.7.6, and with the same TeXShop engine settings and it displays the identical .eps files properly. That is on a 2020 27-in Core i7 iMac.


I have the same TeXShop and Ghostscript versions install on Ventura 13.7, and will check that in an hour or so.

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What are the best free tools for converting EPS to PDF on my Mac?

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