Clipboard optimization
Picmal automatically compresses any image you copy to your Mac's clipboard, so you paste a lighter version every time.
Clipboard optimization lets Picmal automatically compress images you copy to the clipboard. Copy a screenshot, an image from a browser, or a file in Finder — Picmal optimizes it in the background and shows a small overlay so you can instantly copy the lighter version.
- Open Settings
- Enable Optimize clipboard images (under the Images tab)
- Every image you copy is now automatically compressed in the background
How it works
Section titled “How it works”When you copy an image, Picmal detects it, compresses it using your current quality settings, and shows a floating overlay near the bottom-right corner of your screen.
The overlay shows:
- A thumbnail of the image
- The original and compressed size with the savings percentage
- A Copy button (appears on hover) to replace your clipboard with the optimized version
If the image is already as small as it can get, the overlay shows “Already optimized” instead.
After you click Copy, a brief “Copied” confirmation appears and the overlay dismisses automatically.
Auto-copy
Section titled “Auto-copy”By default, you need to hover the overlay and click Copy to replace your clipboard with the compressed image. With auto-copy enabled, Picmal automatically copies the optimized image back to your clipboard as soon as compression finishes — no click needed.
The overlay still appears so you can see the size savings, but your clipboard is already updated.
Auto-copy is off by default. Toggle it in Settings under the Images tab.
What gets detected
Section titled “What gets detected”Picmal picks up images from two sources:
- Screenshots and app copies — taking a screenshot, copying an image from a browser, Preview, Photoshop, or any other app
- Files copied in Finder — selecting an image file and pressing Cmd+C
Non-image content like text, PDFs, and documents is ignored.
Supported formats
Section titled “Supported formats”| Format | Detected from |
|---|---|
| PNG | Screenshots, app copies, files |
| JPEG | App copies, files |
| TIFF | App copies, files |
| HEIC | App copies, files |
| WebP | App copies, files |
| GIF | App copies, files |
| AVIF, BMP, JP2, JXL, SVG | Files only |
Quality settings
Section titled “Quality settings”Clipboard optimization uses the same compression settings you configure in Picmal’s preferences — the same quality sliders that apply to regular compression. There are no separate settings for clipboard; adjusting your JPEG quality, PNG compression level, etc. applies everywhere.
Overlay behavior
Section titled “Overlay behavior”- The overlay floats above all windows without stealing focus from your current app
- Multiple overlays stack vertically if you copy several images in quick succession
- Hover over an overlay to reveal the Copy button and a dismiss (X) button
- Overlays can be dragged to reposition them
- The overlay auto-dismisses after a configurable timeout (5 seconds by default). You can adjust this in Settings
- The overlay is excluded from macOS screenshots, so your screen grabs stay clean
Pasting the optimized image
Section titled “Pasting the optimized image”When you click Copy, Picmal writes the optimized image to your clipboard in a way that works everywhere:
- Paste into apps (Slack, Mail, Notes, etc.) — pastes the compressed image directly
- Paste into Finder — pastes the compressed file
Requirements
Section titled “Requirements”- A valid Picmal license
- Keep in menu bar does not need to be enabled — clipboard optimization works as long as Picmal is running
- Use clipboard optimization to shrink screenshots before pasting into Slack, email, or issue trackers
- Pair with Start at login so Picmal is always ready to optimize your copies
- If you don’t need it temporarily, toggle it off in Settings — the feature has no impact when disabled