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Why does macOS prefer using PDF files for icons or UI elements?

2 damiaozi 1 5/15/2025, 9:41:30 AM

Running `find /System/Library/ -name "*.pdf"` reveals that macOS uses many .pdf files as icons or UI elements. For example, the VPN connection animation in the menu bar seems to cycle through a sequence of .pdf files located at:

/System/Library/CoreServices/Menu Extras/VPN.menu/Contents/Resources/VPN[0-4].pdf

Why PDF, instead of more traditional formats like PNG or SVG? Is this due to Quartz/CoreGraphics rendering benefits, vector scaling efficiency, or something else?

Comments (1)

neximo64 · 53m ago

its a more efficient vector format than PNG or SVG.