can you shrink a picture file size?

Ask for help and post your question on how to use XnView Classic.

Moderators: XnTriq, helmut, xnview

tiff

can you shrink a picture file size?

Post by tiff »

how do you shrink the file size of a picture? is it possible with this program or does it just convert between different types???
ckit
XnThusiast
Posts: 2577
Joined: Tue Feb 17, 2004 1:11 am
Location: QLD, Australia

Post by ckit »

Please download "XnView 1.90 alpha 3" and use the "Export" feature for this.
AMD Ryzen 3 3300X 3.8Ghz, 16Gb DDR4, RX6600XT with Dell U2520D at 2560x1440@60Hz scaling 125%
Windows 11 Pro x64 23H2, Listary Pro, PowerToys and Wintoys
User avatar
Drahken
Posts: 884
Joined: Sun Apr 10, 2005 4:29 pm

Post by Drahken »

Any program that can save an image can reduce it's filesize. Some ways to reduce the filesize include:
Use a different format. Lossless formats like TIFF or BMP are inherantly large, switching to JPEG will greatly decrease the filesize of photographic images.
Choose a higher compression level. If you're using a lossless format and already at the highest compression, you'll have to use a different method. Compression level can be set by clicking the "options" button when you go to save an image.
Reduce the dimensions of the image. By cropping or reducing an image, you will reduce the ammount of data in the file. This in turn will reduce the filesize.
Reduce the colors of the image. If you reduce the image to 256 colors or less, or convert it to greyscale, that will again reduce the data and therefore the filesize.
Blur the image. You can reduce the size of a photo in JPEG format by blurring or softening the image.

The easiest way to get an image at a low filesize and still keep it at an acceptable quality (nearly anything that will reduce the filesize will have an impact on quality (although often it isn't a noticeable one), it's simply an unavoidable fact) is to do as ckit suggested and use the export function in the 1.9 alpha version of xnview. This will allow you to see the results of using a different format, higher compression, and reducing colors before you actually save the image (cropping and blurring still have to be done before exporting though).
Oh the feuhrer, oh the feuhrer, oh the feuhrer's nipples bonk!
User avatar
DOS386
Posts: 291
Joined: Sun Jun 11, 2006 2:43 pm

PNGOUT

Post by DOS386 »

how do you shrink the file size of a picture?
Use PNGOUT (for PNG images only). It reduces file size by factor up to
cca 1.3 against a PNG saved by XNVIEW. Accepts PNG, GIF, PCX or BMP as
input.

Also, reduce number of colours before compressing (this is a lossy act): start
with 256 and try even less and check quality. This will drastically reduce
file size.
There is indeed no WinZIP under my rock.