Advertisement

SKIP ADVERTISEMENT

TECH TIP

How to Convert Photo Files in Bulk

If the thought of saving a huge folder of photo files in a different format makes you tired, perk up. You can do them all at once, and you may not even need expensive software.

Q. I have hundreds of TIFF-formatted photos. Is there an efficient way to convert these photos to JPG all at once?

A. Just as you can rename multiple photos at once through “batch processing,” you can convert a large collection of images from one file format to another in one step. The TIFF format, common in print production, generally makes for much larger file sizes than images stored in the more compressed, web-friendly JPG format.

Popular image-editing programs like those in Adobe’s Photoshop family include commands to convert files from TIFF to JPG, and the program’s help guide should be able to give you specific conversion instructions for your version. But you have plenty of alternatives if you do not use such photo-management software.

The Mac and Windows app stores host several relatively inexpensive utility programs for converting file formats, resizing and optimizing images in a batch. When shopping for a suitable program, read the reviews and make sure the software does everything you want it to do.

On the Mac, the $10 PhotoBulk from Eltima Software does batch jobs and can add watermarks and date stamps to your pictures. Windows users have plenty of programs to browse as well, including the free IrFanView or the $35 Pixillion Plus Image Converter. While a bit more technically demanding, the cross-platform, open-source GIMP software can also handle batch operations.

Image
The Mac's free Preview app is one of many programs that can convert a bunch of image files from one format to another in just a step or two.Credit...The New York Times

The Preview program that comes with the Mac operating system also converts image files between formats. To convert a folder of TIFFs, open the folder, select all files and drag the batch onto the Preview icon in the Mac’s desktop dock; you can also right-click on the selected batch and choose Open With Preview.

When all the photos are open in the Preview window’s left pane, press the Command and A keys to select them all. Go to the File menu and choose Export Selected Images. In the Export window, select JPG as the format and adjust the image quality slider as needed. Click the New Folder button in the lower-left corner to create a landing spot for the new files and then chick the blue Choose button to convert copies of the selected files in your chosen format.


Personal Tech invites questions about computer-based technology to techtip@nytimes.com. This column will answer questions of general interest, but letters cannot be answered individually.

J.D. Biersdorfer has been answering technology questions — in print, on the web, in audio and in video — since 1998. She also writes the Sunday Book Review’s “Applied Reading” column on ebooks and literary apps, among other things. More about J. D. Biersdorfer

Advertisement

SKIP ADVERTISEMENT