Convert and Compress Images with Quick Actions

Dan Wassink 0:02
In this video, we’re going to look at how we can convert images using quick actions on the Mac. With quick actions, we can easily select an image and convert it from one file type to another, such as a PNG to a JPEG, or even just compress a jpg to a smaller file. Let’s see how we do this. Let’s go to my Mac. So if we look at my Mac here, you’re going to see I have two images here I have this tulips dot png, as well as this lake dot jpg. So one is a PNG, the other one is a JPEG, I would like to convert this PNG into a JPEG, that’s what we’re going to look at first, how we can convert an image from one file type to another, I want to convert this into a JPEG, the first thing that I need to do is select it, we can see that I have it selected here. And now if I hold down the Ctrl key, and I click on it, we get a little contextual menu.

And one of the options here is quick action. If we go over to the right, you’re going to see we have a number of different quick actions, the one that we’re going to look at is our convert image. When I select this, I get a new window that pops up. And from here, I’m able to convert this image, I want to convert this into a JPEG. So if we go over to the left here, you’re gonna see I have format. jpg. So what this is going to do now is format this as a JPEG. What about the size? Well, what I can do is set how large I want it to be, the smaller the size, the more compression it is going to have, the worse it is going to look. So what I’m going to do is change this to large 240k is pretty good. So I’m going to leave it at large, this file is actually about eight megabytes. So this is going to compress it from an eight megabyte PNG file to a 240 kilobyte JPEG. So let’s go ahead and do that. I select this. And then we go over to convert an image that converts the image, and we can see we have my new converted image. So this one here, about eight megabytes, let’s go ahead and confirm that.

So I just select it, and then we go up under File, and you’re going to see, get info, this is going to open up a new window where I can view all the information for this file, we can see this is actually nine megabytes. So this new file here that I converted it to is going to be let’s go ahead and do that again. 240 kilobytes, so quite a bit smaller. Let’s see what the quality is on it. So now I just click on the first one, just single click on it, I’m going to use quick look at the spacebar gives me a quick look without actually opening it up. There’s my original file, this is the nine megabyte file. Now I’m going to go over to the other one, the new one, we can see we’re looking at my large file, we can see that there’s not a whole lot of difference here, I’m going to go to the original. And now I’m going to go to the compressed one.

So there is not a whole lot of difference there between those two files. But the file size is dramatically different. Let’s take a look at how we can compress a file of the same file type. In other words, I have this lake photo here, I want to make this smaller, this is about an eight or nine megabyte file as well. Let’s go ahead and check that out. So I have it selected, we go up under file. And then we go over to get info, we have our window that opens up. And we can see that this is eight megabytes. So what I want to do now is create a smaller version of this, maybe I’m going to put it on a website or send it to someone, I need to create a smaller version 8.6 megabytes is quite large, we can use that same shortcut, that same quick action shortcut. All I do is just select it, hold down the Ctrl key. And then we go over to quick actions and go over to convert image.

You’re going to see I can select my format. I’m going to leave it at jpg but I could convert this into a being or HEI F but I’m going to leave it at jpg I want it as a JPEG. I just want a smaller version of it. And then we set the size 47 kilobytes that’s going to be quite small. So I’m just going to go with large here, selected 757 kilobytes, still a little bit large. But if I’m sending this to someone, it’s not too bad. I can preserve the metadata. If it has location data, things like that. I can preserve that. So I’m just going to leave that in there. But if you did want to strip all that metadata out of there, you could And then all I have to do is just click on Convert to jpg. And we have my new file here. And this one here is about 750 kilobytes. Let’s take a look at the quality. We’re going to go to the original one here, press the spacebar for my quick look. There’s my original. And now we go over to the new one, we can see there’s a little bit more contrast with the new one.

But overall, it’s really not that much of a difference, and I am saving quite a bit of file space with it. I’m going to close this. If I needed to make it smaller, I could compress it again. Again, I just Ctrl click, we go over to quick actions convert image, let’s just go and make this one medium, maybe that was a little bit too large to earn and go with 197, you’re gonna see the difference here, I click on Convert. Now we have my smaller one, it’s medium sized. Let’s take a look at these three here. So like the first one spacebar quick look, there’s my original photo, there’s my large photo, so it’s compressed to about 10% of the original size. And then here’s my latest one you can see now it is getting smaller, physically smaller, and it is not nearly as sharp, original, large, medium. So as you go smaller with these photos will change the quality. So all you want to do is just find a good balance of one that looks good, while still retaining the quality. And you can easily do that just by going over to the original and converting it making multiple versions of it and see which one you like.

I like to have the second one here. So what I’m going to do is just go and throw this one away, so I just drag it down to the trash that’s a little bit too compressed for me. So that’s how you can use finder quick actions to convert an image from one file type to another, as well as how you can compress them even if it is the same file type. You just select the image, hold down the Ctrl key to get the contextual menu and then you’re going to see quick actions. From there you’re going to see convert image, select that select what you want to convert it to and your Mac will then convert that image. So that’s how you can convert images using quick actions on the Mac.