One of the most common image editing jobs is quickly enlarging or – usually – reducing a photo. Immediately followed by another routine task; save it in a different file format. The XNConvert app for Android will help you out.
Many people don’t really feel at home in extensive photo editing software. Too complex, the simple things you want to do are often difficult to find and the setting options per tool may be a bit too much. Add to this the fact that most compact cameras nowadays deliver excellent pictures that you don’t really have to do anything about. Not to mention cameras in the slightly better than average smartphone, but not at all. Yet sometimes you want to arrange simple things afterwards. Think of the – controlled – resizing of one or more images. It can also be practical if, for example, you can convert screenshots made in .png format to the more compact – in terms of file sizes – .jpg. An app completely optimized for that sort of thing in XNConvert. In addition to the aforementioned, you can perform all kinds of simple yet regularly necessary image edits, but without the top-heavy interface of a full photo editor.
Adjust without the hassle
XNConvert is in principle free, but you have to accept advertisements. These can be bought off as desired for a few Euros. Once you’ve started the app, the fun can begin. Suppose you want to email a whole mountain of photos to someone. Photos directly from a camera (or taken with your smartphone itself) can be on the hefty side. To avoid mega-mails with attachments that are too large, it is important to resize photos first. XNConvert doesn’t give a damn! Launch the app and select a photo by tapping it. You can achieve a very fast reduction action by tapping the button with the three dots in the top right of the screen. In the opened menu, tap Resize 50%. The resized photo is saved in a special destination folder, which then also opens. You only see a black screen now? Then tap the left-facing arrow at the top and tap the settings gear at the top. Put the switch back Output folder is hidden off, we had this option enabled for some reason. If you want to open the output folder again later, tap the button with the three lines at the top left of the screen, followed by a tap output folder.
Choose your dimensions
If you want more control over the resizing process, tap a photo in the overview screen, then tap > in the bottom right of the image. In the newly opened image, make sure the Resize switch is on. Tap the size bar, and you’ll see a whole host of predefined ‘standard sizes’. At least: if you keep your device in the vertical position. You can also specify your own dimensions. The most convenient is actually the option 1024 x AUTO. The number of vertical pixels is neatly adjusted to the original aspect ratio. Moreover, an image with a resolution of 1024 times is still a fine and handy mailable image. If you do not want to specify ‘hard’ pixel resolutions, but percentages or proportions, you can do so by (repeatedly) pressing > (or < to go to the previous option).
With or without metadata?
Be sure to tap on the settings cog and choose as the resize/enlarge method Lanzcos and behind sharpen for Average. Scroll down and choose under Export for the desired file format. For mail applications, JPEG is the most practical. Tap the settings gear at the back Export and you can set the amount of compression. The higher the quality, the less the compression and the larger the file (and vice versa). You can also immediately click the switch behind the quality control Preserve metadata to expand. Handy, because with that you delete the location data of your photo, which is good for your privacy if you share something on social media.
cut out
Tap on To convert and your image will be saved with the desired dimensions. You can find it in the aforementioned output folder. From there it is easy to share in the usual ways. By the way, it’s good to know that XNConvert can also crop. To do this, tap on a photo in the main panel and then at the bottom on the orange circle with the pen. Then tap the crop tool, the second button from the left in the bar at the bottom of the screen. Choose one of the pre-baked aspect ratios, or go for it none if you want to cut completely free. Once you have made the crop you want, tap the check mark in the button bar at the top. Save the crop by tapping the save button (third from the right in the toolbar at the top of the screen).
batch
It is also an option to handle multiple images at once (batch editing). Select a few photos and tap > at the bottom right of the screen. You will now see the now familiar settings panel. This time, whatever you choose here will immediately be applied to all selected photos. For example, you can also – if necessary – use switches such as Rotate, Adjust or Watermark to turn on. Each of these options offers its own underlying setting options. Satisfied? Then tap To convert and you will find all the adjusted image back in the output folder.
You can also create a profile for frequently applied settings. To do this, tap the button with the three dots in the top right of the main panel and then in the opened menu tap Create Template. Make the desired settings and then tap the three-dot button at the top right of the screen. Tap on To add, give a name and tap OK. From now on you will find your settings profile – after selecting one or more images – in the main panel after tapping the three-dot button.
All in all, a very nice app that comes in handy on a regular basis (or even a lot), we think. As mentioned, XNConvert is basically free. An in-app purchase not only removes the ads, but also removes the limit on the number of photos you can have automatically processed.
