Help / Crop, optimize & export

Optimize and compress images

Cropped turns large photos and screenshots into small files that look the same. Pick a preset, or set the format, quality and size yourself. Your original is never changed.

Quick answer: drop the image on the Drop Zone to shrink it in one step. Or open it in the Studio, pick what it's for under Optimize for (Web is WebP, 85% quality, up to 1920 px wide) or choose WebP, AVIF, JPEG or PNG yourself, and press ⌘ Command + ↩ Return (Windows: Ctrl + Enter). The smaller copy goes to Downloads/Cropped.

#Optimize for

At the top of the Studio panel, Optimize for asks what the picture is for, and picks the format, quality and size for you:

The line under the cards spells out the recipe. Each card is a preset, so changing a setting below changes that preset; save a copy to keep both versions.

#Pick a preset

Under Studio output › Image, choose a Preset, or pick it under Optimize for. Each one sets the format, quality and size in one go.

#Format, quality and size

Which format should I use?

• WebP is the best all-rounder: small, sharp, and works in every modern browser and most apps.
• AVIF is often smaller still, but takes longer to make and some older apps can't open it.
• JPEG opens everywhere, including old email clients and print shops.
• PNG is lossless. Use it for print, pixel art or when you need an exact copy.

The image encoders load the first time you optimize after opening Cropped, so that first image can take a moment longer. The Studio and the Drop Zone open faster because they don't load them up front.

#Save your own preset

Change any setting, then click Save settings as an image preset and give it a name. Your presets show up in the Studio and in the Drop Zone. Changing a preset's settings updates it; save a copy to keep both versions.

#Optimize

• Press ⌘ Command + ↩ Return (Windows: Ctrl + Enter) or click the main Optimize button at the foot of the Inspector to process the whole queue.
• This file only, next to the main button, processes only the open file.
• With images ticked in the queue, Apply to N checked copies the open image's settings to them.
• After optimizing, the result bar and File size show the original size, the new size and how much you saved.
• Several images are optimized at once, so big batches finish sooner. How many at a time depends on your computer's processor.

#The result bar

The bar under an open image shows what you'll get: the size before and after (or Optimize to see the new size until it's done), how much smaller it got, the format and quality, the output dimensions (or how many export sizes are ticked) and the save folder. Its buttons are Show in Finder (File Explorer on Windows, your file manager on Linux) and Save results.

#Compare before and after

After optimizing, click Compare on the picture toolbar. The original is on the left of the handle and the optimized file on the right. Drag the handle, or use the arrow keys (hold Shift for bigger steps), to look closely at text and edges. Click Compare again to go back to cropping.

#Never bigger than the original

Some files are already as small as they can get. If optimizing a whole, uncropped image in the same format (PNG to PNG, or JPEG to JPEG) would make it bigger, Cropped saves your original image instead, so the result is never larger. Hidden details such as the camera, location and comments are still removed, as they are from every export.

This doesn't apply when you crop, resize, rotate or change the format, because the result is a different picture or file type. A JPEG that a camera stores sideways and turns with a hidden tag is always re-encoded, so it still displays the right way up.

#Keep images under a file size

Set Max file size when a site or app has an upload limit, such as 1 MB. Cropped first lowers the quality, but not below 40%, where pictures start to look blocky. If that still isn't small enough, it makes the image smaller in pixels too, keeping its shape. PNG is lossless, so it only gets smaller in pixels.

Platform sizes keep their exact pixels, so only the quality comes down. If an image still can't fit, Cropped saves the smallest version it made and File size says the target was missed.

Fitting a size takes a few extra tries per image, so optimizing is a little slower with it on.

#Wide color

Mac screenshots and iPhone photos are often in Display P3, a color space with richer reds and greens than standard color (sRGB). Exports are saved in standard color so they look the same everywhere, which can make very saturated colors slightly duller. When that happens, File size shows a note naming the image's color space. If you need the exact colors, use the original file.

#Saving and file names

Under Studio output › Saving:

Cropped never overwrites a file. If the name is taken, it adds -2, -3 and so on. The naming style is shared with the Drop Zone.

Still stuck? Click the ? button at the bottom left of the Cropped Studio to ask, send us a message, or request a feature.