“How to…?” questions about Image Converter Plus

A: By default, all images are converted with initially specified image size.
If you want to change image size or resolution, you should add “Resize” operation. Set image size in pixels or percent in standard settings of this operation.
If you do not want to use pixels, you can expand the operation and set needed units (inches or centimeters) and enter the needed size.
Note that when inches or centimeters are used to set image size, the specified image resolution is kept. In any case, you will see resulting image size in Pixel Dimension field.

A:

To get a fixed image size, do the following:

• Launch Image Converter Plus
• Add Resize operation;
• In “Change image size … x …..” boxes, specify the needed image width and height;
• Set “units” option to pixels;
• Adjust other parameters.

If you want your images to always be of the same size, set “keeping proportions” option to Yes. In this case the image will become wider or more narrow until it meets the conditions.

A: ImageConverter Plus has the option to allow for conversions with a right click and the ability to show a preview with the right click. Depending on the font size of your display, your screen display size and other software you have installed – you may not find that preview helpful (which is what it sounds like in your case).

To turn off the thumbnail preview please modify the lines:

from

[Shell]

ThmbEnable=1

to

[Shell]

ThmbEnable=0

into the file: icp.ini in the ImageConverter Plus installation folder which is typically \Program Files\ImageConverter Plus

A: As you know, there are different image formats that support alpha channel (sometimes refered to as “transparency”).
Some popular programs for image viewing or even image creation does not comply with format specification when working with alpha channel.

Knowing this issue we added an option to ignore incorrect alpha channel. That way it won’t hinder image viewing or processing.

Please do the following to make Image Converter Plus ignore alpha channel for a specified image type:

• Open folder where Image Converter Plus is installed and find file icp.ini. Open this file in a simple text editor (for instance notepad.exe).
• Got to the end of the file and add the following two lines:

[SGI]

IgnoreAlphaChannel=1

This means that alpha chanel will be ignored when viewing or processing images in SGI format (Silicon Graphics Image).
In many cases using this option is the only way to convert images correctly.

If you need to ignore alpha channel in formats other then SGI please use the corresponding value from the table below:

A: If conversion was successful, you’ll most likely find your files in
destination folder. Perform a more thorough search.

Still, this situation is possible. Conversion may fail due to several reasons.

Main reasons are:

1. You tried to write your file to a Read only destination, e.g., CD
   ROM. Image Converter Plus cannot do this. To place
   your files on CD-R or CD-RW use the standard program shipped together with
   Windows XP or some other program. Prepare your files beforehand with Image Converter Plus.
2. You’ve run out of free space on your device. E.g. your flash card
   didn’t have enough space for all converted files. In this case use a better file
   compression or a flash card of larger capacity.

In both cases Image Converter Plus will inform you about conversion failure.

If you set Image Converter Plus to ask no questions when converting files, there may be a situation when none of your files are converted.

In this case you’re looking for files which do not exist.

Be careful with Image Converter Plus automatic
modes. While these modes are very convenient, you should use them if you have
some conversion experience.

A: When converting images, Image Converter Plus creates file name and extension basing on the selected template.
The default template is as follows: {Title}.{Type} – where {Title} is the macro preserving original
file name, and {Type} is the new extension created basing on the format you selected in Save image
in … format.

If you want other format names which differ from registered ones, for example, jpeg
for jpg or tiff for tif, you should change the template using macros and simple text.

E.g. if you want your files to have jpeg extension, the template will look like:

{Title}.jpeg

Please note!

When you change the format in the current profile, file name template will remain the same. In this case,
don’t forget to return the template to its initial state – {Type} macro.

A: Obviously, your file is of rare or non-standard format.

Image Converter Plus supports lots of formats. Load your file into Image Converter Plus and see whether the program can display this file in preview mode. If you can preview the file, chances are great that will convert the file successfully.

Still, there’s no exact answer to this question. There are not too many graphics formats in the world – there are too many programs which produce incorrect graphics files or modify file formats.

If your file is the one Image Converter Plus cannot convert, email it to our support service. Our engineers will look into the problem of converting this file and possibly solve it.

A: Yes, you can specify this setting in the profile for any format.

Be careful and make test single-file conversion.

Conversion settings can greatly influence conversion result. You should be sure that your settings will provide the result you need.

A: Image Converter Plus is a program designed for image conversion and batch-processing.

Splitting images into parts is beyond application area of the program.
Hence, Image Converter Plus cannot split images into several parts.

Still, Image Converter Plus can save a part of your image into a separate graphics file.
Crop the image with various crop settings several times and you will crop different parts from your image.

A: To set transparency, you should add “Replace color” operation to the current profile and specify the color you want to replace with transparency.

The selected color will be replaced with transparency by default. If you want to replace color gradations, you should use “tolerance” option available in this operation.

Note: You should remember that not all graphics formats support transparency. For example, if you try to process a BMP file, you will see white color instead of transparency.

A: All effects included into “Color effect” operation do not have their own settings. So, when an effect is added, the conversion will be performed in accordance to standard algorithms.

A: How to change one image color to another?

How to change color of pixels to another color?

How to specify transparency color when converting to formats which do not support transparency?

How to replace a certain color with transparency?

Use “Add Operation” option on Profile tab to select “Replace Color” filter.

Use this filter to replace a color with another color with tolerance value specified by “tolerance” parameter.
“Replace Color” filter may be used quite widely.

Below, is a short list of benefits this filter provides.

• Specify transparency when converting images to PNG format before you publish them on the Web.
• Specify background color when converting to formats which don’t support transparency (e.g. converting from PNG to JPG).
• Change document background color. Scanned documents may have grey background color. “Change Color” filter helps make this background white. This also helps save ink of your printer.

A: Image Converter Plus detects file contents regardless of its type (or extension).

Image Converter Plus can process an image file without extension or with any incorrect extension.

If our software recognizes this file as a file with graphical content, Image Converter Plus tells you all information on this file and you will be able to convert this file to a format of your choice.

Also, Image Converter Plus can create files without extension or with any specified extension.

This topic is described in “Creating file name without extension” section.

A: Here’s the default name template:

To ensure that new names are created without extension, change the template to:

If you do, the file name “my_photo_002.jpg” will be converted to “my_photo_002“.

A: Image Converter Plus doesn’t limit the number of converted files, their type or location.To add several folders or files, do the following:

• click on Photos;
• press “Add folder” button and select a directory with images.
• repeat this step as many times as needed until you add all directories to
  the program.

Besides standard means of Image Converter Plus you can use drag&drop function –
just locate your folders in Windows Explorer and drag them to Image Converter Plus window. Images from these folders will
be added to the program.

The contents of both folders will be converted. You can also specify in your profile whether you want to convert contents of subfolders.

A: Yes, you can rotate converted images at any arbitrary angle.

To create such a profile, do the following:

• Select an existing profile;
• Click on “Add operation” link;
• Select “Rotate” operation from the list;
• Expand operation group;
• Specify degrees of the desired rotation angle in “angle of” box;
• Specify rotation direction;
• Specify background fill color of the image.

A: If you have to print many documents with white margins, you can spend much time converting them manually or let Image Converter Plus solve this problem with several mouse clicks.

Here’s a way of removing white margins from images with the help of Image Converter Plus:

• Launch Image Converter Plus.
• Go to Photos tab, select and add files you want to change to the specified size.
• Go to Profile tab and click on “Add operation” in the “Operation before save: Add operation” line. Select Crop Image from the menu.
• Click on “+” mark to the left of Add operation line to expand settings of added operations.
• In “Auto crop border color” combobox, select “White” line (if margin color is neither black nor white, select “User defined” line and choose a color from the dialog box, then press OK button).
• If margin color isn’t purely white, experiment with “tolerance” value to achieve best result. Do the following:
  • Set value to 10% with the help of the scroller located to the right of image area.
  • Press Preview button.
  • Press Generate button.
  • The result is displayed in the bottom right corner of the screen.
  • If you’re not satisfied with the result, experiment with “tolerance” value and generate the image once again. If you’re satisfied with the result check other conversion settings.
• In “Save images in …. format” line, select the format of the resulting image.
• Adjust format settings (default values are optimal).
• Specify the path for resulting images.
• Adjust other settings.
• Press “Start” button to start conversion.

A: To remove an operation from the list you should:

• Expand the list (click on “+” icon located to the left of “Add operation” line.);
• Select the operation you want to remove;
• Click on “x” icon located to the right of the operation.

A: If you have ever scanned a book or viewed a scanned copy of a book you have surely noticed black margins around the image. If you need to print these images, you should remove black margins beforehand. This operation is long and tiresome when performed manually while Image Converter Plus deals with it in several mouse clicks.

Here’s a way of removing black margins from images with the help of Image Converter Plus:

• Launch Image Converter Plus.
• Go to Photos tab, select and add files you want to change to the specified size.
• Go to Profile tab and click on “Add operation” in the “Operation before save: Add operation” line. Select Crop Image from the menu.
• Click on “+” mark to the left of Add operation line to expand settings of added operations.
• In Crop Image operation, select “margins autocrop” line from the list.
• In “Auto crop border color” combobox, select “Black” line (if margin color is neither black nor white, select “User defined” line and choose a color from the dialog box, then press OK button).
• To crop margins correctly, experiment with “tolerance” value to achieve best results. Do the following:
  • Set value to 10% with the help of the scroller located to the right of image area.
  • Press Preview button.
  • Press Generate button.
  • The result is displayed in the bottom right corner of the screen. If you’re not satisfied with the result, experiment with “tolerance” value and generate the image once again. If you’re satisfied with the result check other conversion settings.
• In “Save images in …. format” line, select the format of the resulting image.
• Adjust format settings (default values are optimal).
• Specify the path for resulting images.
• Adjust other settings.
• Press “Start” button to start conversion.

A: You may use Image Converter Plus to change image shape – for example, add white margins without distorting the image.

Say, you want to create a square image of 500×500 pixels from a smaller image, and you don’t want to zoom the image or perform any other scale operations.

To do it, take the following actions:

• Launch Image Converter Plus.
• Go to Photos tab, select and add files you want to change to 500×500 size.
• Go to Profile tab. In the line “Operation before save: Add operation”, click on “Add operation” and select Canvas from the menu.
• Click on “+” mark to the left from “Add operation” line to expand the group with settings for added operations.
• In Canvas operation, set Width and Height values to 500 (the value is set in pixels).
• Select the image border color from “Border color” list. If you cannot find the needed color in the list, select “User defined” line and select a color from the dialog box that appears. Then, press OK button.
• In “Save images in …. format” line, select the format for your image.
• Adjust format settings (default values are optimal).
• Specify the path for resulting images.
• Adjust other settings.
• Press “Start” button to start conversion.

By default, the image will be centered inside the resulting box. Use “Anchor” property to change image position.

You may use this operation together with other operations. For example, you may change image size with Resize operation before you add margins to the image.