Image Convert Ninja

Welcome to the Image Convert Ninja documentation!

Here you will find all the information you need to know about using this tool.

Input

How to Open or Change an Image

To begin, you'll need to open an image.

When you add your first image, Ninja's Image Viewer will display it almost instantly or after a brief loading period, depending on the image's format, size, and your device's performance. You might see a spinning icon while it loads. Once loaded, you can start using the tool.

Basic information about the opened image will be displayed at the top of the Input pane.

Example: Input: car.png | 1.2 MB | 1 920 x 1 280px

In this example, "car.png" is the name of the uploaded image, "1.2 MB" is its original file size before conversion, and "1 920 x 1 280 px" represents the original image resolution.

UsingInput pane you can load images into Image Convert Ninja in several ways, as described below.

By Open Image Button

The most straightforward method is to click the big blue OPEN IMAGE button. On desktop, it's located at the top right. On narrower screens, such as mobile phones, it is located directly below the Image Viewer - a large rectangular area with a cool blue Ninja logo.

Click this button, and it will open a standard file dialog box for your browser and OS where you can locate your image file.

Once the image is loaded, you will see it in the Image Viewer viewport instead of the Image Convert Ninja logo. The text on this button will change from OPEN IMAGE to CHANGE IMAGE to indicate that you can add another image. You can change the current image with another one as many times as you want. No need to reload the page.

By Drag and Drop

Another approach is to use drag and drop. You can grab an image and drop it directly onto the Image Viewer viewport.

If you are on a mobile device, this option isn't available for most devices, simply because most mobile operating systems only allow one app to be displayed at a time, preventing you from dragging something from one app window and dropping it into another app window.

Using the Clipboard

You can transfer an image to the Image Viewer using the clipboard.

First, copy the image to the clipboard from a screenshot app, editor, browser, or other sources. Use corresponding app context menu or hotkeys Ctrl + C / ⌘ + C.

Once the image data is in the clipboard, return to Image Convert Ninja and paste it using:

• Hotkeys: Ctrl + V on Windows or ⌘ + V on Mac.
• Paste button: Click the blue PASTE button with clipboard icon.

With the Paste from Clipboard option, Image Convert Ninja provides the easiest way to save images from the clipboard. For example, when using some screenshot tools, especially those built into operating systems, you can copy the screen image to the clipboard, but saving it to the right folder on your computer and in the right format can be a real pain. With Image Ninja, this process becomes as simple as possible. Copy from anywhere, paste it here and you're done!

Using a Link

If you wish to utilize an image from the web with Image Convert Ninja, you can do so by providing a direct link to the image:

• Link button: Click the convenient "Link" button to open a dialog box where you can paste or type the image URL. This option is particularly useful for mobile devices.

And yes, you can actually Paste and Drop links as described above for a files. The same approach but with a URL.

Supercharge your image conversions with web image support! No more hunting down and saving images first! Image Convert Ninja streamlines your workflow and makes converting web images a breeze.

Input Formats

Image Convert Ninja supports all major web formats as well as additional formats that are typically considered desktop-only.

Web formats

These are formats used on web pages as online images. They include JPEG, WebP, AVIF, PNG, APNG, GIF, SVG, BMP, and ICO.

Some of these formats, such as PNG, GIF, WebP, AVIF, and SVG, may contain an alpha channel. The checkerboard backdrop will be visible in the Image Viewer viewport through the parts of the image affected by the alpha.

The APNG and GIF formats can contain animation. However, Image Convert Ninja will only show the first frame and ignore the rest.

Desktop Formats

These types of files are often found exclusively in desktop software, but the online Image Convert Ninja tool can open HEIC, HEIF, 8-bit TIFF, 32-bit HDR, and 32-bit EXR files right in your browser.

Maximum Resolution

Browsers themselves limit the maximum size of an image that can be uploaded to them. For desktop browsers based on Chromium, it is about 32K. For Firefox and mobile browsers, this limit is lower and depends on the browser.

In addition, Image Convert Ninja uses WebGL and treats images as textures, so the maximum resolution it can process is limited by the browser's Maximum Texture Size property. The value of this property depends on your browser and graphics processor. For desktop browsers based on Chromium, it is about 16K (16384px on the larger side). In Firefox, this limit is 8K (8192px on the larger side). For mobile devices, it will be even lower.

This means that even if you open, say, a 20K image, Image Convert Ninja will reduce it to 16K/8K and so on.

Tuning

HDRI Exposure

When you open an HDR or EXR file, you can use the HDRI Exposure panel to change how bright or dark your image looks. You can choose an exposure value from 0.01 to 4 by using the slider or typing the number in the input field above.

HDR images contain information about a wide range of brightness, from very dark to extremely bright. A normal screen can't display all the brightness at once, so you have to choose the part of the brightness range you want to see. Either the one in the dark zone or the one in the bright zone. This is called exposure tone mapping.

The lower the exposure value, the darker the image. The higher the exposure value, the brighter the image. The default value is 1.

Most HDR images look good at the default value of 1. You should only change this value if you really need to. For example, if your image is too bright or too dark, you can lower or raise the exposure to make it better. You can see the exposure change in real time in the Image Viewer.

When you save your image in a non-HDR format, it will keep the exposure that you selected. The saved image will look the same as it does in the Image Viewer.

You can't use tone mapping on a regular 8-bit image like PNG, JPEG, etc. It won't work because an 8-bit image only has a limited range of brightness levels. Changing this range will not reveal more details, but will just cut off some of them and make your image worse. That's why the HDRI Exposure panel is inactive when you use images other than HDR or EXR.

Compression

The Compression / Quality panel allows you to choose how much you want to reduce the size of the image file by reducing its quality. Using the slider or the input field, you can set the compression level from 0% to 100%. The lower the compression level, the smaller the file size, but the worse the quality. The higher the level, the larger the file size, but the better the quality.

The Compression / Quality panel is only active when you've chosen a compressible format to save your image, such as JPEG or WebP. These formats use an image data compression technique, which means they discard some details of the image to reduce its size. All other output formats are lossless formats, which means they preserve all the details of the image, but at the expense of its size. That's why the Compression / Quality panel is grayed out when you choose lossless output formats.

Output

Saving an Image

The Output pane is where you can select the format and choose how to save converted image to your device. This pane also provides helpful information about the converted image.

Example: Output: car_(80).avif | 187.5 KB | in 15.37s

In this example, "car_(80)" is the name of the converted image, with "_(80)" indicating 80% compression. The ".avif" is the chosen format. The "187.5 KB" shows the size of the converted image, and "in 15.37s" indicates the total time taken to perform the conversion.

Format Dropdown

This is a drop-down list with available formats for saving the image. Here you can choose between compressible and lossless formats. The default format is JPEG. If you select one of the compressible formats, the Compression / Quality panel will become active, where you can also choose the desired compression level.

Copy Image Button

This feature lets you copy the converted image to your clipboard with a single click. This makes it easier to transfer images between applications without needing to save and manually upload them. Simply copy image to clipboard and then paste it into another website, messenger (like WhatsApp or Telegram), or any other app that accepts images.

Perfect for quick sharing and efficient multitasking, enhances productivity by simplifying the process of using and distributing images.

Copy Base64 Button

This is a button that copies the image as a Base64-encoded URL to the clipboard. You can use this feature, for example, to insert an image into HTML or CSS code [background: url( Base64 image string goes here... )], or to share it online without saving it as a file. This button is only active when you've selected JPEG, WebP, or PNG as the output format.

Save Image Button

Click the Save Image Button to download it directly to your device. Thanks to the Live Preview magic, your image is already pre-converted, so saving happens in a flash!

While Saving

The button will change to "Preparing Image" with a loading indicator. Once ready, a standard file save dialog will appear, allowing you to choose a destination on your device.

File Naming

By default, the saved file will inherit the name of your uploaded image. For compressible formats (JPEG, WEBP) with adjusted compression levels (lower than 100%), the name will be appended with the suffix "_(compression level)".

Example: Uploading "car.png" and choosing WEBP format at 80% compression, saves as "car_(80).webp".

Images taken from the clipboard will be saved with a unique name format: "Clipboard Image date time_(compression level)".

Example: Copying an image and saving as JPEG at 80% compression on May 24, 2024, at 5:03:52 PM, saves as "Clipboard Image May 24, 2024 at 17-03-52_(80).jpg"

Preserving Transparency

Transparency (alpha channel) in uploaded images will be maintained in the Image Viewer and during saving. To retain transparency, during saving, choose a format that supports it (all formats except JPEG).

Saving a transparent image as a JPEG will convert transparent pixels to white, resulting in a white background.

Stripping Image Metadata

Image metadata - embedded information within an image, often includes details about the capturing device, its camera specifications, the operating system, editing software, and even the location where it was taken. While this information can be helpful in some cases, it can also pose privacy concerns. If you want to remove metadata from an image without altering its visual content, Image Convert Ninja is the perfect tool for the job.

Unlike other methods that depend on explicitly removing metadata, Image Convert Ninja achieves this by simply ignoring it entirely. The tool focuses exclusively on manipulating the pixel data of an image, without even reading the metadata from the source image you provide. Essentially, Image Convert Ninja neither accesses nor reinserts metadata during the image reading/saving process.

To remove metadata using Image Convert Ninja, simply upload the desired image, choose the preferred output format, and save it. The resulting image will retain its original visual characteristics while being devoid of embedded metadata.

Output Formats

You can save/convert images to the formats listed below.

Compressible

Lossless

PNG, GIF, BMP and ICO.

Maximum Output Resolution

The maximum output resolution is the size of the image you'll save to your device after the conversion. This size is limited by your browser's so-called Drawing Buffer. This property determines the largest image that can be displayed on a web page. For desktop browsers, it is usually limited to a size of about 8K. For mobile devices, it can be smaller.

If you open an image that is larger than the Display Buffer supported by your browser, Image Convert Ninja will process it, but will automatically reduce the image resolution to fit your browser's limitations.

Viewer

Image Viewer

Image Viewer lets you see the images you upload right on the page. You don’t need any extra software or plug-ins. The tool uses the power of your device’s GPU (using WebGL), so it is as good as, or even better than, some desktop image viewers.

You can use Image Convert Ninja because of Image Viewer alone, without using the format conversion features at all. You can also use it on mobile devices like smartphones and tablets, which usually don’t have good image viewer software. They usually only have a standard photo gallery app. For instance, Image Convert Ninja's Image Viewer can handle TIFF, HDR or EXR formats, which most mobile photo viewers don’t support.

Controls Lock

When you open your first image, and it is loaded in the Image Viewer, you can start working with it.

By default, the Image Viewer controls are locked. This is on purpose to make sure that the zoom and pan features in the Image Viewer don’t accidentally mess with the page scrolling.

For example, if the Image Viewer controls are unlocked, when you move the mouse over the Image Viewer and then try to scroll the page using the wheel, you’ll zoom in and out of the image in the Image Viewer instead of scrolling the page. Likewise, on a mobile device, when you swipe with your finger over the Image Viewer with the controls unlocked, you’ll move the image instead of scrolling. This can be confusing at first, that’s why the controls are locked by default.

If you want to unlock the Image Viewer controls, use the padlock icon in the lower left corner of the Image Viewer.

Panning

To pan or move the image in any direction inside the Image Viewer, you can click or tap on the image and drag it to where you want. You can use the left mouse button or your finger if you are on a mobile device.

Zooming

To zoom in or out, you can scroll the mouse wheel or use pinch gestures on the image. You can do this on any part of the Image Viewer.

Reset View

Double-click or double-tap anywhere in the Image Viewer to fit an image into the current frame of the Image Viewer viewport.

Full Screen Mode

To see the image in full screen mode, you can click the button with a square icon at the top right corner of the Image Viewer. This will make the Image Viewer fill the whole screen of you device. Now you can enjoy the image in full size.

To go back to the normal mode, you can click the button again or press the Esc key if you are on a computer.

If you are using an iPad, moving the image in full screen mode can be a bit tricky. When you switch to full screen mode on your iPad, you will see this message:

“rendersnail.com” is in full screen. Swipe down to exit.

This means that if you move your finger down quickly, iPadOS will register this motion as a "swipe down" gesture, which will cause you to exit full screen mode.

To pan an image in full screen mode on iPad:

• Switch to full screen mode in the browser on your iPad.
• Press and hold your finger on the image.
• Wait a moment, then move your finger in any direction to pan the image.

On smartphones, full screen mode is not available. That's because it doesn't make sense on small screens because on a mobile phone you will already have Image Viewer fame at the full width of a screen, and switching to full screen won't make any difference. In addition, smartphone browsers do not support full screen well, which can lead to a white screen instead of content, as well as unexpected page reloads.

Live Preview

When you upload an image, the Image Viewer displays the original image for a moment. Meanwhile, the image conversion starts in the background. When the conversion is complete, the converted image replaces the original in the viewer, so you can see the result immediately. Each time you change the conversion parameters, the process restarts in the background and the new image appears as soon as the conversion is complete. This means you can see the conversion results in near real-time (depending on the image settings and your device's performance), hence the name "Live Preview".

This is a unique feature that you probably won't find in any other image conversion software.

The live preview feature in Image Convert Ninja enables you to effortlessly find the optimal balance between image quality and file size. This feature eliminates the need for guesswork and repeated saving and checking of images.

With Live Preview, you can experiment with different settings and instantly see the results, allowing you to achieve the perfect quality-size balance for your needs.

Instant Results

When you load an image, Image Convert Ninja immediately converts it based on your current settings, displaying the result live in the Image Viewer. This allows you to tweak settings and see the outcome almost instantly, depending on the image size and your device's performance.

To preview provided image "as is" without conversion impact and retain transparency, choose the lossless PNG format.

Size Prediction

As you adjust the image settings, Image Convert Ninja predicts the final file size, providing crucial information on how much space your saved image will occupy. This size indicator is conveniently located right at the yellow Save Image Button.

General

Performance

Image Convert Ninja is a powerful web-based program that works with images by using the power of your device. It makes use of both the CPU and the GPU. This implies that the speed of uploading, processing, and saving images is directly determined by the speed of your device and the size of the images you use.

If you are opening a very large image of several hundred megabytes, Image Convert Ninja will handle it, but it will take some time.

If you are dealing with a very large image, the processing may take several seconds, which exceeds the process execution time limit of your browser. In response to this, your browser may think that Image Convert Ninja is "frozen" and not working properly. Then it will show you a prompt that says "Page not responding" and ask you to "Wait" or "Exit" the page. In this case, you don't need to do anything, just wait for the image to load. The browser will close this window by itself.

Security

Image Convert Ninja is technically a client-side only program that runs exclusively in your browser. It does not use a server to process images, but instead uses the power of your device. Since all image processing takes place locally in your browser, Image Convert Ninja is completely private and secure. It doesn't even require an internet connection, except for the one-time download of this page. No one but you know what images you are viewing or converting here.

About

Image Convert Ninja is a powerful web image convertor that allows you to convert and view images online. Enjoy your photos and other images in full detail and quality, and easily convert them to different formats such as JPEG, PNG, WebP. A standout feature of Image Convert Ninja is its ability to open and display 32-bit HDR and EXR images, allowing you to adjust their brightness and preview them in high resolution in real time directly in your browser.

It also supports "desktop" formats like TIFF and "Apple" formats such as HEIC/HEIF, making it a versatile online HEIC/HEIF and TIFF converter.

Additionally, you can copy the converted images to your clipboard as base64 code, enabling easy pasting into other applications or web pages without saving them as files.

This tool is user-friendly and works seamlessly on any device. You can zoom in and out, and pan images with your mouse or fingers. The Image Viewer leverages WebGL to utilize the power of your GPU, ensuring fast and smooth image viewing, even for very large images up to 16K resolution.

Image Convert Ninja ensures complete privacy and security by processing all images client-side, meaning your images never leave your device. There is no need to register or pay to use this tool—it is free and unlimited for everyone.

Let's summarize!

Features

• Open and convert all popular image formats, including JPEG, PNG, WebP, TIFF, HEIC/HEIF, HDR, EXR and more.
• Preview images in high resolution in right in your browser. Pan and zoom images with your fingers on your mobile device.
• Live Preview of the result. Experiment with settings and instantly see the results, finding the perfect balance between image quality and file size in real time.
• Adjust the exposure of HDR and EXR images to make them dimmer or brighter in real time.
• Go full screen.
• Completely private and secure. All image processing takes place in your browser. No server is involved.

Benefits

• Fast and easy to use.
• No need to install standalone image viewer.
• Supports HDR, EXR, TIFF, HEIC and HEIF images.
• User-friendly interface.
• Private and secure.

Why Ninja?

The Image Convert Ninja logo features a cartoon ninja breaking a board labeled "Image" into three pieces: .JPEG, .WebP, and .PNG. This symbolizes the tool's ability to take one image and convert it to different formats.

The ninja represents speed and accuracy, highlighting Image Convert Ninja as a fast and efficient way to view and convert images online. It also symbolizes stealth and secrecy, ensuring that your images are safe and private. Moreover, the ninja's mastery of many skills represents the tool's versatility, from adjusting brightness and compression levels to copying images as base64 code and displaying them in high resolution.

Finally, the ninja character adds a fun and friendly element. Image Convert Ninja is designed to be easy and enjoyable to use, with a simple and intuitive interface that requires no learning curve for non-professional users. Just open it, and you will immediately understand how to use it, even if it is your first time.

To sum it up, Image Convert Ninja is a fast, easy, secure, and fun way to view and convert images online.

History

In 2022, Image Convert Ninja was launched as a 32-bit online image viewer. The goal was to provide a cross-platform service for opening HDR or EXR files on Windows, Linux, macOS, iOS, or Android devices, bringing the desktop app experience to the web and mobile devices.

It soon became clear that this tool could do much more. It was expanded to view all common 8-bit image formats, and later it was “upgraded” to be used not only for viewing but also for converting images. Thus, what was originally an online HDR file viewer has evolved into a comprehensive online image converter and viewer, offering users a number of features and benefits that no one else provides for free.

Image Convert Ninja aims to fill a gap in free online image processing services by providing functionality that is both extensive and accessible to non-professional users. Unlike other services that are either too limited or too complicated, Image Convert Ninja offers a balanced solution.

Feedback

Feel free to reach out with any questions, feedback, or suggestions. Your input is invaluable in helping improve Image Convert Ninja.

Thank you for using Image Convert Ninja. Enjoy fast, secure, and high-quality online image conversion and viewing!

Updates

v4.2.0 (Jun 26, 2024 Update): AVIF & WebP with Variable Compression

• AVIF variable compression level: AVIF is now a compressible format. Previously listed as lossless, you can now choose the compression level for AVIF format, making Image Convert Ninja a fully-featured online AVIF converter / compressor.

• WebP enhances for iOS and Safari: Adjustable compression levels for WebP output are now supported on iOS devices, including iPads and iPhones, as well as on MacOS Safari browser.

• User Interface Enhancements: The UI now displays more information about input and output images, including names and conversion time and resolution.

v4.1.0 (Jun 13, 2024 Update): Copy Image Button

• Copy Image to Clipboard: You can now directly copy the converted image to your clipboard with a single click.

• User Interface Enhancements: Key UI buttons have been rearranged, resized, and recolored for a better user experience.

v4.0.0 (Jun 06, 2024 Update): Live Preview Introduced

• Real-time Conversion Feedback: Now, you can see the conversion results directly in the Image Viewer as you adjust the settings, providing immediate visual feedback.

• Final Image Size Prediction: The Live Preview feature now includes an accurate prediction of the converted file size based on your selected settings. This ensures that your image meets the required size specifications before you save it.

• Instantaneous Saving: Image Convert Ninja now saves images instantly, thanks to background conversion processes that occur in real-time behind the scenes prior to saving.

• User Interface Enhancements: Minor UI changes have been made for a more intuitive and seamless user experience.

v3.5.0 (May 24, 2024 Update)

• Improved Transparency Handling: Image Convert Ninja now preserves transparency (alpha channel) when saving converted images in any supported formats except JPEG. Transparency is not supported when saving in JPEG format. Saving a transparent image as JPEG will result in a white background.

v3.4.0 (May 01, 2024 Update)

• HEIC and HEIF support is here! Convert your favorite iPhone photos and other HEIC/HEIF images to more widely compatible formats with Image Convert Ninja. Now you can use Image Convert Ninja as a universal online HEIC / HEIF converter.

v3.3.0 (Apr 24, 2024 Update)

• Image form link support. Now you can easily use web images by simply providing a link. Just provide a link to the image and Image Convert Ninja will download and show it to you so you can convert and save it in any format. Use paste hotkeys, dragging and dropping, utilize the add image from Link button.

• The Paste image from clipboard button added.

v3.2.0 (Apr 15, 2024 Update)

• The Image Convert Ninja now supports inserting images from the clipboard by hotkeys, which allows you to quickly and easily transfer image data.

• The interface of Image Convert Ninja has been further refined for improved usability and aesthetics.

v3.1.0 (Sep 17, 2023 Update)

• The Image Viewer has been enhanced with a full-screen mode feature. Now you can switch it to full screen mode in one click.

• The whole Image Convert Ninja documentation has been rewritten from scratch to make it more concise, less verbose, and more user-friendly.

v3.0.0 (Sep 10, 2023 Update)

• The layout of the Image Ninja interface and all its individual elements have been totally redone.

• The Image Viewer is now on the left, while the control panels are on the right. Only on tiny screens does the Image Viewer take up the full browser window, and all the panels will relocate themselves beneath the Image Viewer automatically.

• On medium and large screens, Image Ninja automatically adapts its layout to the available screen space. This way, all Ninja's components are visible at once. This eliminates the need to scroll to get to any part of the interface, whether you want to open a new image or save a converted one.

v2.2.1 (Aug 31, 2023 Update)

• The Image Viewer shows the given image against a checkerboard background. If you provide an image with transparency capabilities, i.e. PNG, GIF, WEBP, AVIF or SVG, the checkerboard backdrop will also be visible through the areas of the image affected by the alpha channel.

• The ability to use the mouse wheel to change the Tone Mapping Exposure and Compression sliders has been removed. This will prevent you from accidentally altering the sliders positions when scrolling the page with the mouse wheel.

• Fixed a bug with the image exposure unexpectedly being reset while navigating the page.

v2.1.0 (Mar 17, 2023 Update)

• Image Viewer navigation controls like Zoom and Pan are now locked by default. This will improve the experience of using Image Viewer on mobile devices by allowing users to easily scroll the page by swiping up and down, including across Image Viewer, without interfering with controls.

• Image Viewer now has a button with a lock icon in the lower left corner. You may use it to lock and unlock Image Viewer controls.

v2.0.0 (Mar 11, 2023 Update)

• The tool has been renamed from "Online Image Converter HDR" to "Image Convert Ninja". Having said that, this program is clearly now more about converting images than viewing them. But, Ninja continues to view images.

• The Image Viewer itself has been significantly redesigned. Separate "Full Screen" and "Reset View" buttons have been removed. The full-screen mode capability has been eliminated entirely. Reset View, on the other hand, has developed into a double-click option. By double-clicking anywhere on the Image Viewer, you can now simply reset the view.