Will resizing reduce image quality?

Downscaling (making an image smaller) preserves perceived quality very well — you're discarding data the screen wasn't going to show anyway. Upscaling (making it larger) always reduces sharpness because the resizer has to invent pixels; bicubic and Lanczos algorithms interpolate cleanly but can't recover detail that was never captured. For best results, always resize from the largest source you have rather than from a previously downscaled copy.

Does resizing keep transparency (alpha channel)?

Yes, when the source and target formats both support it. PNG, WebP, AVIF, GIF, HEIC, and TIFF preserve transparency through a resize. If you resize a transparent PNG and output JPG, the transparent pixels get filled with white (JPG has no alpha channel) — pick PNG or WebP as the output if you need transparency to survive.

What's the best format to output for the web?

WebP if your audience runs current browsers — it produces files roughly 25–35% smaller than JPG at equivalent quality and is supported in Chrome (32+), Edge (18+), Firefox (65+), and Safari (16+), with partial support in Safari 14–15.6 (caniuse data). Fall back to JPG for legacy compatibility, or AVIF for even smaller files at the cost of slightly slower decoding. For graphics with transparency or hard edges (logos, screenshots, line art), stick with PNG.

Can I resize a batch of images to the same dimensions?

Yes. Upload the entire set in one go and set width/height/percentage once — XConvert applies the same resize to every file in the batch and packages the results as a ZIP. If the sources have different aspect ratios and you've locked the ratio, each image fits within the target as a maximum bound rather than stretching to fit.

How do I resize for a specific file size (e.g., "under 100 KB")?

Pure resizing only reduces pixel count; file size is a function of pixels × encoding quality. To target a specific size in KB or MB, resize to a sensible dimension first (e.g., 1080 px wide) and then run the result through the image compressor, which exposes a target-file-size control. Many passport sites cap photos at 240 KB or 1 MB — the two-step resize-then-compress flow nails it without iteration.

What's the difference between resize, crop, and compress?

Resize changes the pixel dimensions of the entire image proportionally (or with a forced ratio if you unlock it). Crop discards pixels from the edges to change framing or aspect ratio — the remaining pixels keep their original resolution. Compress keeps pixel dimensions the same but re-encodes at lower quality to shrink the file. They're often combined: crop to the right aspect, resize to the platform target, compress to fit the size cap. Use crop image for the second step.

What DPI should I pick for print vs screen?

For screen (web, social, email), DPI is metadata only — what matters is pixel count. Set 72 or 96 DPI; nobody will see a difference. For print, DPI determines physical size: a 1200×1800 px image at 300 DPI prints as 4×6 inches; the same file at 150 DPI prints as 8×12 inches but looks softer. Photo labs and printers standardize on 300 DPI for sharp prints. Passport offices specifically require 300 DPI on photo specs.

Will EXIF metadata (camera info, GPS, dates) survive a resize?

JPG and HEIC outputs preserve most EXIF tags by default. PNG and WebP outputs may strip GPS and camera-specific tags depending on the encoder. If you need to keep — or deliberately remove — location data before posting publicly, check the file in any EXIF viewer after resizing. Many social platforms (Instagram, Facebook, X) strip metadata server-side regardless, but email attachments and direct uploads do not.

Can I resize RAW camera files (CR2, NEF, ARW, DNG)?

Yes. XConvert decodes Canon CR2/CR3, Nikon NEF, Sony ARW, Adobe DNG, Panasonic RW2, Pentax PEF, Fuji RAF, and other RAW formats. The output is a standard image format (JPG, PNG, WebP, TIFF) at your chosen dimensions — RAW is a sensor capture format, not a display format, so the resize step automatically demosaics and renders the image. Pick TIFF if you want lossless output for further editing.