mini(scule) review of "Fileminimizer Pictures" compression tool

[cranioscopical]

Basic Info

App Name	FILEminimizer Pictures from balesio
App URL	http://www.balesio.c...ctures/eng/index.php
App Version Reviewed	3.0 (free version)
Test System Specs	Windows XP Pro SP3 Intel Core 2 Quad Q9450 2.66GHz 4Gb RAM nVIDIA GeForce 9600 GT
Supported OSes	Win XP through 7
Support Methods	FAQ's, online contact form
Upgrade Policy	Unknown, this is a free edition
Trial Version Available?	This is a free version. Commercial use is not allowed.
Restrictions	Commercial use is not allowed. At infrequent intervals an exceedingly polite box pops up reminding you to pay for the software if you put it to commercial use.
Screencast Video URL	http://www.balesio.c...mp;h=755&lang=en
Relationship btwn. Reviewer and Product	There is none.

Intro:

Compression tool for JPG, BMP, GIF, TIFF, PNG and EMF images

mini(scule) review of "Fileminimizer Pictures" compression tool


Who is this app designed for:

Those who have large collections of images and who want to reduce storage requirements.
Those who move images, or versions of images, across the web in some manner (posting to collections, email, etc.)

The Good

Simple interface:

• collect files for compression by browsing or by drag and drop
• handles individual files or batches of files
• facilitates emailing of compressed files (compress and email in one step)
• pre-set compression levels for those wanting a little help
• custom compression levels for those with specific levels in mind
• optional context menu entry

It just works. The screenshot of the interface started as a jpg at 100% output quality. Its size was halved by this software, with a better result than that from just dropping the output quality to 50%.

It's free.

It leaves files in their native format(s) unless given permission to do otherwise.

Can be forced to output in lossless format.

Doesn't overwrite original images, although it can be forced to do that if desired.

Can output compressed files to a user-specified folder.

Optionally automatically renames the compressed file adding a user-dictated suffix or prefix, for example ThisPic.jpg could become ThisPic (FILEminimizer).jpg.

Optionally resizes the image(s).


The needs improvement section

Limited to reading/writing the formats mentioned above, viz. JPG, BMP, GIF, TIFF, PNG and EMF


Why I think you should use this product

Everyone's standards are different. You may or may not like this software so I can't say why I think you should use it. For a price of $0, however, you probably owe it to yourself to try.


How does it compare to similar apps

I can't speak with any authority here. Empirically, its performance on the test files that I used left me with the strong sense that this is better than other methods that I've tried.


Conclusions

A very nice personal-use freebie for those with images and who are concerned about bandwidth and/or storage capacity.


And also

balesio has other, paid, compression software on its site. It's forté seems to be in squeezing Microsoft products such as PowerPoint and other Office components.

[mouser]

Nice mini-review -- this is one of those things some of us have to do occasionally -- and i never know which tool to grab.

ps. Would be nice to see someone one day to a comparative review and find us the "best" tool for batch compressing and batch esizing images since it's one of those jobs where a small difference in program can lead to a big savings in time.

[tomos]

thanks Chris

can it batch process files of varying formats (in one go)?

_________________________

Also I'll cross post this about "RIOT" - available as standalone app or as plugin for Irfnaview xnview or gimp - with the warning here (same thread as below- earlier post), that the install version comes with Open Candy - but apparently there is also a portable version.

IMO the killer feature of RIOT is its "Batch optimizer" which can compress large numbers of jpegs to a pre-determined file size. Since different images compress to varying degrees, I never got much satisfaction with compressing to a quality level of 80% (just for example). With "compress to size" in batch mode, I don't get the significant under-sizing that I used to get at a straight quality %.

Interestingly, XnView appears to do this type of batch optimizing for JPEG-2000, but not regular ole JPEG.

So for me, I guess my point is RIOT is a major time saver.

-sajman99 (March 10, 2011, 06:17 PM)

(my bold-italics in quote for emphasis of one difference...)

[cranioscopical]

can it batch process files of varying formats (in one go)?

-tomos (March 11, 2011, 02:44 PM)

Didn't seem to like doing that. Seemed okay with a mix of .png and .jpg which seems to me to be an unlikely combination of candidates for reduction.
Thank you for raising the issue!
Now you can see why I seldom venture into the land of review 

[tomos]

can it batch process files of varying formats (in one go)?

-tomos (March 11, 2011, 02:44 PM)

Didn't seem to like doing that. Seemed okay with a mix of .png and .jpg which seems to me to be an unlikely combination of candidates for reduction.
Thank you for raising the issue!
Now you can see why I seldom venture into the land of review 

-cranioscopical (March 11, 2011, 05:47 PM)

just keeping you on yer toes

[cranioscopical]

just keeping you on yer toes

-tomos (March 12, 2011, 03:07 PM)

Accepted   
What a ballet nuisance that I didn't stay en point 

[sajman99]

Nice review Chris.

Just wanted to say Fileminimizer Pictures is a useful program, and those users who want such a graphics utility for compression would also be well served to check out RIOT.

As tomos has already mentioned , RIOT can batch process to size--a rare feature I've found incredibly useful and time-saving. 

On the other hand, I think Fileminimzer Pictures handles more file types, so I suppose it all depends on the task at hand.

Regards

[cranioscopical]

users who want such a graphics utility for compression would also be well served to check out RIOT.
Regards

-sajman99 (March 12, 2011, 06:08 PM)

Thanks for posting that here.
It's good to bring up alternatives — makes the topic more useful for people looking for the 'right' software for them.

[zaminur143]

Simple interface:

• collect files for compression by browsing or by drag and drop
• handles individual files or batches of files
• facilitates emailing of compressed files (compress and email in one step)
• pre-set compression levels for those wanting a little help
• custom compression levels for those with specific levels in mind
• optional context menu entry

It just works. The screenshot of the interface started as a jpg at 100% output quality. Its size was halved by this software, with a better result than that from just dropping the output quality to 50%.

-cranioscopical (February 16, 2011, 11:28 AM)

Thanks buddy. I am using free version of it. Very helpful Compression tool.

[hpearce]

"Doesn't overwrite original images, although it can be forced to do that if desired."  ... this works as far as I know only if you purchase the product and is disabled on the free version.

But this is definitely a very useful utility .. should save u about 50% of your storage in my experience.

[cranioscopical]

zaminur143
hpearce

Glad to learn that you both find it useful.

"Doesn't overwrite original images, although it can be forced to do that if desired."  ... this works as far as I know only if you purchase the product and is disabled on the free version.

Sorry about that