Skip to content

Compress Tab

Summary

The Compress tab shrinks photos before you save them. Pick AVIF, WebP, or JPEG, pick a quality preset (or drag the slider), and Jade GT shows you how much smaller the file will be before you commit anything.

  • Three formats

    AVIF for the smallest files, WebP for fast saves at similar quality, JPEG for the widest support. A green dot marks the best pick for your browser.

  • Presets and a slider

    Four one-click presets (High Quality, Balanced, Min Size, Original) plus a fine-tune slider for anything in between.

  • See the savings first

    A live size estimate and a colored bar show how much smaller the file will be.

The Compress tab. A header reads "Compression" with the file name and current size. Below it, a row of three format pills (AVIF, WebP, JPEG) with a green dot on AVIF marking the browser default, then a row of preset pills (High Quality, Balanced, Min Size, Original), a quality slider at 75%, and an "Estimated Output" panel with a green savings bar. The Compress tab. A header reads "Compression" with the file name and current size. Below it, a row of three format pills (AVIF, WebP, JPEG) with a green dot on AVIF marking the browser default, then a row of preset pills (High Quality, Balanced, Min Size, Original), a quality slider at 75%, and an "Estimated Output" panel with a green savings bar.
The Compress tab. Pick a format, pick a preset, watch the size drop.

Output format

The top row of pills picks the output format. A green dot marks the format your browser handles fastest.

Close-up of the Output Format row. Three pills sit side by side: AVIF, WebP (with a small green dot to its left), and JPEG (highlighted as the active selection). Close-up of the Output Format row. Three pills sit side by side: AVIF, WebP (with a small green dot to its left), and JPEG (highlighted as the active selection).
The Output Format toolbar. The green dot points to whichever format the current browser handles fastest.

  • AVIF

    The smallest files at the same visible quality. Slower to save in the browser. Every modern browser can open it.

  • WebP

    Nearly as small as AVIF and several times faster to save. The safe default for most batches.

  • JPEG

    Works everywhere. Pick JPEG when the file is going somewhere that does not accept newer formats, like older email clients or stock libraries.

Re-saving a JPEG as a JPEG loses quality

Every JPEG save loses a little quality. Jade GT shows an amber warning when both source and output are JPEG. Pick WebP or AVIF if you have the choice.

The amber JPEG re-compression warning strip: a small triangle icon and the text "Re-compressing JPEG degrades quality. Consider WebP or AVIF." The amber JPEG re-compression warning strip: a small triangle icon and the text "Re-compressing JPEG degrades quality. Consider WebP or AVIF."
The amber strip that appears when source and output are both JPEG.

Quality preset

The second row sets how hard Jade GT compresses the photo. Click a preset, or drag the fine-tune slider for anything in between.

Close-up of the Quality Preset section. A row of four pills (High Quality, Balanced highlighted, Min Size, Original) sits above a Fine-tune slider with the value 75% on the right, the slider thumb near the middle, and Min Size / Max Quality endpoints below. Close-up of the Quality Preset section. A row of four pills (High Quality, Balanced highlighted, Min Size, Original) sits above a Fine-tune slider with the value 75% on the right, the slider thumb near the middle, and Min Size / Max Quality endpoints below.
Quality presets above, fine-tune slider below. Dragging the slider snaps the preset row to the nearest match.
Preset Quality Best for
High Quality 90% Portfolio uploads, prints, anything you want to look untouched
Balanced 75% Web galleries, sharing, the default for most jobs
Min Size 60% Thumbnails, previews, fast loading on mobile
Original 100% Skip compression. The source file stays untouched

The fine-tune slider runs from 10% to 100% in 5% steps. As you drag, the preset above updates to the nearest match.

When in doubt, start at Balanced

Most photographers cannot see the difference between 75% and 100% at normal viewing sizes. Try Balanced first. If you spot a problem in the preview, step up to High Quality.

Estimated output

The Estimated Output panel updates as you change the format or quality. Three things to read:

Close-up of the Estimated Output panel. The header "Estimated Output" sits on the left with a green "~45% smaller" pill on the right. Below, a horizontal color bar fills most of its track in green. A size row reads "5.9 MB to 3.3 MB" on the left and "WEBP 75%" on the right. Close-up of the Estimated Output panel. The header "Estimated Output" sits on the left with a green "~45% smaller" pill on the right. Below, a horizontal color bar fills most of its track in green. A size row reads "5.9 MB to 3.3 MB" on the left and "WEBP 75%" on the right.
The Estimated Output panel updates live as you change format or quality.

  • Savings percentage

    A green pill on the right reads something like "65% smaller." At 100% (Original), it reads "No conversion."

  • Color bar

    A horizontal bar shows the new file size next to the original. Green for big savings, blue for moderate, gray for a small change.

  • Size row

    A line below the bar reads "2.4 MB to 850 KB" for one photo, or totals across the batch with an average per photo.

The numbers are estimates. The real file size depends on the photo. A busy scene compresses less than a clean sky.

Stage the compression

Click Stage Compression at the bottom of the tab. The button flips to a green banner with your settings and two more buttons:

Close-up of the staged compression banner. A pulsing green dot sits next to the label "WEBP 75% · 5.9 MB → 3.3 MB". Below, a wide Update button on the left and a narrower Clear button on the right. Close-up of the staged compression banner. A pulsing green dot sits next to the label "WEBP 75% · 5.9 MB → 3.3 MB". Below, a wide Update button on the left and a narrower Clear button on the right.
After staging, the Stage Compression button collapses into a banner that summarizes your settings.

  • Update

    Reopens the format and quality controls. Your new pick takes the place of the staged one.

  • Clear

    Drops the staged compression for the selected photos. The slider goes back to your last setting.

The compression runs at commit, not when you stage it. Until you commit from the Review Hub, the original file stays untouched.

Batch behavior

With two or more photos selected, every choice on this tab applies to the whole selection. The size row totals all photos and shows an average per photo.

Saving the output

The Compress tab does not save the file; the Review Hub does. When you click Commit, two things happen:

  1. Jade GT writes any metadata edits (keywords, GPS, dates) first.
  2. Then Jade GT saves the file in your chosen format.

A Keep Originals toggle shows up in the Review Hub when compression is staged and your saving strategy is Direct Save. Leave it on (the default) and Jade GT writes the new file next to the original (IMG_0421.avif next to IMG_0421.jpg). Turn it off and the new file replaces the original.

Direct Save with Keep Originals off cannot be undone

Turn off Keep Originals and commit, and the original file is gone. Switch to Export mode to keep both versions, or back up the source folder first.

What survives the conversion

  • Keywords, captions, rights

    Anything you set in the Tags tab carries into the new file. Compression runs after metadata writes, so your edits land.

  • GPS and capture time

    GPS coordinates and date edits from the Location and EXIF Info tabs also write into the new file.

  • Camera fields

    Camera make, model, lens, and exposure data carry over unless you ran a Privacy Scrub.

Orientation bakes in

Phone photos often save rotation as a tag instead of turning the pixels themselves. When Jade GT re-saves the photo, it turns the pixels for real, so the new file always shows right-side up. Viewers see the same image, but the file on disk has changed.

Troubleshooting

AVIF is taking forever

AVIF takes several times longer than WebP at the same quality. A large photo can take one to three minutes. Pick WebP for fast batches and AVIF for the smallest files.

The JPEG looks soft after saving

JPEG loses a little quality every time you re-save it. If the source was already a JPEG, switch the format to WebP or AVIF. Both keep more of the original sharpness at the same file size.

The Stage Compression button does nothing

The button stays off when the preset is Original (100%), because there's nothing to compress. Move the slider below 100% or pick another preset.

The new file landed somewhere unexpected

In Direct Save mode, the new file lands next to the original (when Keep Originals is on) or replaces it (when off). In Export mode, every output goes into the ZIP file you download after commit. Switch modes from the Saving Strategy picker in the main toolbar.

  • Tags tab

    Keywords, captions, and rights you set here travel into the compressed file.

  • Location tab

    GPS coordinates and place names that write into the new file.

  • Preview tab

    Where the Compress staged-change chip lives, with the format and size that the next commit will write.

  • Review & Commit

    The final pane that runs the conversion, applies the Keep Originals toggle, and writes the new file to disk.