Beginner guide
You will make a large photo small enough to email, check that it still looks good, and find the new file. Your original photo is not changed.
What you need
- CompressX installed. See Install.
- A photo or two, for example a JPG from a phone camera.
Look around the home screen
When CompressX opens you see a banner that says everything runs on this device, and a grid of cards: Image Compressor, Image Converter, PDF Tools, Video Compressor, Audio Compressor, Archive, History and Settings.
The sun or moon button at the top right switches between the light and dark theme.
Compress a photo
Select the Image Compressor card.
Add your photo. Click the box that says Drop files here or click to browse and choose the file, or drag the file onto the box.
You can add several photos at once. Each one gets a row in the list below the options.
Under Presets, select Email (< 1 MB).
The preset sets the options for you. Target size (JPG) changes to 1 MB, and the Quality slider is greyed out because CompressX now picks the quality that fits the size.
Select Compress 1 file at the bottom of the screen.
The button shows Processing… while it works. When it finishes, the row shows a green tick and the sizes, for example
4.2 MB → 870 KB (79.3% saved, 1.4 s).
If the photo was already under 1 MB, nothing needs to change. CompressX keeps it as it is and the row says already optimized, original kept.
Compare before and after
Select the finished row in the list.
A window opens with Original on one side and Compressed on the other, each with its size.
Zoom in with the mouse wheel or a pinch, and drag to look at details such as faces or text.
Close the window when you are done.
Find the new file
By default the new file is saved next to the original, with _compressed added to its name: holiday.jpg becomes holiday_compressed.jpg. If that name is taken, CompressX adds a number, such as holiday_compressed (1).jpg. It never overwrites a file.
On Linux and Windows, the copy button on the row (Copy output path) copies the file's full path, so you can paste it into a file manager or an email.
TIP
To save all results in one folder instead, open Settings and choose an Output folder. See History and settings.
What you learned
- Each module takes files from its drop box and processes them when you select the button at the bottom.
- Presets set quality, size limits and target size in one click.
- Selecting a finished image opens a side-by-side comparison.
- Results are new files; your originals stay unless you change that in Settings.