How to convert PNG to JPG on Mac
Right-click the PNG in Finder and choose FileMate › Convert Image › JPEG. The JPG is saved next to the PNG, which stays unchanged. For a photo or a large screenshot, the JPG is usually many times smaller. JPG has no transparency, so FileMate fills transparent areas with white, or a colour you choose in Settings. Preview’s File › Export and Finder’s Quick Actions can also convert PNG to JPG.
The conversion happens on your Mac. The image isn’t uploaded.
Convert PNG to JPG with FileMate
- Select the PNG files in Finder.
- Right-click and choose FileMate › Convert Image › JPEG (or Convert Images for several).
- Screenshot.jpg is saved next to Screenshot.png.
The JPEG quality is 80% by default. You can change it, and the colour used behind transparent areas, in FileMate Settings › Images & PDF.
What happens to transparency
JPG can’t store transparent pixels. Every converter has to put something behind them:
- FileMate fills them with white by default, or the colour you set in Settings. A logo on a transparent background becomes a logo on white.
- Other tools decide for you, with white or black. Black behind a dark logo makes it disappear, so check the result.
If the transparency matters, for a logo placed over a photo or a coloured website header, keep the PNG.
When you shouldn’t convert PNG to JPG
- Logos, icons and diagrams. Flat colours and sharp edges are what PNG does best. As JPG they gain fuzzy halos around edges and text.
- Screenshots with small text. JPEG compression can blur text. For screenshots, reducing dimensions often works better than converting.
- Images you’ll keep editing. Each JPG save loses a little detail. Keep the PNG as the master.
When you should
- Photos saved as PNG. Often 5 to 10 times smaller as JPG, with no visible difference.
- Upload forms that only accept JPG.
- Email and messaging, where a 20 MB PNG screenshot is a burden and a 2 MB JPG isn’t.
With built-in tools
- Preview: open the PNG, choose File › Export, choose JPEG, set the quality, and save.
- Finder: right-click the PNG and choose Quick Actions › Convert Image, then JPEG.
Get FileMate
PNG to JPG in one right-click, on your Mac. FileMate keeps the PNG as it was and puts the JPG right next to it.
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