Using JPGExtra

I've tried to make JPGExtra fairly simple to use, but for the full picture, here's the A–B–C of installing and using the app and understanding the various features plus some tricks to improve your workflow.

Installing JPGExtra

Ultra-Simple Installation

The JPGExtra app consists of only one executable file called jpgextra3.exe. There are no system files, no configuration files, no help files, no changes needed to the registry or other Windows components. As a result, JPGExtra doesn't even need an installation app!

Installation involves simply saving that one executable file directly onto your computer and it's ready to run. Here's some suggested places where the app could be installed:

On your Desktop;
Within your C:\Program Files\ folder;
Within your Start Menu folder;
Within the folder containing your image library;
Within the folder where you place images to be processed;
Anywhere else that you find convenient.

Un-installation of JPGExtra is equally simple – just delete that one file.

JPGExtra Main Screen

What to Process

The left side of the window shows the current folder (D:\Homepage\software), the current selection of which files to process (*.jpg), plus other drives and folders.

Use the “Browse” button or double-click on the Drives or Folders to navigate to the folder you wish to process.

Matching Files

The middle of the window shows the list of files in the chosen folder that match the file specification. Here, you can see all the files in the current folder that end with “.jpg”.

Single-click on any individual file for details of that file (date, size).

Double-click on any individual file to process just that one file.

Processing

The right side of the window shows the “Start Processing” button, totals of all files processed and totals of those files that were actually optimized, plus various processing and log file options.

Overview of Usage

The idea is to more or less work from left to right. Choose the drive you want to process, choose the folder, choose the file types (eg. “*.jpg”, meaning all files that end with “.jpg”), then set any options and either click on the “Start Processing” button (to process all files) or double-click on any individual filename (to process just that one file).

JPGExtra Log File

To help analyse the results, JPGExtra can create a log file, which is a simple text file containing information about each of the files processed. The log file is named !jpgextra_log.csv and is located in the same folder as the processed files. From Windows Explorer, double-click the log file to import it into a spreadsheet.

Sorting the results by either “Bytes Saved” or “Percent Saved” (especially in descending order) will very quickly highlight those files for which JPGExtra has made the biggest savings. In the example shown here, the files at the top of the spreadsheet have savings of over 80%.

JPGExtra Options

Processing Options

Analyse Only / Don't Modify:

❌ Check this option to allow a “test run”, which will show what savings can be expected without actually modifying the files. As mentioned above, the Log File is useful for analysing the results.

Un-check this option for normal processing.

Process Sub-Folders Also:

❌ Check this option to also process any lower-level folders that are found within the chosen folder. For example, processing the “C:\My Documents” folder will also process the lower level “C:\My Documents\My Images” sub-folder, plus anything else further below. A whole drive can be processed in one pass using this option.

Un-check this option to only process the current folder.

Pause on Errors:

❌ Check this option and when JPGExtra encounters any errors, it will pop up a dialog box showing the error, allowing you to continue or to cancel further processing.

Un-check this option for uninterrupted processing.

Backup Original Files:

❌ Check this option and when JPGExtra does modify a file, it will create a backup of the original file. This will have the same filename but with a different file extension. The default is .jpe, which allows the backup file to still be viewed because .jpe files are recognized by Windows and most image viewing apps. For example, processing “123.jpg” would create a backup named “123.jpe”.

Un-check this option and no backups will be made.

Backups are valuable for several reasons. Firstly, to compare the optimized file with the original file to verify that the image is unchanged. Secondly, in the unlikely event that there is an error with the optimized file, the original file is still available. Thirdly, to keep the original, unaltered file for archival purposes, as it may contain data (such as a meaningful comment, Exif digital camera info, etc.) that could prove useful in future for historical or legal reasons.

Log File Options

Log All Files Processed:

• Select this option to create a log entry for each file processed – even if the file was not modified or if there were any errors processing that file. If there was already an existing log file, add the entries to it, otherwise start a new log file.

Log Files With Extras Only:

• Select this option to only create a log entry for those files that were found to contain extras and that were successfully optimized without errors.

Don't Write to Log File:

• Select this option to not create a log file (although if one already exists, don't delete it).

Other Options

Remember All Options:

❌ Check this option to remember all of the above options for the next time JPGExtra is run.

Un-check this option and next time JPGExtra is run, all options will have reverted to their default settings.

For those interested, the options are saved in the Windows registry at:
HKEY_CURRENT_USER/Software/Ian Fieggen/JPGExtra3

Note that JPGExtra doesn't make any other critical changes to the registry, only adding this one tiny entry to store its options. Anyone who is comfortable with editing the registry can safely delete this registry key to similarly revert to defaults.

JPGExtra Website

The “Help” menu also contains a shortcut to go to the JPGExtra website. Note that this does NOT communicate anything, private or otherwise; it simply points your browser to the website address.

Typical JPGExtra Usage

Optimizing Existing JPG Files

Typically, users have a “library” of all of the JPG files for their website sitting somewhere on a production computer. It's a simple matter to navigate to that folder using JPGExtra and process all of the JPG files therein. The optimized JPG files can then be re-uploaded to the website.

Optimizing Newly Created JPG Files

When working on additions to a website, it's often a good idea to temporarily place any newly created JPG files into a separate folder (eg. “C:\NewPics\”). This simplifies the task of optimization because JPGExtra can very quickly process that one folder, after which the optimized JPG files can be uploaded to the website as well as copied back to the image library.

Re-Optimizing JPG Files

Unlike most other JPG optimization apps, JPGExtra can be run over the same JPG files any number of times. This is because JPGExtra does not modify the image data in any way and thus will never reduce their quality. If JPGExtra finds no “extras”, those files will not be changed.

It's a good exercise to occasionally run JPGExtra over the whole of an image library to double-check that no files containing “extras” have made their way into the library (eg. through simply forgetting to optimize, or restoring an old version of a file). After re-processing the library, a quick check of the totals will show if any files were optimized. The log file will then be invaluable for determining those files that need to be re-uploaded.