Question do you use gimp

[MJS WARLORD]

i have a lot of colour photos that i want to convert to black and white as i have a growing collection of properly take black and white and want to add to them. I chose GIMP to convert as i had read it is a good free program.

I have hit a few snags , i opened gimp but my photos folder was greyed out , i then read that you have to select an individual photo and right click open with gimp , this worked.

I changed a photo to black and white as a test and then saved it with a new name as i did not know if it would over write the origonal.

So , this is my problem ...... the photo saved as a .xcf file , i presume this is the gimp prefix , the photo also has the gimp icon on it so i cant see it as a thumbnail , when i click to open it opens up in gimp.

This is my question ...... how do i make it visible as a normal thumbnail without the gimp icon and how do i open it without it opening in gimp.

Alternatively ..... is their another free software i could use , whatever anyone recommends will only be used for black and white conversion.

 

[Nighthawk117]

I don't use Gimp no so can't advise. However Paint.Net should do what you want, it's available as a paid version on the Microsoft store but there is also a free version found here:
https://www.dotpdn.com/downloads/pdn.html#google_vignette

Click 'Free download paint.net 4.3.12' in the top right corner. To change to black and white you simply need to go to Adjustments>>>Black and White. To save over the original you just need to go to File>>>Save.

Not to sound cheeky but Gimp supports a number of formats, can't you just go to File>>>Save As and select whatever file type your prefer?

 

[Cj-tech]

i have a lot of colour photos that i want to convert to black and white as i have a growing collection of properly take black and white and want to add to them. I chose GIMP to convert as i had read it is a good free program.

I have hit a few snags , i opened gimp but my photos folder was greyed out , i then read that you have to select an individual photo and right click open with gimp , this worked.

I changed a photo to black and white as a test and then saved it with a new name as i did not know if it would over write the origonal.

So , this is my problem ...... the photo saved as a .xcf file , i presume this is the gimp prefix , the photo also has the gimp icon on it so i cant see it as a thumbnail , when i click to open it opens up in gimp.

This is my question ...... how do i make it visible as a normal thumbnail without the gimp icon and how do i open it without it opening in gimp.

Alternatively ..... is their another free software i could use , whatever anyone recommends will only be used for black and white conversion.

With GIMP, you have to choose ‘Export As’ not ‘Save As.’ Saving the file saves it as a GIMP project that you can come back to later. Exporting it saves it as an actual photo. You can also use the default Photos app on Windows 10 to convert to black and white photos.

 

[gardenman]

Another option is Irfanview. I'm using an older version so the instructions will likely vary a bit on the newer versions. Here's how it's done in an older version:

• Click File / Batch Conversion
• Choose folder at top/right where your images are.
• Click "Add All" to add all of the files to the list to be converted.
• Set your Output directory (Click Browse or type in a full path)
• Click the "Advanced" button on the left.
• Be sure nothing is checked except "Convert to grayscale".
• Choose OK.
• Click Start Batch.

It can convert hundreds in a few seconds.

 

[MJS WARLORD]

sorry for delay in reply , family illness , in gimp i did export so it saves as a new photo in " my pictures " but how can i save so that it does not overwrite the origonal , the only thing i can think of is to put the photo i want to convert into a new folder and rename it but that seems like a lot of faffing about.

 

[Nighthawk117]

sorry for delay in reply , family illness , in gimp i did export so it saves as a new photo in " my pictures " but how can i save so that it does not overwrite the origonal , the only thing i can think of is to put the photo i want to convert into a new folder and rename it but that seems like a lot of faffing about.

When you go to File>>>Export As. In the Export Image popup, just change the name of the file at the top.