Cyber Solutions: TIFF Tips

Q. All my pictures have been saved as JPGs. How do I convert them to TIFFs?

A. Most digital cameras save pictures as JPG (also called JPEG) images, a compressed file format that’s suitable for e-mailing and publishing on the Web — but not necessarily ideal for archiving. That’s because each time you save a file in JPG format, the image is compressed and some data is lost. After saving the file as a JPG two or three times, you may begin to notice reduced image quality.

So before editing a JPG image, you should convert it to an uncompressed format, such as TIFF or your image-editing software’s default format (PSD, for example, if you use Adobe Photoshop). When you’re done editing the image, save a copy as a JPG, PNG or GIF file for e-mail or the Web.

Microsoft Paint, the basic image-editing utility that comes with Microsoft Windows, can convert images between common formats, including JPG and TIFF. To start the program, select Start>All Programs>Accessories>Paint. Go to File>Open to open your file. Then select Save As from the File menu and select a file type.

From the March 2008 issue of Family Tree Magazine.