Note
Due to technical constraints, the program can process a maximum of 1,000 images in one go. If you try to add more files than that to a project, you will see the following message:If you need to optimize more than 1,000 images, we recommend creating separate subfolders with each containing a maximum of 1000 files. You can then process each folder as a separate project.
Overview
1: The thumbnail browser is used for folder navigation and displays miniature previews for the contained images.
2: The preview pane provides a preview of the selected picture. Here, you may supervise the success of the optimization and access the optimize controls.
3: Available functions appear here.
Split screen
The view bar offers a special functions to customize the split screen that offers an integrated before-and-after view. This makes it easy to compare the before and after states of an optimization as demonstrated in the screenshot above with the original dull image on the left and the optimized vivid image on the right. The separator line is draggable to adjust the split view as needed.
Split screen display modes
The split screen view supports four different display modes accessible through the arrow symbol next to the star icon.
- Original (no effects preview)
- Result (effects preview only)
- Tile horizontal (top-bottom separation: original top, optimized bottom)
- Tile vertical (left-right separation: original left, optimized right)
Preview pane display modes
Clicking the two opposite facing arrows will hide the folder and file browser panes leaving more room for the preview pane. Clicking the now facing arrows again, will switch back to the previous display mode.
Manual zooming is possible through the slide control either by dragging the knob or clicking the +/- controls. You may alternatively use your mouse wheel to zoom in and out.
Use the D-pad to scroll within images whose boundaries exceed the visible screen area.
Image rotation
Ashampoo Photo Optimizer provides separate controls to quickly turn images 90° clockwise or counterclockwise. They are located on the toolbar to the left of the functions pane (red rectangle).
Thumbnail display options and selection controls
For convenience, you will find buttons to select/deselect all images within a folder below the thumbnail previews. Use the adjacent arrow buttons to layout the thumbnails horizontally (column view) or vertically (list view). The size of the thumbnails is smoothly adjustable through the slider control.
Toolbar customization
With Ashampoo Photo Optimizer, you can customize the quick access toolbar to your needs with a few simple steps. Click the arrow next to the toolbar to bring up the list of available features.
Available functions are listed on the left (1). Use the plus symbol to add the associated function to the toolbar. To swap functions between the repository and the toolbar, use the button in the middle (2). Functions currently on the toolbar are shown on the right (3). Use the minus symbol to remove the associated function from the toolbar. Use the up and down arrows (4) to change the sort order. A preview of the actual toolbar is shown below the lists (5).
Optimizing images
Imagine you have just returned from vacation with a couple of photos you took. First, you copy your images to your local harddisk. Then, you launch the product and open the image folder.You may now select the desired image. It will appear in the preview pane. Now, click Auto Optimize.
The split view now displays the unaltered image on the left and the optimized image on the right. Select Save to keep the changes. To discard the changes, simply navigate to another image and cancel the save prompt or select Edit → Undo.
Optimizing all images
The toolbar hosts a two star icon. The corresponding function will optimize all images within the current folder. To proceed, select this feature.
Your images will now be presented on a virtual corkboard followed by a prompt to confirm your batch processing request. Select Yes to continue or No to cancel the operation. You can always reverse changes to a single image/all images by selecting Edit → Undo from the application's menu bar.
During the optimization process, a circular progress bar will be displayed. To cancel the process, simply click into the circle. After the process, you will see a status message concerning the modifications that were made.
Selecting and processing single images
To select multiple images from the thumbnail pane, hold Ctrl (usually next to the Windows key) and sequentially click the desired images. Your images will appear on a virtual corkboard as shown above.Now, apply your desired effect and select Yes in the confirmation prompt to finish the operation.
Correction
Use the sliders to adjust various image aspects like bright, contrast and saturation. Use the arrow buttons to reset the associated sliders to their default values.
Light Curves
These sliders allow you to specifically brighten/darken areas of your image that fall below a certain threshold in terms of brightness. For example, "Shadows" targets pixels that are already very dark, while "Highlights" only affects pixels that are already very bright.
Rotate / Mirror
Rotates photos 90° left / right or mirrors them vertically / hozizontally.Free Rotation
To rotate, either drag the circle in the image, use the slider in the dialog or use one of the presets. There are different rotation modes available which can be explained best through pictures.
| Description | Example |
| The image is rotated and shrunk to fit the available image area. | |
| The empty area around the image is filled with a scaled replicate of the original image. | |
| The image will be rotated as is, clipping edges that fall outside the image area. | |
| The empty area around the image is filled with a scaled replication of the adjacent pixels. | |
| The image is scaled to make the new clip cover the whole image area. |
Crop
Simply drag the corners to adjust the clip or select a preset.
Resize
Either enter a percentage value to scale the image accordingly or use the width and height input areas to enter pixel values.
Straighten horizon
Drag the circles to adjust the baseline. Once you click "Apply", the image will be rotated to match the angle of the baseline.Sharpen
Use the slider to adjust the strength of the effect.
Adaptive Blur
This effect analyzes your image and intelligently adjusts the effect strength based on existing pixels and colors in your image. Use the slider to set an initial strength.
Text
Drag the sample text to move it within the image. Use the edge markers to resize the the text/font.1: Text content
2: Font name
3: Font color
4: Font style
5: Transparency (the higher the setting the less ivisble the text)
Select the number of images to fit on a page, page margins and the layout can either be based on spaces between images or fixed image sizes.
Settings
Rotate and mirror images based on exif-orientation
Modern cameras store additional details such as the orientation of the camera, e.g. when holding it upside down. Activate this setting to have Ashampoo Photo Optimizer automatically rotate and align images properly.
Preserve original file date during save operations
Many image viewers and organizers depend on the creation date associated with each image to order and sort them. Enable this setting to have Ashampoo Photo Optimizer preserve the original creation date file write operations.
Invert mouse wheel zoom
By default, scrolling up/down will zoom in/out. Enable this feature to invert mouse zooming.
Ascending sort
Does not use a natural sort order when displaying file lists, e.g. causing 10 to come before 2.
Add subfolder
If enabled, photos in subfolders will also be added to the selection when you add a folder.
Show feedback after single-photo / multi-photo optimization
If enabled, the program will present you with brief feedback on the steps that were necessary to optimize the selected photo(s).
JPEG-Quality
Sets the compression ratio for JPEG images (0 = maximum compression, 100 = no compression). Lower compression ratios will increase image quality but consume more disk space. Unless you are low on disk space, select a high quality setting or leave this option unchanged.
Backup database folder
Ashampoo Photo Optimizer creates backup files of your original images prior to each optimization. Unlike as with previous versions, in Ashampoo Photo Optimizer, the output path is customizable. By default, the following output path is used:
C:\Users\USERNAME\AppData\Local\photoOptimizeHistoryDataBase
Note that the files are located on your system partition (usually C:\\) and that you will need to replace USERNAME with your Windows login user name. Select ... to specify a different output path. All existing backup files will be transferred to the new location. Select the round arrow symbol to restore the default output path.