Simple, cheap (or free) image editing programs are incredibly easy to come by these days. If you simply need to do some basic image adjustments, resize an image or crop a photo, there are a huge number of programs available. This simple fact means that it can be quite overwhelming to sort through all of these programs in order to find one that’s right for you. Some programs, however, offer unique, high-quality features which make them stand out as unique amidst all of the incredibly similar programs available.
One of those programs is Thumbnailer Pro. This application allows you to easily crop, resize and rotate images. Simple editing tools are also available, allowing you to make simple adjustments, view details about the image and even apply some filters. Customizable presets, batch processing and an in-app file browser are rare features in the world of low-price image editing, allowing Thumbnailer Pro to stand out as a unique program. Stick with me after the jump to learn more about the features in Thumbnailer Pro and how well the program works.
Single Image Editing
Thumbnailer Pro offers all of the basic image editing features that you would expect when purchasing a Mac app that costs just $2.99. When editing a single image, you can make many basic adjustments. Size adjustments are a big one, with the ability to create and save presets for size (more on that later.) Crop and rotation buttons are also always visible from the main screen, ensuring that these basic functions are always readily available.
A view of the whole single image editing screen.
The slightly more advanced features for single image editing are tucked away in the appropriately named edit panel. This is, first of all, the place to go if you are looking for detailed information about the image. The details section of the editing panel contains information about compression, file type, color model, pixel measurements and more.
More importantly, however, the edit panel has sections for adjustments and effects. The adjustments section contains a variety of image editing options. The options are limited, of course, but many basic options are present. You can choose to adjust the exposure, contrast, saturation, temperature, tint, sepia and sharpness.
The basic adjustments you can make to individual images.
In addition to the basic image adjustments, Thumbnailer Pro includes some effects or filters that you can easily apply to images with a single click. The selection isn’t great, but available options include black and white, sepia, antique, sharpen and more. It’s a nice touch, although I don’t know how useful the effects really are with such a limited selection.
A very small selection of effects to add to images.
Once your image is set, it’s time to take a look at the final steps – output settings and save options. In output settings, you can easily adjust the image type and quality. Save options are limited to either the computer or a one click upload to imgur.com. While I don’t think that the options need to greatly expand, as Thumbnailer Pro grows it would be nice to see a few more places to share your images other than imgur.com.
The output and save options.
Batch Processing
The features above are fairly standard for simple, single image editing. As we take a closer look at the batch processing features, we begin to delve into what makes Thumbnailer Pro a unique program as compared to some of the other image editing programs out there.
I have to make similar edits to groups of images all the time, for various writing gigs and creative work. Due to that fact, I was excited to give the batch processing a try. While it’s not the greatest batch processing application I’ve ever tried, it quickly accomplished the job at hand. The first step is adding images. Rather than the nice browser utilized for single image edits, you are relegated to searching through Finder in order to add all of the images you wish to edit.
Unfortunately you must use Finder to browse for batch processing images.
After you add the images, there are a few different things that you can adjust for the images. First, make sure to change the target folder to the appropriate location for whatever images you are using. Next, you can easily adjust the file type and quality for the images. You can also adjust the size of the images using the sizing presets. Lastly, you can add a watermark of your choice to all of the images.
Choosing the preset for my batch processing.
Unique Features and Customization
In addition to the batch processing feature, Thumbnailer Pro also has some other features not often found (or ever found) in similarly priced image editing programs. First up is the image browser. While the batch processing function does not have a built-in image browser, the single image editing section does.
The in-app image browser is definitely a nicer way to find and choose images than going through the Finder. Because Thumbnailer Pro is not a library of images in any way, the image browser really works for the application. You can easily peruse any path you choose, with images contained within that path appearing on the screen as large images that are easy to browse and edit. It’s a unique approach and one that works quite well.
The in-app image browser. Definitely a better experience than adding images via Finder.
Another unique feature is the ability to add customized presets for image resizing. This is, again, a feature typically not found in a program of this cost. There are a few presets included (such as HD or 1024 x 768), but it is also incredibly easy to make your own presets. When creating a preset, you are able to use specific sizes, percentages or fixed values for one side of the image which proportionally resize the entire image.
I chose to create a preset for screenshots I take when writing reviews. This preset allows me to batch process the images for my review, easily adjusting the size of all of them with just one click. I no longer have to type in custom sizes every time I need to adjust an image. It’s quite convenient and a great feature.
Creating a size preset is easy and quite useful.
Last but not least, let’s discuss the layout and step-by-step features of the single image editing. Thumbnailer Pro is set up in such a way that you are guided through the basic process of editing an image. Steps are shown sequentially, with one step appearing at a time. You have to complete the prior step before the next one shows up.
I really like the concept, but I wish that it encompassed more of the features. The step-by-step process covers size presets, output settings, and saving but does not include options like cropping, rotating and editing. Those features, instead, are tucked into the small bottom toolbar. While I don’t want an individual step for each of those options, it would be nice to have a step in the process prompt you to make any edits to the image that you might need to do.
The steps appear as needed, ensuring that you hit all the important steps.
Wrapping Up
Thumbnailer Pro is an image editing program that gives you a great deal of unique features for a low cost. The batch processing, presets and unique layout are all great components of the program. Overall, I enjoyed using Thumbnailer Pro and just have a few small critiques spread throughout the review.
If you do a lot of batch processing, Thumbnailer Pro is definitely worth a download. If you’re looking for a unique way to browse images to edit, it’s also worth a download. If you are just editing an image or two at a time or need a variety of more advanced editing tools and filters, it’s probably not worth it a download.
Those are my thoughts on Thumbnailer Pro, but I want to hear yours as well. Have you tried the program? How did you like it? Do you have an alternate program you prefer? Share your thoughts in the comments below.