How to convert a pic to gif, jpg or png?

You can use Zamzar to do your file conversions for you.

It depends on what format it’s already in. If it’s straight from a digital camera it is generally in RAW format. GIMP is a free program for opening image files, editing them, and saving them in other formats. On a Windows machine, Photoshop or Paintshop Pro are top-notch programs that will let you resize images, improve their quality, edit them, and save them in various formats.

For use on the Web, photos and paintings with continuous tone variation are best saved in JPG format. Line drawings, images of text and cartoons with large areas of single colors are better saved as GIF files.

The standard MS Paint that comes with windows will convert pictures from one format to another.

A good editing program that is easy to use for a complete novice and yet still has some impressive features, and is completely free, is Paint.Net

As far as I know, both preview on mac and paint on windows lets you just “save as” another file type from the drop down file menu.

I use this: http://www.irfanview.com. It’s a great utility all around, especially if you do a lot of screen capping. You can convert an image file from or to just about any format, as well as crop, resize, or play with the color depth. It isn’t an image editor, but it does have a basic paint dialog you can use to add lines, circles, boxes, or insets to a picture. Best of all, it’s free and has a small footprint on your computer.

Wow thanks @mrlaconic – I hadn’t heard of Zamzar. Very cool! This answer is another vote for Gimp. It’s versatile, free, and developed by volunteers.

I think GIMP is overkill here, as I am not one to use a bazooka as a fly-swatter. As for IrfanView, I found it to be a hassle; I don’t like the interface and have a few other issues with it.

My vote is XnView , another free program that allows you to converts, resize, crop, adjust the colors/brightness, and do anything short of spot touch-ups without the overkill factor of GIMP or the irksomeness of IrfanView. It’s worked for me for years, and I’ve even done some restoratin work with it; something I could never do with IrfanView.

Better yet, try them both and see which one you like better.

^ GA. Good advice as usual @jerv. Gimp is a bit overkilly but I usually try to push open source when I can! A fatal character flaw perhaps…

@camertron As do I, so I guess we’re both doomed :p