How To Convert Heic To Jpg On Mac

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With the release of iOS 11, Apple introduced a new image file format known as HEIC. It is a high efficiency image format that reduces the file size of images without sacrificing quality. Although it’s impressive in terms of efficiency, it might not be compatible with some platforms and software. Consequently, there’s often a need to convert HEIC files to a more universally accepted format like JPG, especially for Mac users. In today’s blog post, we will learn how to convert HEIC files to JPG on a Mac.

Convert HEIC to JPG using Preview

The simplest way to convert HEIC to JPG on a Mac is by using the built-in Preview application. Here’s the step-by-step process:

  1. Open the HEIC file in the Preview app.
  2. Click on the File menu, then choose Export.
  3. In the dialog box that opens, choose JPEG as the format.
  4. Click Save to convert the file.

Batch Convert HEIC to JPG using Automator

If you have a large number of HEIC files that you want to convert to JPEG, you can use Automator, a powerful tool that comes pre-installed with Mac. Here’s how:

  1. Open Automator and create a new Workflow.
  2. From the library, add the “Change Type of Images” action to your workflow.
  3. Choose to Copy Finder Items before converting to avoid replacing the original HEIC images.
  4. Set the image format to JPEG.
  5. Save and run the workflow.

The source code for the above steps in Automator looks like this:

on run {input, parameters}
	tell application "Automator"
        set theImageFiles to input
        set theDestinationFolder to choose folder with prompt "Please select the output folder:"
        repeat with aFile in theImageFiles
            set theName to name of (info for aFile)
            if theName does not end with ".jpg" then
                set theName to text 1 thru ((get offset of "." in theName) - 1) of theName
                set theConvertedFilePath to ((theDestinationFolder as text) & theName & ".jpg")
                do shell script "sips -s format jpeg " & quoted form of (POSIX path of aFile) & " --out " & quoted form of theConvertedFilePath
            end if
        end repeat
    end tell
end run

Conclusion

While the HEIC format is efficient in terms of space utilization, its compatibility issues often necessitate a conversion to more universally accepted formats like JPG. We’ve seen two ways of accomplishing this on a Mac – using Preview for one-off conversions, and Automator for batch conversions. With these tools, you can easily convert your HEIC files to JPEG and enjoy broader compatibility.