How to Convert HEIC Files to JPG on a Mac

Now when you airdrop photos from your phone, you can easily convert them to JPGs.
Michael Michael (175)
5 minutes

When you take a photograph on your iPhone, oftentimes they will be saved as a .heic file. This is essentially a compressed file format that will save your iPhone a lot of space over time as you take more and more photos. Most applications, however, will require that we convert these files when they've been added to your computer, via Airdrop say.

Here are two easy ways to convert one or even multiple HEIC files to JPGs on a Mac computer.

Mac computer ×1

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Convert HEIC to JPG using Preview
  1. Right-click the file or files you want and open with "Preview"
  2. Hit Command-A on your keyboard to select all the files
  3. Go to File and Export Selected Images
  4. Next, click the Options button at the bottom of the screen
  5. Change file format from HEIC to JPEG
  6. Choose destination for new files
  7. Click Choose
Convert HEIC to JPG using Automator

These are the steps to set up a nifty "Quick Action" that will make it easy to convert these in the future!

  1. Go to your Mac's "Automator," by searching for it in "Finder"
  2. Create a New Document
  3. Choose Quick Action
  4. At the top, choose "Workflow receives current image files in Finder
  5. In the search bar, search for "change type of images"
  6. Double-click or drag to workflow to add the action
  7. In the "Change Type of Images" box, change image type to JPEG
  8. Save as a memorable action name like "Convert to JPEG"

Now, you can right-click an image file or files in Finder to have it auto-converted to a JPG.

Quick Action to Convert to JPEG
Before you lose years converting those PNG files to JPGs.
Michael Michael (175)
2 minutes

By default, Mac computers will automatically save the screenshots you take on your computer as a .png file. Many websites and software applications prefer to have images as .jpg, however.