Suggestion: Make the Save Configuration window more accurate on 'file size'

[Thundercraft]

Lately, I find myself loading and re-saving hundreds of images a day. Mostly, this is to convert from PNG to JPG in order to save disk space. But, often, it also involves image cropping, resizing and gamma correction (Level Adjustment).

 

Anyway, I've noticed that the "file size" estimate of how large an image file will be when saved (from Save As > [file name] > {Save Configuration window}) is not very accurate. Sometimes, it so happens that the "file size" estimate shows what looks like a round number like 120.0 KB. However, it seems to me that Paint.Net either truncates the number past the first decimal place or it rounds down to the nearest tenth.

 

I say this because, as I said, I've been loading and re-saving hundreds of images a day. Since disk space is premium to me, I pay close attention to the "file size" as well as the actual file size through Windows Explorer. I notice the difference. In the case that the "file size" says it will be, say, 120.0 KB, over 90% of the time it will actually be a bit over, such as 120.03 or 120.06 KB.

 

My request is to tweak the code slightly so that it is more accurate. Specifically, I think that "file size" should round up to the closest tenth instead of truncate to the tenth or round down.

 

I know what the reader is thinking: What does it matter? Why quibble over something that seems so... frivolous?

 

As I said, disk space is very precious to me. The whole reason I am converting images from PNG to JPG is to save disk space. (I'm certainly not doing so for the image quality! 😆) And I like to keep the image size as close as possible to a multiple of the cluster size.

 

Inspect any file through Windows Explorer and click on Properties. In the Properties window, compare "Size" to "Size on Disk". For example, the Size may be 76.2 KB while the Size on disk might be 80 KB. They differ because files are stored in blocks of discrete size.

 

It may not seem like much, but every KB adds up for my purposes. Also, the difference can vary significantly, depending on partition type and size. A standard NTSF partition is typically formatted with a 4 KB cluster size. But it really depends on the format and how the cluster size was configured. Some partition types and sizes require much larger cluster sizes. For example, a really large FAT-32 partition may require 64 KB clusters. And Windows 10 supports cluster sizes up to 2048 KB.

Edited April 18, 2021 by Thundercraft