How to Resize Images Using the Gimp

This detailed and step by step guide will show you how to use the photo editor the GIMP to resize image files.

The screenshots used in this guide are from Gimp in macOS, but if you’re using the Windows or Linux version of GIMP you’ll have absolutely no trouble following along as the interface is nearly identical across all operating systems.

1. With Gimp open select File and then Open

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2. Select the file you want to resize and open it.

   

3. Select Image from the top menu, and then Scale Image from the drop-down list.

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4. The Scale Image window will appear. The image dimensions (Width and Height) will be displayed in pixels.



5. If you’d like to resize your picture based on percentage, click the “up/down” arrows next to the px and select percent.



6. Now use the up or down arrow(s) in the Width: box to increase or decrease the size of your picture. In the example below, I’ve decreased the size of the picture by 50%. Click the Scale button when you’re ready.



7. The picture will now shrink (assuming you opted to decrease its size).



8. If you want to permanently resize the picture, select File -> Overwrite [filename]. If you want to save this resized picture but keep the original as it is, click File -> Export As

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9. Give your ‘new’ picture a name and click the Export button.



10. You’ll be asked what Quality you want the picture to be. The higher the quality, the larger the resulting file. I usually opt for somewhere around 90, but feel free to experiment on your own by trying different levels. Click Export to save the file.



11. That’s it! You can now quit The Gimp by selecting File -> Quit.
12. And now you’ll have a resized version of your original picture.

Now that you know how to resize an image using The Gimp, maybe you’d like to learn a couple of other new tricks. You can also use Gimp to convert color photos to black and white photos or removing the “red eye” from pictures.