PixelForge FAQ

Answers about PixelForge, from the first crop to the saved file.

Last Updated: November 12, 2026

1. Basics

Q1: What is PixelForge?

A1: A free photo editor that runs in your browser. It crops, turns and straightens photos, fixes their light and colour with looks and sliders, adds text, logos and watermarks, removes or changes the background, makes collages, and saves the size, file type and file size you need, for one photo or many at once.

Q2: Is it free, and do I need an account?

A2: It is free and there is no account or registration. Like every page on ZeroDataUpload, it is supported by advertising.

Q3: Are my photos uploaded?

A3: No. The photos you open are read, edited and saved by this browser on your device and are never sent to a server. Even finding the subject for a new background happens in your browser. The page itself, its ads and its analytics load from the internet as on any website.

Q4: What is kept in my browser?

A4: Your choices in Save and for the brush, your watermark, the photo you are editing with its changes and pictures (up to 150 MB), and your collage (up to 150 MB of photos), so they come back after a reload. Nothing is kept until you open a photo or change a setting. Close this photo and Start over remove them; clearing this site's data in the browser removes everything.

Q5: Which browsers does it work in?

A5: Current versions of Chrome, Edge, Firefox and Safari on computers and phones. A few parts depend on the browser: AVIF appears under Save only where the browser can make it, Copy needs a browser that can put pictures on the clipboard, Share appears where your device offers sharing, and HEIC photos open only where the browser can read them.

2. Opening

Q6: Which photos can it open?

A6: JPG, PNG, WebP, AVIF, GIF (its first frame), BMP and other pictures your browser can read, of up to 200 MB and 250 megapixels. A photo over 60 megapixels is opened smaller, and a message says so. The size is read from the start of the file, so a file over the limits is refused before the browser tries to open it.

Q7: Why does my iPhone photo not open?

A7: iPhones save photos as HEIC, which many browsers cannot read. Turn it into a JPG first with the site's HEIC converter, or set the iPhone to save JPG photos under Settings, Camera, Formats, Most Compatible.

Q8: What does the Open tab show about my photo?

A8: Its name, size in pixels and megapixels, file type and size, and from the camera details inside the file: when it was taken, the camera, the settings (aperture, shutter, ISO, focal length) and whether the file holds the place it was taken. Pictures saved by PixelForge never keep these details.

Q9: Can I open several photos at once?

A9: Yes. PixelForge asks what to do with them: make a collage, edit many at once (the same changes and watermark on all of them), or edit the first one.

3. Crop and adjust

Q10: How do I crop to a shape?

A10: Under Crop and turn, pick a shape such as Square, 4:5, 9:16, A4 or 35 x 45 mm, then drag the box or its corners on the photo. Turn the shape swaps tall and wide. Exact numbers lets you type the box in the photo's pixels, and the arrow keys move the box when it has focus.

Q11: How do I straighten a tilted photo?

A11: Move the Straighten slider (up to 45 degrees either way) until the horizon or a wall is level; a grid shows on the crop box. The crop shrinks so no empty corners show, or tick Keep the corners to keep the whole photo with see-through corners.

Q12: What does Cut off plain edges do?

A12: It finds borders of one colour around the photo, such as the white edge of a scan or a screenshot, and crops them away.

Q13: What is Auto fix?

A13: It looks at the photo's light and colour and sets the sliders for it: brightness towards a middle level, the darkest and brightest parts stretched, most of a colour cast taken away and the colour lifted a little. You can fine-tune every slider afterwards.

Q14: How do the looks work?

A14: Each of the 22 looks is a set of the same sliders you have, some with their own tone curve, colour toning or black and white. Each is shown as a small picture of your own photo. The Strength slider sets how much of the look is used, and the sliders still work on top.

Q15: What are Bright parts and Dark parts?

A15: They brighten or darken the bright or dark areas of the photo by looking at a blurred copy of its light, so fine detail inside those areas stays. Whites and Blacks move the brightest and darkest points instead.

Q16: How do I compare with the original?

A16: Hold the Before button under the photo, or hold the B key while you use the tool. Double-click a slider to put it back to zero.

4. Text and watermarks

Q17: How do I add text to a photo?

A17: Under Text and watermark, press Add text and type it. Choose one of eight fonts, bold or italic, a colour, the size, how see-through it is and its angle, and add an outline, a shadow or a box behind it. Drag it on the photo, pull its corner to resize it, or place it in one of nine spots.

Q18: How do I add a watermark?

A18: Press Quick watermark, type your name, shop or website, and choose Across the photo or In a corner: it adds the copyright sign, the year and your name. Or add your own text or logo and tick Repeat across the photo for a pattern that is harder to crop away.

Q19: How do I use the same watermark on other photos?

A19: When your text and logo are ready, press Keep these as my watermark. On any other photo, press Use my watermark; in Save, Many photos at once can add it to a whole set. A logo kept this way can be up to 200 KB, because every tool on the site shares the browser's storage.

Q20: Why does my watermark look the same on every photo?

A20: Text and logos are sized as a part of the photo's shorter side and placed as a part of its width and height, so a watermark looks the same on a small phone photo and a large camera photo.

Q21: How many texts and logos can one photo have?

A21: Up to 50, each text up to 1,000 characters. They can be hidden, copied, brought forward and removed in the list.

5. Background

Q22: How does Find the subject work?

A22: It splits a small copy of the photo into regions of similar colour, takes regions that touch the photo's edges a lot as background and regions that stand out from them as the subject, then draws a cut along the strongest edges between the two. The edge is rebuilt for the full photo from its own pixels, so hair and fur stay soft. All of this runs in your browser.

Q23: The cut is wrong in places. How do I fix it?

A23: Paint roughly over a part with Keep or Remove. With Snap to edges on, the cut follows the photo's edges from your marks; with it off, it paints exactly where you brush. For a busy photo, draw a box around the subject first. Undo last mark and Clear marks take marks away.

Q24: Can I remove a green screen or a plain wall?

A24: Yes. Choose Colour, click the photo on the colour to remove (up to 24 colours), and set the Range and the Soft edge. Only areas joined to the edge keeps the same colour inside the subject, such as a white shirt on a white wall.

Q25: What can I put behind the subject?

A25: Nothing (see-through), a colour, a blur made from the photo's own background, or another picture, with an optional soft shadow under the subject. Save as PNG or WebP to keep a see-through background; JPG fills it with a colour you choose.

Q26: Why is there a halo around the subject?

A26: Some of the old background's colour is left in the soft edge. Keep Clean edge colours on, make the edge crisper with Soft edge, or shrink it a little with Grow or shrink.

6. Collage

Q27: How do I make a collage?

A27: Choose Collage and add up to 40 photos. PixelForge picks a layout for the number of photos; choose another from the 35 layouts or Fitted rows, a shape (square, 4:5, story, 16:9, 3:2, 2:3, A4 or A4 wide), the space between, the outer edge, round corners and a colour or blurred background.

Q28: How do I move or swap photos in the cells?

A28: Drag inside a cell to move its photo, use the mouse wheel or the Zoom slider to zoom, or move it with the arrow keys and plus and minus. To swap two photos, choose a cell and drag its grip onto another cell. Drop a file on a cell to put it there.

Q29: Can I add text to a collage?

A29: Yes. Press Add text or a watermark: the collage opens in the editor, where you can add text, a watermark or a look, then save it.

7. Saving

Q30: Which file type should I choose?

A30: JPG for photos (usually the smallest; no see-through parts), PNG for logos, screenshots and see-through pictures (exact pixels, bigger files), WebP for small files with see-through parts, and AVIF, where the browser can make it, for often the smallest files that older apps may not open.

Q31: How do I make a photo smaller than 100 KB?

A31: Under Save, tick Keep the file under a size and choose or type the size. PixelForge lowers the quality first and then the size until the file fits, and shows the size before you save. With an exact size, only the quality goes down.

Q32: How do I save a photo at an exact size?

A32: Choose Exact size and type the width and height, or pick one of the common sizes for social sites, photos and prints. If the shape differs from the photo, choose Crop to fill, Fit inside (with a fill colour) or Stretch. The sizes for social sites are examples: the sites change them, and their own help pages have the current ones.

Q33: What does Print size do?

A33: It writes the dots per inch into the file (72, 150, 300 or 600), which tells a printer how big to print; the pixels stay the same. The hint shows how big the photo prints at that setting.

Q34: How big can a saved picture be?

A34: Up to 16,384 pixels on a side and 100 megapixels; a larger size is made smaller to fit, and a note says so. A size larger than the photo is allowed and noted as softer.

Q35: How does Many photos at once work?

A35: Choose up to 300 photos. Tick which changes of the open photo to use (the look and light, text and watermark, the shape, turns, the background) or Auto fix and your watermark; the size and file type come from the Save tab. Every photo is done in your browser and comes back in one zip, named with the ending you choose.

8. Privacy and help

Q36: Does it work offline?

A36: The page must load from the internet first. After that, opening, editing and saving all happen in the browser, but the page does not install itself for offline use.

Q37: Can I use it with the keyboard or a screen reader?

A37: Yes. Tab reaches every button and box, groups of choices move with the arrow keys, and changes are announced. While you use the tool, 1 to 7 switch tools, B (held) shows the photo before your changes, Z shows actual pixels, Ctrl+Z and Ctrl+Y undo and redo, Ctrl+S saves and Ctrl+O opens photos. The crop box, texts and collage photos move with the arrow keys.

Q38: How is PixelForge different from the site's other picture tools?

A38: UltraCompress Pro makes many pictures smaller at once, Watermark Studio Pro is built for watermarks, SocialSizer makes one picture in the sizes of many social sites, and Passport Photo Maker lays passport photos out on a print sheet. PixelForge is a photo editor: crop and straighten, light and colour with looks, text and logos, background removal and collages, and it saves in the size, file type and file size you need.

Still have a question?

The help page walks through every part of PixelForge. For anything else, use the contact form.