Compress files from Explorer with NXPowerLite

You can access the majority of NXPowerLite’s functionality from within Explorer by selecting one or more supported files and right-clicking, which gets you to the menu shown below:

Under the main NXPowerLite menu you have the following options:

Create optimized copy: This option will copy the selected file(s) and then compress the copies creating new smaller versions, without touching your original file(s).

Back up and replace original: This option creates a backup copy of the original file and then replaces the original with a smaller compressed version. The advantage of this approach is that your compressed files keep their original filenames.

Replace original: If you don’t need the originals, or if you have copies elsewhere then this option allows you to compress files in place without creating any additional copies or backups.

Optimize and zip: This option will shrink all of the selected files using NXPowerLite compression and then as a final stage will create a Zip file that all of the files will be placed inside. Handy if you need to collect files together to send by email, or if you are archiving files.

Optimize and email: If you are intending to email the files then this option can streamline the process further. Select this and the files will be compressed and automatically attached to a new email message ready to send. If you are sending a larger number of files then you can instead choose Optimize and email (zipped), which will also collect the files into a single zipped file attachment.

Add to NXPowerLite: This option simply opens the NXPowerLite app and adds your chosen file(s), ready to compress.

Settings

After choosing one of the options above you will then be asked to choose the settings you want to use:

Optimize profile: These profiles determine the settings used to compress your files. You can create as many profiles as you need.

Create copy in or Create backup in: Choose to either have the new copies or backups saved in the same location as the original files, or alternatively select another folder.

Choosing your settings each time is handy if you like to switch between profiles regularly depending on the job at hand. One example would be if you needed to switch between optimizing JPEGs (without reducing their resolution) and optimizing & resizing JPEGs. You can see below the size difference this can make when compressing photos.

The file size difference between just optimizing an image and optimizing and resizing can be vast, so this is a great option when you need to compress images to send by email.

Preferences

If you prefer to compress files from Explorer using the same profile every time without being asked, you can configure this in File > Preferences:

This is also where you can specify the naming convention you would like NXPowerLite to use when creating new files.

You can watch the feature in action here: