How do I stop Windows Explorer compress my Tiff files?

[Windows Central Question]

I save all my scanned photos as TIFF files uncompressed but when I edit properties and ex add a Titel and save - Explorer automatically compress the file with LZW TIFF! How do prevent it to do that!?!?

 

[TechFreak1]

Please join the site so you can reply in this thread and attach a screenshot (it will show up as an attachment).

I'm curious as to why this would happen.

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[Randih]

Hi - I was the one who wrote this question :smile:

After I scanned a photo as a TIFF file - without compression - I go into Windows Explorer and adds properties for the photo such as Title, Author, etc.. That's when I save it I can see that the size of the file is changed. If I access the properties of the picture, I see that it has been compressed with LZW!
I want to turn off this feature in Windows as I do not want my pictures compressed. I have Windows 10, but have read that this feature was already in Win7 but have not found any solution to the problem

 

[Randih]

Screenshots

 

[AndyCalling]

Note that LZW compression of TIFFs is lossless, a bit like zip compression for files. It is not like jpeg lossy compression. Unless you have a very specialised reason to avoid it, I would just use LZW compression. Do you have a specific purpose in mind that needs an uncompressed TIFF?

 

[Randih]

It is indeed as you say "lossless" but to future proof my pictures, I would not have these compressed in any way. The next question is why does Windows do this without even asking if I want to do this !! ---- and how do I turn it OFF :-(

 

[AndyCalling]

Firstly, LZW is a very widely used compression method which has been in use for a long time and the chances of future issues due to that are slim to nonexistent. Secondly, the TIFF format is not referred to as 'Thousands of Incompatible File Formats' due to its portability. Seriously, if you are archiving stuff run far away from TIFF. There is no guarantee that a TIFF saved from one package will open in another today, let alone in 50 years time. Personally I would use PNG but if you want simple, a BMP file is probably your best bet.

 

[AndyCalling]

Oh, just to add, Windows probably does this because there is no reason not to. Everyone saves TIFFs with LZW in the real world. If someone needs uncompressed for a very unusual reason, they can always uncompress the TIFF with whatever graphics software they use (I use Irfan View for such things, but anyone with such exotic image requirements will certainly have their own favourite they always reach for). Problem solved. The real question here is why on earth MS might allow Windows to start generating massive uncompressed TIFFs for no identifiable reason other than to make HDD manufactures happy?

 

[TechFreak1]

It is indeed as you say "lossless" but to future proof my pictures, I would not have these compressed in any way. The next question is why does Windows do this without even asking if I want to do this !! ---- and how do I turn it OFF :-(

Try this
-> CTRL + X
-> System
-> Advanced system settings
-> Environment Variable
-> {The top box is for current users / bottom box is for system wide - affecting all users} Click New in either box (depending on where you want the change to impact
->Variable Name: NO_COMPRESS_TIFF_LZW & Variable Value: 1.
->Click OK, you may need to log off / restart to apply changes.

And as andycalling mentioned it's primarily to save disk space. I initially thought it was compressing twice a)saving it in LZW and compressing the file (in windows 7 compressed files would appear as blue text, in windows 10 with two arrows). My apologies I misunderstood :grincry:.