Short, practical guides to compressing, converting and editing files. Each one explains the why, then shows the free tool that does the job in your browser.
A free PDF tool is one search away, but your passport scan or bank statement is not. Here is how to tell whether a tool uploads your file, how to test it yourself, and what to do with sensitive documents.
6 min read
Job portals, visa forms and university sites reject files for a handful of reasons: the size, the format, the dimensions or a password. Here is how to read the error and fix the file without starting over.
6 min read
Every number system works the same way as the one you learned at school; only the size of the steps changes. Here is how to read binary, octal and hex, convert between them by hand, and spot them in real work.
7 min read
A photo that is too big for a form, a contract that needs a signature, text stuck inside a screenshot. Here are ten small tools that fix the jobs that come up every week, without installing anything.
6 min read
Three formats cover almost every picture you will ever save. JPG is for photos, PNG is for sharp edges and transparency, and WebP is for websites. Here is how to choose in ten seconds.
6 min read
Print, sign, scan, send is four steps too many. Here is how to put your signature on a PDF in a couple of minutes, on any device, and how to tell when a document needs something stronger.
7 min read
Application portals and email threads want one tidy PDF, not a pile of attachments. Here are three free ways to join PDFs, and how to fix the order, the stray pages and the file size afterwards.
6 min read
HEIC saves space on your iPhone, but Windows, websites and upload forms often refuse it. Here is how to turn HEIC photos into JPG in a minute, and how to avoid the problem next time.
5 min read
Applicant tracking software mostly files and searches your resume rather than judging it. Here is what that means for layout, wording and file format.
7 min read
Most email services stop at 20 or 25 MB, and the real limit is lower than it looks. Here is how to get a large PDF under it without ruining the pages.
5 min read
A lecture, a meeting or a voice note filmed on your phone is often more useful as plain audio. Here is how to pull the sound out privately, pick a sensible bitrate and keep the file small.
7 min read
JSON looks like JavaScript but follows much stricter rules. Here are the mistakes that break a parser most often, each with a broken example, the fix and the reason behind it.
7 min read
Zakat is 2.5% of the wealth you have held for a lunar year above the nisab. Here is how to list what counts, subtract what you owe and check the threshold with today's prices.
7 min read
Application portals reject photos and signatures that are a few kilobytes too big. Resize first, compress second, and aim slightly under the limit.
7 min read
Instagram crops anything outside the shapes it supports, and it rarely cuts where you would. Here is how to pick the right shape first and prepare the photo yourself.
7 min read
Forget the capital letter, the number and the exclamation mark at the end. A long string of random words is easier to remember and far harder to guess, and a unique password for every account matters even more.
7 min read