How to Resize, Convert, and Create Thumbnails for Images in DirectAdmin

DirectAdmin's File Manager includes a built-in Image Manager that lets you resize, convert, and create thumbnails for images stored in your hosting account, without installing any photo-editing software first. This is useful for shrinking large photos before adding them to your website, generating small preview images for a gallery, or changing a file's format.

Opening the Image Manager

1. Log in to your DirectAdmin control panel.
2. Click File Manager.
3. Navigate to the folder containing the image you want to edit.
4. Click the image's filename, or the small image icon next to it, to open the Image Manager tools for that file.

The Image Manager only works with common image formats such as JPEG, PNG, GIF, and BMP. If the image tools don't open, check that the file extension actually matches the file type.

Resizing an image

1. From the Image Manager screen, select Resize.
2. Enter the new width and height in pixels. Keep the aspect ratio option ticked if you don't want the image to look stretched.
3. Choose whether to overwrite the original file or save the resized version under a new filename.
4. Click Save to apply the change.

Resizing large photos before uploading them to your website is one of the simplest ways to make your pages load faster, especially for visitors on mobile data.

Creating a thumbnail

1. From the Image Manager screen, select Thumbnail.
2. Enter the thumbnail dimensions, or a percentage of the original size.
3. Save it. DirectAdmin creates a separate thumbnail file, commonly prefixed with something like thumb_, and leaves your original image untouched.

This is useful for product galleries or blog listing pages, where you want a small preview image that links through to the full-size version.

Converting an image to a different format

1. From the Image Manager screen, select Convert.
2. Choose the target format: JPEG, PNG, GIF, or BMP.
3. Save the converted file.

Converting to JPEG usually gives the smallest file size for ordinary photos. PNG is a better choice for graphics or logos that need a transparent background.

If you don't see the Image Manager options

• Make sure you clicked directly on an image file, not a folder or a non-image file.
• Some DirectAdmin skins show the image tools as a separate small icon instead of opening when you click the filename itself. Look for an icon that looks like a picture or a magnifying glass next to the file.
• If the tools still don't appear, you can resize or convert the image on your computer first, then re-upload it through File Manager.

For everyday file uploads and management in DirectAdmin, see How to Use the DirectAdmin File Manager to Upload and Edit Files.