Christian • ancer

Building small tools that remove friction from everyday workflows.
Creator of Convertim — privacy-first image conversion.
Full-stack developer.

[Christian • ancer @ancerdev]

Still using online image converters?

Convertim runs entirely on your computer.

No uploads. No accounts. No ads.

Convert images, resize, optimize, apply watermarks, and more — all locally.

Give it a try:
https://t.co/i14U8VsYhM

#Privacy #Windows #Productivity

[Christian • ancer @ancerdev]

Crop in Convertim will work on one image long before it ships.

One image is a demo. 200 mixed ones (transparent PNGs, panoramas, tiny icons, a corrupt file or two) is a feature.

So it ships when the test batch gets boring. Not before.

#BuildInPublic

[Christian • ancer @ancerdev]

Convertim has two ways in, a desktop app and a CLI, plus 200+ tests behind them.

All three read presets from a single file. Change a value there, and the app, the CLI and the tests follow.

Adding presets is easy. Keeping one source of truth is the design.

#SoftwareDesign

[Christian • ancer @ancerdev]

Crop or pad?

When a batch has to become 4:5, every image that doesn't fit forces a choice, and the default makes it for all 200 at once.

I wrote about designing crop for batch image conversion, while building it.

https://t.co/wLJtcnmYIr

#BuildInPublic #UX

[Christian • ancer @ancerdev]

Rueda de Actos 2.5.1 is out.

Both notes from the night are in: keyboard selection and a scroll that keeps your row centred.

A comment on last week's article found a gap: a restored backup lost the festival year. Fixed.

From this version on, it updates itself.

#BuildInPublic

[Christian • ancer @ancerdev]

@safiulhasan I like that approach. Sharing what you learn helps you connect with the community without revealing the product too early. And when launch day comes, there’s already a story behind it.

[Christian • ancer @ancerdev]

Building in public doesn't mean showing everything on day one.

Besides Convertim, I'm building something for associations like the one behind Rueda de Actos.

It stays off the timeline until it's ready. It deserves a proper launch, not a trickle of screenshots.

#BuildInPublic

[Christian • ancer @ancerdev]

This week in Convertim: presets.

A good preset isn't a list of numbers. It's a decision made once, so nobody has to remember the size of a LinkedIn banner or which ratio a story uses.

Pick the destination. The pixels follow.

#BuildInPublic #UX

[Christian • ancer @ancerdev]

@theo_louro SEO

[Christian • ancer @ancerdev]

@almokhtar_al Makes sense. It’s easy to focus on announcing a product and overlook all the work behind it. Better to build a solid foundation and launch when it’s ready.

[Christian • ancer @ancerdev]

@useinvestorsgo I’ve been testing it for a while with an association I’m part of. I wanted to make sure it works well in a real-world setting before taking the next step.

[Christian • ancer @ancerdev]

@DmitryBBLV Exactly. Sharing the process doesn’t mean showing every detail too early. I’d rather spend that time polishing the product and presenting it when it’s ready for people to actually use it.

[Christian • ancer @ancerdev]

Convertim's crop won't have a handle to drag.

Freeform crop means one decision per image. Convertim is built for 200 at a time.

So: fixed ratios, one rule for the whole batch. One-off edits belong in a photo editor.

#BuildInPublic #UX

[Christian • ancer @ancerdev]

Two projects, two places for the rules.

Rueda de Actos, for one festival group: five events, eleven spots, fixed in code. An option that doesn't exist is one nobody has to understand.

Convertim, built for anyone: format, quality and size are yours to set.

#SoftwareDesign

[Christian • ancer @ancerdev]

My users will never read a README.

So the SmartScreen warning is explained up front, the app imports the spreadsheet they already had, and the guide lives inside it.

I wrote about shipping desktop software to non-technical people.

https://t.co/bRhTMacAxS

#electron #UX

[Christian • ancer @ancerdev]

@kushmergedeck Usually someone on the board or the person coordinating everything. They end up maintaining the lists, communicating changes, and making sure everyone has the right information.

[Christian • ancer @ancerdev]

Rueda de Actos covers one night a year.

The same kind of association spends the rest of it on paper lists, spreadsheets and group chats.

That's what I'm building for next. No name and no screenshots yet: it gets a proper launch when it's ready.

#BuildInPublic

[Christian • ancer @ancerdev]

@kushmergedeck Usually, it depends on whoever coordinates the group. Someone updates the list and shares it on WhatsApp or sends the file again. It’s easy to end up with multiple versions and no clear source of truth.

[Christian • ancer @ancerdev]

@kushmergedeck Usually, the coordination between them. Someone updates a list, someone else relies on an outdated version, and changes don’t reach everyone. That’s when mistakes and confusion start.

[Christian • ancer @ancerdev]

@kushmergedeck More than you might think. And even when some have moved to spreadsheets, the problem remains: information is scattered and organizing everything still takes too much manual work.

[Christian • ancer @ancerdev]

@corhoonx Thanks! It’s one of those everyday problems that seem small until you have to organize everything. I want to build something that genuinely makes the job easier.