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User Guide
View & convert TIFF files on Android. Multi-page, zoom, gallery & JPEG/PNG/PDF.
Step-by-Step Tutorial
📑 Table of Contents
1. What is TiffPro?
TiffPro is an Android app that lets you open, view, and convert TIFF (.tif / .tiff) files. It supports:
- ✅ Single-page and multi-page TIFF documents
- ✅ Zoom, pan, and deep-zoom for large scans
- ✅ Vertical scroll mode for multi-page documents
- ✅ Export to JPEG, PNG, or multi-page PDF
- ✅ In-app gallery with thumbnail caching
- ✅ Index folders on your device for quick browsing
- ✅ Image processing filters (binarize / invert)
- ✅ TIFF metadata viewer
- ✅ Print directly from the app
- ✅ Share converted files to other apps
Supported formats: TIFF files with LZW, JPEG-in-TIFF, and many other compression schemes are decoded via the Android-TiffBitmapFactory (libtiff) engine. The app also supports JBIG and JPEG 2000 encoded TIFFs.
2. Installation & First Launch
Building from source (developers)
- Open the project in Android Studio (latest stable).
- Ensure you have JDK 17 and Android SDK API 35.
- Run the build:
./gradlew assembleDebug
- Install on a connected device or emulator:
./gradlew installDebug
On Windows, use gradlew.bat instead of ./gradlew.
Installing a pre-built APK
If you have a release APK, simply open it on your Android device and follow the on-screen installation prompts. You may need to enable "Install from unknown sources" in your device settings.
💡 Note: The app registers itself to handle
.tif / .tiff files, so you can also open TIFFs directly from the Files app, Downloads, or any file manager.
3. Opening a TIFF File
There are three ways to open a TIFF with TiffPro:
A From the Gallery — "Open" button
On the main Gallery screen, tap the blue Open floating action button (bottom-right). This launches Android's SAF (Storage Access Framework) file picker. Navigate to your TIFF file and tap it.
B From another app — "Open with" / "Share"
In any file manager, email, or messaging app, tap a .tif or .tiff file and choose TiffPro from the "Open with" menu. You can also use the "Share" sheet and select TiffPro.
C From an indexed folder
If you've already added a folder to the gallery (see Section 7), simply tap any thumbnail to open the file.
⚠️ First-time access: When opening a file via SAF for the first time, Android may ask you to grant permission. TiffPro requests read access so it can decode the TIFF. The file is not copied or moved — it's opened in-place.
4. The Gallery Screen
The gallery is your home screen. It shows recently opened TIFFs and files from indexed folders as thumbnail tiles.
🖼️
Gallery layout — grid of thumbnail cards with file names and page-count badges
Gallery elements
- Top bar — shows "TIFF Gallery" title. The folder icon + (top-right) adds an indexed folder.
- Thumbnail tiles — each tile shows a preview image and the file name. Multi-page TIFFs display a "+N" badge (e.g., "+5").
- Long-press on a recent file — shows a dialog to remove it from the gallery (the file on disk is not deleted).
- Long-press on the folder icon — opens the "Manage Folders" sheet.
- Empty state — if no files have been opened yet, you'll see buttons to Open TIFF or Add folder.
💡 Pro tip: The system Files app may show generic icons for TIFF files — this is normal. Thumbnails work inside TiffPro's own gallery.
5. Using the Viewer
When you open a TIFF, the Viewer screen appears. Here's how to use it:
🔍
Viewer screen showing a multi-page TIFF with zoom controls and page navigation
5.1 Basic navigation
- Pinch to zoom — use two fingers to zoom in/out.
- Pan — drag with one finger to move around when zoomed in.
- Back arrow (top-left) — return to the gallery.
5.2 Multi-page documents
If your TIFF has multiple pages:
- Use the ◀ / ▶ arrows at the bottom to flip pages.
- A page indicator shows "Page 1 / 10".
- If Pro features are enabled, a thumbnail carousel appears above the page controls, letting you jump to any page instantly.
5.3 Layout modes
The viewer offers two layout modes, toggled by the icon in the top toolbar:
| Icon | Mode | Description |
|---|---|---|
📄 ViewColumn | Single Page | Shows one page at a time. Navigate with arrows at the bottom. |
📑 Description | Vertical Scroll | All pages stacked vertically. Scroll continuously through the entire document. PRO |
⚠️ Vertical Scroll is a Pro-only feature. Free users can preview but must upgrade to use it.
5.4 Image processing filters
Tap the filter icon in the top toolbar to cycle through image processing modes:
| Icon | Mode | Use case |
|---|---|---|
🎛️ Tune | None | Original image (default). |
⚫ FilterBAndW | Binarize | High-contrast black-and-white — great for scanned text documents. PRO |
🔄 InvertColors | Invert | Negative / inverted colors — useful for viewing negatives or dark-mode reading. PRO |
5.5 Deep zoom for large files
When a TIFF is very large (high resolution), TiffPro automatically enables deep zoom mode. Instead of loading the entire image at once, it loads tiles on-demand as you pan and zoom. This prevents out-of-memory errors and keeps performance smooth.
💡 Deep zoom is available for all users on large files. A small "Deep zoom" label appears at the bottom of the screen when active.
5.6 Top toolbar actions
- 📄 Info (
Info) — opens the metadata sheet (see Section 8). - 🖨️ Print (
Print) — sends all pages to the Android print service. PRO - Export button — opens the Export screen (see Section 6).
6. Exporting & Sharing
From the viewer, tap the Export button to open the Export screen. Here you can convert your TIFF to other formats, share, or print.
📤
Export screen — format selector, scope selector, quality slider, and action buttons
6.1 Choosing format & scope
| Setting | Options | Details |
|---|---|---|
| Format | JPEG · PNG · PDF | Choose the output format. JPEG uses lossy compression (adjustable quality slider). PNG is lossless. PDF creates a multi-page document. |
| Scope | Current page · All pages | "Current page" exports only the page you're viewing. "All pages" exports every page. |
| JPEG quality | 50 – 100 | Only shown when JPEG format is selected. Higher values = better quality but larger file size. |
6.2 Save to… (export to file)
- Choose your Format, Scope, and (if JPEG) Quality.
- Tap Save to….
- For single-file exports (JPEG single page, PNG single page, or PDF), Android's document picker opens — choose a location and file name.
- For multi-page JPEG/PNG (All Pages), a folder picker opens. Choose a destination folder. Numbered files are created (
document_01.jpg,document_02.jpg, …). - A progress bar shows the export progress. You can tap Cancel at any time.
💡 PDF export always produces a single multi-page PDF file, regardless of scope. Use the "All pages" scope to include the entire document.
6.3 Quick actions
- Send to… — converts the file (using your selected format/scope) and opens the Android share sheet so you can send it via email, messaging, cloud storage, etc. PRO
- Print — sends the document (or selected scope) to the Android print service. PRO
⚠️ Printing and "Send to…" are Pro-only features. The "Save to…" button is available on the Free plan for single-page JPEG/PNG exports. Multi-page PDF and multi-page image exports require Pro.
7. Indexed Folders
You can tell TiffPro to permanently monitor a folder for TIFF files. This is useful when you have a dedicated directory of scanned documents.
Adding a folder
- On the Gallery screen, tap the folder icon (📂) in the top-right corner.
- Android's folder picker opens. Navigate to the folder you want to index and tap "Allow" or "Use this folder".
- TiffPro scans the folder in the background, generates thumbnails, and adds all TIFF files to your gallery.
- A WorkManager task runs periodically to keep thumbnails up to date.
Managing folders
- Long-press the folder icon to open the Manage Folders bottom sheet.
- Here you can see all indexed folders, their access status, and remove any folder.
- If a folder becomes inaccessible (moved, deleted, or permissions revoked), a ⚠️ warning icon appears next to it. Tap Reconnect to pick the folder again.
| Plan | Folder limit |
|---|---|
| FREE | Up to 1 indexed folder |
| PRO | Unlimited folders |
💡 Folder thumbnails persist across app restarts. Thumbnail cache keys are based on stable document IDs, so you won't lose your previews.
8. Document Info & Metadata
Tap the Info icon (ℹ️) in the viewer toolbar to open the metadata bottom sheet.
ℹ️
Metadata bottom sheet showing file name, size, page count, dimensions, compression, color space, and resolution
Free tier shows:
- File name
- Folder path
- File size (e.g., "2.4 MB")
- Total page count
- Current page number
- Page dimensions (width × height)
Pro tier additionally shows:
- Compression type (e.g., LZW, JPEG, uncompressed)
- Color space (e.g., RGB, Grayscale, CMYK)
- Resolution in DPI or PPC
- Bits per sample
- Samples per pixel
9. Free vs. Pro Features
| Feature | Free | Pro |
|---|---|---|
| Open & view TIFF files | ✓ | ✓ |
| Pinch-to-zoom & pan | ✓ | ✓ |
| Deep zoom (large files) | ✓ | ✓ |
| Basic document info (size, pages, dimensions) | ✓ | ✓ |
| Single-page JPEG export | ✓ | ✓ |
| Single-page PNG export | ✓ | ✓ |
| Index 1 folder | ✓ | ✓ |
| Page thumbnail carousel | ✗ | ✓ |
| Vertical scroll layout | ✗ | ✓ |
| Image processing (binarize / invert) | ✗ | ✓ |
| Advanced metadata (compression, color space, DPI) | ✗ | ✓ |
| Multi-page JPEG/PNG export | ✗ | ✓ |
| Multi-page PDF export | ✗ | ✓ |
| "Send to…" (share with other apps) | ✗ | ✓ |
| Printing | ✗ | ✓ |
| Unlimited indexed folders | ✗ | ✓ |
10. Troubleshooting & Tips
❌ "Unable to open TIFF file"
This can happen if the file is corrupt, uses an unsupported compression variant, or if permission was denied. Try opening the file from a different source (e.g., copy it to a different folder first).
This can happen if the file is corrupt, uses an unsupported compression variant, or if permission was denied. Try opening the file from a different source (e.g., copy it to a different folder first).
❌ File opens but shows "Cannot open file from folder"
This typically means the folder permission needs to be re-granted. Tap the folder icon > long-press > Manage Folders > tap Reconnect on the affected folder.
This typically means the folder permission needs to be re-granted. Tap the folder icon > long-press > Manage Folders > tap Reconnect on the affected folder.
💡 Large files & memory: If a very large TIFF doesn't load, try the deep zoom feature. If the file still fails, the image may exceed the device's available memory. Consider converting the TIFF to a lower resolution on a desktop first.
💡 Thumbnails not appearing? Thumbnails are generated in the background. If you've just added a folder, wait a moment or re-open the gallery. Long-press on the gallery title to dump diagnostic info (debug builds only).