Image Splitter: Crop and Export Parts Manually

Split an image by cropping and exporting each piece

This is a manual image splitter workflow in PhotoCraft: select one rectangular area, crop the document to it, export that part, then return to the full source for the next part. It does not provide automatic rows and columns, batch grid slicing, numbered ZIP downloads or social-network publishing. Choose it for a small number of pieces you can inspect individually.

We tested a 640 × 320 composite containing two clearly different 320 × 320 halves. We selected and cropped the left half, downloaded a PNG, undid the crop and repeated for the right half. Each exported tile was 320 × 320 and matched its corresponding source region pixel for pixel. This is evidence of two deliberate manual crops, not an automated splitter hidden behind the page.

Prepare the editor and a safe copy

Open the PhotoCraft homepage editor and wait for its menus and image canvas, not just the surrounding page. This guide uses the pinned v0.15.1 web build, checked on 24 October 2026. Its menus remain English in every site language. Use a desktop-sized workspace and a small, non-sensitive PNG first; our 320 × 320 sample is a suitable practice input. Keep the original separately.

Choose File → Open inside the application. A browser tab displaying the image alone is not an editable document. Click in the editor before using shortcuts; browser shortcuts can intercept keys. Use the visible application menu when that happens. The PNG import and export tutorial explains the basic file flow.

Decide the pieces and keep the full source

For the checked example, the vertical boundary is at x = 320. The left region covers the first 320 columns and the right covers the next 320, both using the full height. Write down intended boundaries before editing. If the dimensions are odd or the pieces have different sizes, decide which piece gets the remaining pixels rather than letting an unnoticed gap appear.

Use a copy of the full input and keep it available on disk. Cropping changes the active document's canvas and can discard areas outside it. Undo is useful during the session but is not an independent copy. For many exact tiles, this manual procedure may be less suitable than a separately verified batch tool. No automatic grid command was used in our test.

Crop and export the first part

1. Open the full image through File → Open. Confirm the original dimensions and arrange the canvas at a view where you can identify the intended boundary. At 100% zoom, one displayed image pixel corresponds to one document pixel in the checked desktop setup.
2. Choose the Rectangular Marquee tool from the left toolbar. Drag a rectangular selection over the intended first region, starting at the image edge. For our 640 × 320 sample, select the left 320 × 320 half. Do not draw with the brush or use a screenshot crop outside the application.
3. Choose Image → Crop. The active canvas should shrink to the selection. Check the new dimensions before exporting; a one-pixel selection error is a real output difference, not something the export command will fix.
4. Choose File → Export → Quick Export as PNG. Wait for the browser download and rename it clearly, for example part-left.png. Open the file and check that it contains only the intended region with the intended dimensions.
5. Keep the full original and this downloaded part separate. Do not overwrite the original with the first tile, or use the first tile as the source for subsequent regions.

Return to the full image for the next part

Use Edit → Undo to reverse the crop while the session is still open. Confirm the full canvas has returned, then use Select → Deselect before drawing the next rectangular selection. Select the right half in the full image and repeat Image → Crop and Quick Export as PNG. Give the second file a distinct name such as part-right.png.

You can instead reopen your unchanged original before each crop if that is easier to track. The essential point is that every piece starts from the same full source. Repeatedly cropping the already shortened first piece cannot produce the missing second half. Inspect each completed download before moving on, especially when the browser adds suffixes to repeated filenames.

Image splitter FAQ

Can I choose a three-by-three grid and download everything?

Not with the procedure verified here. The page documents one selection and one export at a time, with a return to the source between them. It does not promise automated grid generation, consistent batch numbering or a ZIP archive.

How do I avoid gaps or overlaps?

Plan boundaries in source pixels, check each output's dimensions and compare adjacent edges. In the tested two-half case, the two tiles cover 640 columns exactly. Freehand selection on a zoomed or scaled canvas can introduce errors; inspect the actual files rather than trusting how a selection outline looks.

Does a split change the original image?

The open working document is cropped, but a separately retained input file remains your recovery source. This is why you keep that file and rename downloads. The PNG pieces are flattened images; they do not preserve every editable structure or metadata field from the original.

Limits, saving and troubleshooting

The checked workflow uses small PNG images in Chromium, not a benchmark for large photographs, every browser or complex PSDs. Local pixel editing does not mean anonymous or offline browsing: the website also makes hosting and measurement requests. Read the privacy policy rather than treating this guide as a privacy guarantee. No account is needed for this editor workflow.

There is no browser autosave or crash recovery in this pinned build. Download your result before refreshing, changing language or switching renderer. Save a separate working checkpoint if you need to continue editing, and check reopening separately with the PSD guide. If startup fails, use the renderer guide; if export looks stale, check the active document and actual download time before repeating an edit.

Other image tasks

Use the image flipper guide for mirroring, the image combiner guide for a two-layer layout, pixelate image for Mosaic, or the manual image splitter guide for separate cropped files. Each uses the same editor, with a different result to verify.