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.pdn

PDN file: what it is and how to convert it to PNG or JPG

A .pdn file is a Paint.NET project: the layered working file of the free Windows editor.

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Contenta Converter results screen showing 32 converted photos and a before and after preview
The results screen of Contenta Converter: 32 photos converted in 47 seconds, with a before and after preview.
  1. Add your PDN filesDrop in single files or a whole folder.
  2. Pick output formatJPG, PNG, TIFF, PDF and more.
  3. Click ConvertEvery file converted in one pass.

Nothing but Paint.NET and a few converters open it. Paint.NET itself exports one file at a time with Save As. Contenta Converter flattens the layers and converts a whole folder of .pdn files to PNG, JPG or TIFF in one batch, with no Paint.NET required.

How to open a .PDN file on Windows

  1. Paint.NET (free). The program that made the file. Open it and use Save As to export PNG or JPG, one file at a time.
  2. Photopea (free, in the browser). Opens .pdn files with their layers and exports PNG, JPG or PSD.
  3. Contenta Converter, for folders. Drop a folder of .pdn files and get flattened PNG, JPG or TIFF pictures in one batch, resized or renamed if you like, without Paint.NET installed.

Before you convert PDN files

  1. What changes in the conversion
    The layers. A PNG or JPG is one flat picture, so layer names, order, opacity and blend modes are merged into the final image and cannot be separated again. Transparent areas survive in PNG and TIFF and turn opaque in JPG. The .pdn file is not changed, so you can always reopen it in Paint.NET to edit.
  2. What Contenta Converter does with PDN
    Contenta Converter reads .pdn files directly and composites the visible layers with their opacity and all 14 Paint.NET blend modes, then writes PNG, JPG, TIFF, WEBP or PDF through its normal pipeline, so you can resize, watermark and rename in the same batch. Hidden layers are left out, as in Paint.NET's own export. A layer with a blend mode the decoder does not know is composited as Normal and the file gets a warning, so you can check it in Paint.NET.

The same photo, five outputs

Photo of a stage set with a bed, a small table and a checked sofaDSC_0001.NEF · 3900×2613
  • PNG.png1.9 s
    16.1 MB
  • AVIF.avif2.2 s
    2.02 MB
  • JPG.jpg1.7 s
    1.69 MB
  • WebP.webp1.7 s
    1.32 MB
  • JPEG XL.jxl1.7 s
    1.12 MB
One Nikon D60 RAW file converted to five formats, at quality 90 where the format has a quality setting. PNG is lossless, so it is the largest. Seconds are the median of three runs. Measured with the Contenta Converter 9.0.35 command line on an AMD Ryzen 9 3900X, 2026-09-30.
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Format

PDN

Company

Paint.NET
Description A .pdn file is a Paint.NET project: the layered working file of the free Windows image editor Paint.NET. It keeps every layer with its name, opacity, blend mode and visibility, so the picture can be edited again later. Only Paint.NET itself and a few tools read it; browsers, Windows Photos and other editors do not.
Benefits Keeps all layers editable with their blend modes and opacity. Lossless. Small and fast to save in Paint.NET.
Drawbacks Opens only in Paint.NET and a handful of converters. Cannot be shared, printed or uploaded until it is flattened to PNG or JPG. Paint.NET runs on Windows only.

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PDN image organization

How to open PDN? How to process PDN? How to shrink PDN? How to reduce PDN? How to rename PDN automatically? How to organize PDN in sub-folders? How to recompress PDN? How to create a PDF photo album from PDN?

PDN image color processing

How to convert PDN to black and white? How to convert PDN to sepia? How to adjust the brightness of PDN? How to adjust the contrast of PDN? How to adjust the gamma of PDN? How to invert the colors of PDN? How to boost colors of PDN? How to boost the contrast of PDN?

PDN image processing

How to add a watermark to PDN? How to create animated GIF slideshows from PDN? How to create pencil/ink drawings from PDN? How to sharpen PDN? How to blur PDN? How to refocus PDN? How to denoise hot pixels from PDN? How to crop PDN? How to rotate PDN? How to flip PDN?

PDN image annotation

How to change the DPI resolution of PDN? How to modify the IPTC/XMP dates of PDN? How to modify the IPTC/XMP description of PDN? How to modify the IPTC/XMP location of PDN? How to modify the IPTC/XMP legal information of PDN? How to edit the IPTC/XMP workflow of PDN? How to edit the IPTC/XMP copyright of PDN?

Frequently Asked Questions about PDN

How do I open a PDN file without Paint.NET?

Photopea opens .pdn files in the browser, and Contenta Converter converts them to PNG or JPG on Windows. Windows Photos, Photoshop and GIMP do not read the format. If you only need the picture, converting it is the quickest way.

Does converting a PDN keep the layers?

No. PNG, JPG and TIFF hold one flat picture, so the layers are merged. Transparency is kept in PNG and TIFF. To keep editable layers, export from Paint.NET or Photopea to PSD instead.

Can I convert many PDN files at once?

Yes. Drop the folder into Contenta Converter, choose PNG or JPG and click Start Converting. Every .pdn is flattened and written in one batch, and you can resize or rename them in the same pass.

Need more than PDN conversion? Browse supported cameras that produce PDN files below, or:

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