DMGConverter Editor's Review

DMGConverter is a free application that can do some disk image manipulation.

Despite the fact that the name of this application makes it to be seen as a simple converter, the program is pretty complex and it has a great support for all kind of disk image related activities. The interface is split between 'New Image from folder', 'Convert', and 'Segment'. These tabs define the main features of the program. I believe their naming is intuitive enough, so I am going to talk about the support that's implemented into DMGConverter.

'New image from folder' is pretty easy to use. All you need to do is to select the file format for the disk image, a compression level if you create a compressed image, and a volume format (file system) for the disk image. The list of file formats is quite long. Besides DMG, it also includes support for sparse disk images, CD/DVD master disk image (CDR), OLD images, and various types of ISO images. The supported list of file systems is decent. Besides the common Mac OS X file systems, you can also use the UNIX file system, or something with Microsoft flavor: FAT16 and FAT32, which by the way are not recommended by the producer.

The 'Convert' functionality allows you to convert an existing image to a DMG, sparse, CDR, or OLD image. This function lacks the support for the ISO types, and it also lacks the support for converting the file system. Basically, the conversion is not recommended as long as it is not required by the circumstances, due to fewer support for the supported options.

The 'Segment' functionality provides the possibility to split an existing image. It can split the image either by using a segment size, or it can split the image by using a defined number of pieces. This function was the only one that didn't work flawlessly. In certain cases when using large image files (I tested with images that have over 2.5GB), the application can't split the image, and it throws an error code. The error code doesn't give you an explanation at all. I couldn't find an explanation on the producer's Website either.

The interface has another button, 'Prefs'. Hitting the 'Prefs' button has as result the opening of the 'Preferences' panel. Basically it has the same tabs as the main window plus the 'Destination' tab. The available options are also the same, but in addition you can find for each functionality the possibility to use strong AES 128-bit encryption for the resulted images, and you can make the images to be 'Internet Enabled'. The 'Convert' tab gives you the possibility to modify some other parameters of the disk image. The 'Destination' tab provides you a panel that gives you the possibility to chose where the output images should be stored. You can also pick if the application should move in the trash the source files, if the application should delete the source files, or if it should mount automatically the disk image after successful creation/conversion.

Pluses: great support for file formats, volume formats, it is a quite complete and free solution for disk image manipulation.

Drawbacks / flaws: the image splitter won't work in all the cases, the error codes are not understandable, it lacks the support for using custom icons, layouts, and background images for the created/converted disk images.

In conclusion: it is a quite complete solution for disk image creation manipulation. I tested commercial applications that have fewer features, or worse behavior. If you need a disk image manipulation application, you can also take a peek at the alternatives: DMG Designs, DMG Packager, CreaDMG, Chop DMG, FreeDMG, or an archiver with DMG creation capabilities, CleanArchiver.

version reviewed: 3.5.5