Graphics file format summary
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Contents |
Here is a summary of the most common graphics file formats:
| File extension | MIME mulpurp int mail ext type | Graphics type | Proper name | Description |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| .adrg | ? | raster | ARC Digitised Raster Graphics | 24-bit color raster images used mainly for spatial information. |
| .adri | ? | raster | ARC Digitised Raster Images | 24-bit color raster images. |
| .agp | ? | raster | ArtGem Project | AGP is a proprietary image file format developed by RL Vision for use in the paint software ArtGem. The format saves up to 16 layers of 24-bit color information with an 8-bit alpha channel. |
| .ai | application /illustrator |
vector | Adobe Illustrator Artwork | Vector format for Adobe Illustrator (originally a subset of PostScript, if an appropriate file header was present). |
| .art | ? | raster | ART | ART is a proprietary image file format mostly used by the America Online® client software. The ART format holds a single still image that has been highly compressed. ART files are also the containers of textures and sprites on Ken Silverman's build engine. |
| .bmp | image/bmp | raster | Windows Bitmap | Commonly used by Microsoft Windows programs, and the Windows operating system itself. Lossless compression can be specified (RLE), but some programs use only uncompressed files. |
| .cadrg | ? | raster | Compressed ARC Digitised Raster Graphics | 24-bit color raster images used mainly for spatial information. |
| .cdr | application /CorelDRAW |
vector | CorelDRAW Document | Default proprietary format for Corel CorelDRAW 2-D documents. Features include multiple import/export filters, 3-D special effects and object/image layering. |
| .cgm | image/cgm | vector | Computer Graphics Metafile | Defined by ISO Standard 8632. Often used for complex engineering drawings, e.g. in the aviation industry. (CGM members) |
| .cin | image/cineon | raster | Cineon | Cineon is a subset of the ANSI/SMPTE DPX file format with fixed headers. |
| .cpi | image/cpi | raster | Cartesian Perceptual Compression | Hypercompressed format for black-and-white raster images. Typically compresses images 5-20 times smaller than corresponding TIFF or PDF versions, leading to dramatic reductions in download times and server network traffic. |
| .cpt | ? | raster | Corel Photo-Paint Image | Default proprietary format for Corel Photo-Paint documents. Has many extra features such as image layering. Supported by very few image editing programs other than Corel Photo-Paint. Photo-Paint Images are usually smaller than Photoshop Documents. |
| .dpx | image/dpx | vector | Digital Picture eXchange file format | DPX is an ANSI/SMPTE standard (268M-2004) similar to Cineon but with flexible and variable image headers. |
| .dxf | image/vnd.dxf | vector | ASCII Drawing Interchange | Standard ASCII text files used to store vector data for CAD programs. |
| .eps | application /postscript |
raster / vector | Encapsulated PostScript | A PostScript file that describes a small vector graphic, as opposed to a whole page or set of pages. |
| .emf | ? | vector | Windows Enhanced Metafile | An enhanced version of Windows Metafile. Supported in Windows NT and later. |
| .exr | image/exr | raster | Extended Dynamic Range Image File Format | OpenEXR is the Open Source high dynamic-range (HDR) file format developed by Industrial Light & Magic for advanced imaging in movie production. The main advantage of that format are up to 32-bit floating-point pixels and multiple lossless image compression algorithms up to 2:1 lossless compression on film grained images. |
| .fh | ? | vector | Macromedia Freehand Document | Vector format for Macromedia Freehand. |
| .fla | ? | vector | Flash Source File | Shockwave Flash source file, only usable by Macromedia Flash authoring software. |
| .fpx | image/vnd.fpx | raster | FlashPix (1.0.2) | Uncompressed / lossy, 8-bit grayscale & 24-bit color. Provides multiple resolutions of each image. |
| .gif | image/gif | raster | Graphics Interchange Format | GIF is used extensively on the web. Supports animated images. Supports only 255 colors per frame, so requires lossy quantization for full-color photos (dithering); using multiple frames can improve color precision. Uses lossless LZW compression, which used to make GIF sometimes undesirable due to LZW patent issues. |
| .iff .ilbm |
? | raster | Interchange file format / Interleave bitmap | File format popular on the Amiga computer. ILBM is a subtype of the IFF fileformat, which can contain more than just pictures. It is a true bitplane format, so it can display from 2 upto 262.144 colors and supports even palettes of only 4, 8, 16, 32, 64, 128 colors that are uncommon for other formats. It commonly uses 32 colours from 4096 palette (Amiga OCS), and a proprietary mode storing 4096 colors palette in 5 bitplanes called Hold&Modify (HAM) or 16 millions in only 8 bitplanes (HAM 8). But full 12 bit 4096 colors and full 24 bit version exist. It usually employs a lossless compression. |
| .igs | image/iges | vector | Initial Graphics Exchange Specification | IGES is an ASCII text neutral data format used extensively for CAD/CAM data exchange. It supports 2D and 3D curves and surfaces, as well as solid models and annotation. |
| .jpeg .jpg |
image/jpeg | raster | Joint Photographic Experts Group | JPEG is used extensively for photos and other continuous tone images on the web. Uses lossy compression by trying to equalize eight by eight pixel blocks; the quality can vary greatly depending on the compression settings. |
| .jpg2 .jp2 |
image/jp2 | raster | Joint Photographic Experts Group | JPEG 2000 is the successor of popular "JPEG", a new wavelet based file format that includes both lossy and lossless compression options. It's commonly considered the actual "state-of-the-art" lossy format for photographic imaging, however its support in modern systems is still weak due to heavy requirements for hardware and many patents for software. |
| .mng | video/x-mng | raster | Multiple-image Network Graphics | Animation format using datastreams similar to those of PNG and JPEG, originally designed to replace the use of animated GIF on the web. Free of the patent associated with animated GIF. |
| .myd | ? | raster | Myd format | A raster format supported in many programs, 3bpp format |
| .myv | ? | vector | Myv vector format | A vector format supported in many programs such as M-DraW |
| .odg | ? | vector | OpenDocument drawing | A vector format supported by Draw from OpenOffice suite |
| .pbm | image /x-portable-bitmap |
raster | Portable Bitmap Format | A simple black and white graphics format. It uses 1 bit per pixel. It is related to the PGM (grayscale) and PPM (color) graphics file formats. |
| .pcd | image/jpcd ?? | raster | ImagePac Photo CD | Proprietary Kodak format, lossy, 24-bit color. |
| .pcx | image/pcx | raster | PCX | Developed by ZSoft Corporation, uses a simple form of run-length encoding, supports palette-based and 24-bit RGB images. |
| application/pdf | raster / vector | Portable Document Format | A page description language (loosely based on Postscript, but not a programming language), which allows for files containing multiple pages and links. Works with Adobe Acrobat Reader or Adobe eBook Reader, or third-party compatible software. The "native" metafile format for Mac OS X. | |
| .pgm | image /x-portable-graymap |
raster / vector | Portable Graymap Format | A simple gray scale graphics format. It uses 8 bits per pixel. Unlike most graphics file formats, a PGM file is plain text and can be processed with text processing tools. It is related to the PBM (black and white) and PPM (color) graphics file formats. |
| .pict .pct .pic |
image/pict | raster / vector | Picture | Default for Macintosh operating systems before version OS X. |
| .png | image/png | raster | Portable Network Graphics | PNG is an image format with lossless compression, offering bit depths from 1 to 48. It was mainly designed to replace the use of GIF on the web. Free of the patent, which expired in 2003, associated with GIF. |
| .ppm | image /x-portable-pixmap |
raster | Portable Pixmap Format | A simple color graphics format. It uses 24 bit per pixel, 8 for red, 8 for blue, and 8 for green. Unlike most graphics file formats, a PPM file is plain text and can be processed with text processing tools. It is related to the PBM (black and white) and PGM (grayscale) graphics file formats. |
| .ps | application /postscript |
vector | PostScript | Generic vector-based page description language, created and owned by Adobe. Postscript is a powerful stack-based programming language. Supported by many laser printers. |
| .psd | application /x-photoshop |
raster | Photoshop Document | Default proprietary format for Adobe Photoshop documents. Has many extra features such as image layering. Also supported by some other image editing programs than Adobe Photoshop. |
| .psp | ? | raster / vector | Paint Shop Pro Document | Standard Jasc format for Paint Shop Pro documents, similar to .psd for Photoshop. Supported by very few other programs. |
| .px | ? | raster / vector | Pixel image | Crossplatform proprietary image format used by Pixel image editor. |
| .sgi .rgb .rgba .int .inta .bw |
? | raster | Silicon Graphics Image | Native image format for Silicon Graphics workstations. |
| .svg .svgz |
image/svg+xml | vector | Scalable Vector Graphics | An XML based vector graphics format, as defined by the World Wide Web Consortium for use in web browsers. |
| .swf | application /x-shockwave-flash |
vector | Small Web Format (commonly referred to as Shockwave Flash) | Flash is a web page plug-in that displays vector based animations contained in SWF files. Several applications can create SWF files; these include the Flash authoring tool from Macromedia. |
| .sxd | ? | vector | OpenOffice 1.0 drawing format | A vector format that become outdated since version 2.0 of OpenOffice |
| .tiff .tif |
image/tiff | raster | Tagged Image File Format | TIFF is used extensively for traditional print graphics. Lossy and lossless compression available, but many programs only support a subset of available options. |
| .ufo | ? | ? | Ulead File for Objects | UFO is used primarily for editing images, possibly similar to PSD. It supports object saving and transparency, but apparently only Ulead PhotoImpact and VideoStudio are able to use it.[1]
An image of this type is apparently not subject to generation loss. [2] |
| .tga | image/tga | raster | Truevision TGA | TGA is the native format of Truevision Inc.'s TARGA boards, which were some of the first graphic cards for IBM-compatible PCs to support truecolor display. |
| .wbmp | image /vnd.wap.wbmp |
raster | Wireless Application Protocol Bitmap Format | Mainly used with WML for wireless devices. |
| .wmf | image/x-wmf | vector | Windows Metafile | Stores vector graphics and raster graphics as a sequence of commands to be issued to the graphics layer of the Microsoft Windows operating system. |
| .xaml | application/xaml+xml | vector | XAML | The XML-based file format for representing a document built atop the Windows Presentation Foundation. Can declare 2D vector graphics (and include references to external bitmaps for imaging), textual documents (with or without page fidelity), 2D user interfaces, and renderings of 3D models (with a fair amount of baseline support for lighting, materials, etc.) |
| .xar | application/vnd.xara | vector | Xar | Fully documented vector graphics format used by Xara X and Xara Xtreme. Ultra compact. |
| .xbm | image/x-xbitmap | raster | X BitMap | Native B&W format for the X Window System, supported by most web browsers. XBM is an ASCII format which uses no compression; since files are in C(++) syntax, images can be included in source code. |
| .xcf | application /x-gimp-image |
raster | XCF, name derived from eXperimental Computing Facility | Native format for the GIMP. Has many extra features such as image layering. Used mostly in the GIMP, but also readable by ImageMagick. |
| .xpm | image/x-xpm | raster | X-Pixmap | Used almost exclusively on UNIX platforms with the X Window System, inspired by the XBM format. |
Some file formats, e.g. PDF, allow both raster and vector graphics. This is because the underlying PostScript system of the Portable Document Format is designed to handle both methods of creating graphics.
[edit] References
- Murray, James D., and William van Ryper. Encyclopedia of Graphics File Formats, Second Edition. Sebastopol, Calif.: O'Reilly, 1996. ISBN 1-56592-161-5.
- Miano, John. Compressed Image File Formats: JPEG, PNG, GIF, XBM, BMP. Boston: Addison-Wesley Professional, 1999. ISBN 0-201-60443-4.
[edit] Specialized Graphics Formats
[edit] See also
- Screenshot
- Thumbshot
- Image file formats
- Comparison of graphics file formats
- Category:Graphics file formats
[edit] External links
Large list of file extensions: File-extensions.org
