.bmp files

Common questions

How do I open a .bmp file?

On Windows use Photos (built in); on macOS use Preview (built in); on Linux use Image Viewer / Loupe (built in). Microsoft's uncompressed image format — simple, huge, and effectively obsolete.

What is a .bmp file?

Windows Bitmap. BMP stores pixels more or less raw, which made it trivial for early Windows to draw and makes files enormous today. It still turns up in old software, Windows wallpapers and embedded devices.

Can I convert a .bmp file?

Yes. It is usually converted to .png, .jpg, .gif, .ico or .pdf, either by exporting from one of the programs listed above or with a format converter.

Related pages

• .jpg — JPEG Image The lossy photo format that every camera, phone and website has used since the 1
• .png — Portable Network Graphics Lossless image format with transparency, made for screenshots, logos and web gra
• .jpeg — JPEG Image (four-letter form) The same format as .jpg — the longer spelling, kept alive by Macs and Unix syste
• .heic — High Efficiency Image Container The format an iPhone saves photos in — about half the size of a JPEG at the same
• .webp — WebP Image Google's web image format — smaller than JPEG or PNG, and now supported everywhe
• .gif — Graphics Interchange Format The 256-colour animation format from 1987 that refuses to die.
• .psd — Adobe Photoshop Document Photoshop's working file, keeping layers, masks and text editable.
• .svg — Scalable Vector Graphics An XML text format describing shapes rather than pixels, so it stays sharp at an
• .ai — Adobe Illustrator Artwork Illustrator's vector working file, used for logos, icons and print artwork.
• .avif — AV1 Image File Format A royalty-free image format built on the AV1 video codec, smaller than JPEG or W
• .tiff — Tagged Image File Format The lossless, multi-page image format used in printing, scanning and archiving.
• .raw — Camera Raw Image Unprocessed sensor data from a camera — and, confusingly, a literal extension us