.heif files
.heif file
High Efficiency Image File Format
The container standard behind .heic, occasionally used as the extension itself.
What opens a .heif file
- Windows
- Photos (with HEIF Image Extensions from the Microsoft Store), IrfanView (with plugins), GIMP
- macOS
- Preview (built in), Photos (built in)
- Linux
- GIMP, heif-convert (libheif tools)
What a .heif file is
HEIF is the ISO/IEC 23008-12 container; .heic is the name Apple gave it when the pictures inside are HEVC-encoded. A file ending .heif is the same kind of object and may hold HEVC or another codec. In practice you treat it exactly like .heic: fine on Apple devices, needs Microsoft Store codec extensions on Windows.
Converting it
A .heif file is commonly converted to .jpg, .png, .heic, .tiff or .webp. It is a binary format, so a text editor will show unreadable characters rather than its contents.
Details
- Extension
- .heif
- Full name
- High Efficiency Image File Format
- Category
- Images
- MIME type
- image/heif
- Created by
- MPEG (ISO/IEC 23008-12)
- Format
- Binary
Common questions
- How do I open a .heif file?
- On Windows use Photos (with HEIF Image Extensions from the Microsoft Store); on macOS use Preview (built in); on Linux use GIMP. The container standard behind .heic, occasionally used as the extension itself.
- What is a .heif file?
- High Efficiency Image File Format. HEIF is the ISO/IEC 23008-12 container; .heic is the name Apple gave it when the pictures inside are HEVC-encoded. A file ending .heif is the same kind of object and may hold HEVC or another codec.
- Can I convert a .heif file?
- Yes. It is usually converted to .jpg, .png, .heic, .tiff or .webp, 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
Sources
- Media Types Registry — IANA
- Official vendor product documentation — At One Place