.tiff files
.tiff file
Tagged Image File Format
The lossless, multi-page image format used in printing, scanning and archiving.
What opens a .tiff file
- Windows
- Photos (built in), Windows Fax and Scan (built in), IrfanView, Adobe Photoshop
- macOS
- Preview (built in), Photos (built in), GIMP
- Linux
- Image Viewer / Loupe (built in), GIMP, Krita
What a .tiff file is
TIFF dates to 1986 and ended up at Adobe, who still control the specification. It stores images without quality loss, holds many pages in one file, and carries whatever colour profile a print shop needs — which is why scanners, fax gateways and archives default to it. Files are big, and the format is so flexible that an unusual compression scheme inside can still defeat a simple viewer.
Converting it
A .tiff file is commonly converted to .pdf, .jpg, .png or .psd. It is a binary format, so a text editor will show unreadable characters rather than its contents.
Details
- Extension
- .tiff
- Full name
- Tagged Image File Format
- Category
- Images
- MIME type
- image/tiff
- Created by
- Aldus / Adobe
- Format
- Binary
Common questions
- How do I open a .tiff file?
- On Windows use Photos (built in); on macOS use Preview (built in); on Linux use Image Viewer / Loupe (built in). The lossless, multi-page image format used in printing, scanning and archiving.
- What is a .tiff file?
- Tagged Image File Format. TIFF dates to 1986 and ended up at Adobe, who still control the specification. It stores images without quality loss, holds many pages in one file, and carries whatever colour profile a print shop needs — which is why scanners, fax gateways and archives default to it.
- Can I convert a .tiff file?
- Yes. It is usually converted to .pdf, .jpg, .png or .psd, 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
- .raw — Camera Raw Image Unprocessed sensor data from a camera — and, confusingly, a literal extension us
- .ico — Windows Icon A container holding one icon at several sizes, used by Windows and by website fa
Sources
- Media Types Registry — IANA
- Official vendor product documentation — At One Place