WMF file format
| Extension | .wmf |
| Category | images |
| Programs | ACD Systems ACDSee 17 Apple QuickTie Player Adobe Illustrator Corel PaintShop Pro X6 CorelDRAW Graphics Suite X7 Cristallight WMF Converter Pro GIMP Inkscape QuarkXPress Microsoft Publisher Newera Graphics Converter Pro Microsoft Picture It! MAGIX Xara Photo & Graphic Designer |
| Main program | Microsoft Windows Photo Viewer |
| Description | WMF format is a positional graphics format that is closely associated with Windows. It allows for the direct display of an image on the screen of a device in a specific manner. While primarily used for graphics, WMF is not just limited to image files. Any object – whether it be text, image, or video – requires a code for pixel displacement in order to be accurately rendered, a task made possible by WMF in early personal computers. In addition to facilitating accurate rendering, WMF format also allows for the copying of information and subsequent pasting into another document or environment. Originally designed to save documents in 16-bit fragments, WMF format supports a 24-bit RGB color palette and is commonly used for exporting graphics from one application to another. |
| Technical details | Microsoft released the first version of the WMF file type in 1988 as part of Windows 3.0. However, significant upgrades were made to the format with the 3.1 updates of Windows in 1992. The latest update to Windows MetaFile was released to the public in 2006. To this day, the WMF file format remains relevant in Microsoft Office packages like Word and PowerPoint. Although the popularity of WMF has decreased with formats like JPG and GIF dominating the image file scene, it is still compatible with various computer programs. The Graphical Device Interface consists of commands that allow real-time drawing through WMF, which processes code before displaying the image on the screen. |
| MIME type | application/x-msmetafile application/wmf application/x-wmf image/wmf image/x-wmf image/x-win-metafile zz-application/zz-winassoc-wmf |