Very often, when working with graphics, many users encounter images in the BMP format. Today, few people know what it is. Now we will look at the BMP graphic format in more detail. Moreover, we will not only trace the history of its origin and evolution, but also offer some simple methods for converting it to other popular formats.

What is BMP format?

Let's not go into too much technical detail. Note that BMP is a format for storing graphic images in the form of a bitmap based on single-layer rasters.

Yes this is true. Initially, the BMP image format was applied exclusively to raster images and was a universal (standard) extension for all graphics in general.

History of origin

The history of the creation of this format is inextricably linked with Microsoft Corporation, which first implemented it in its main brainchild - operating system Windows. In addition, despite constant competition with Apple, support for this type of graphics was later announced for the OS/2 operating system.

True, since then the BMP graphics format has undergone many changes. It was originally assumed that the structure of an image was built on a combination of small squares, today known as pixels. It is believed that each pixel in an image can contain data about a different color depth (the number of bits per such graphic unit). The values ​​used to indicate the color bit depth are as follows: 1, 2, 4, 8, 16, 24, 32, 48, 64 bits.

In this case, for values ​​less than 8, the color is indicated only using the index of the palette (table) of shades, and for values ​​above the index is taken from the standard RGB model. The latter contains color variations obtained by mixing red, green and blue.

As is already clear, the higher the bit depth, the larger the size of the final image will be. It must be said that the BMP file format, both in those distant times and today, looks like a kind of mastodon, because its size is quite large. This is due to the fact that the image itself is uncompressed, compared to, say, the same JPG format. By size files with different types extensions containing the same image may differ not only hundreds - tens of thousands of times.

How to open the BMP file format?

As for opening images of this type, any Windows operating system has built-in tools for this.

While viewing applications had not yet been created, the main editing tool remained native Paint program, included in any Windows versions. At that time, this application exclusively supported the BMP format.

As is already clear, with the development of technology and the evolution of the format itself, the program also changed. Today Paint capabilities much higher than its initial versions.

In addition, with the advent of programs for viewing and editing graphics, the BMP file format was declared in technical support and in them. It is not surprising, since it was he who was the “great-grandfather” of almost all image file extensions known today.

You can find a lot of programs for working with such graphic data. Among the viewing tools, for example, in Windows, you can use the standard tool, among third party applications Quite popular are software packages such as ACDSee or Irfan View and many others.

As for editing, you can use anything you like for work, for example, the same Adobe Photoshop, Corel Draw or any other graphic editor that has even a minimal set of tools and capabilities.

The simplest way to convert BMP format

Now let's see how to change the BMP format in the simplest ways. To do this, you can use the same graphic editors.

If we take as an example standard application Paint, first the desired BMP file opens in it, after which the “Save as...” command is selected from the “File” menu, where in the root, in the bottom line (drop-down menu), you can find supported formats.

Actually, in any other graphic editor The bitmap conversion technology is similar to that described above. In some applications you can also find export commands, which, in principle, are not particularly different, since when using them the whole procedure again boils down to selecting another supported graphic format other than the original BMP.

Using converters

One of the most simple ways, allowing you to convert a different type of image into BMP format, not to mention using standard Windows tools and graphic editors, is the use of specialized converters that work automatically.

Everything is simple here. User adds graphic files to be converted into the program window, then selects the final format (in this case BMP) and presses the button to start the conversion process. The final files in the new form will be saved in the folder whose location is set by default in the application or specified manually.

By the way, the same applies to the reverse process, when you need to convert the BMP format to some other one.

With all the many programs in this area on the Internet, you can find many resources that allow you to carry out such transformations online. Only in this case, the user uploads files to the site, selects the final format, and then downloads the result to his computer. Agree, compared to the first two methods, it is not very convenient.

Conclusion

That's all that can be said about the BMP graphics format in a nutshell. For obvious reasons, the technical side of the issue in terms of file structure was not considered. Such data is unlikely to tell the average user anything.

But in conclusion, I would like to add a few words about converting graphic files into the uncompressed BMP format. Of course, its current version takes up less disk space. But it still differs from more modern compressed data types. In principle, the BMP format itself can even be called somewhat outdated, since few people use it today. Therefore, converting compressed formats into the type of graphic files with the .bmp extension seems clearly impractical at the present stage.

Hi all! Everyone has seen pictures on the Internet with such a postscript as bmp, png, jpg or gif(or others)? For example, foto.png or foto.jpg. This graphic files of different formats .

I think I'm not the only one who has wondered what the difference is between these image formats? Let's try to figure it out.

What are image formats and why are they needed?

I won’t clutter the article with too many smart words. Moreover, I myself do not always understand their meaning. Image format in relation to the Internet and computer (by image I mean some kind of graphic information– photographs or drawings) is a way to store and, accordingly, transmit pictures as an element of information.

This is a kind of tool, material or method with which you can save your favorite picture to your computer or transfer your photos from your camera to your PC. In general, it is a way of encoding information.

Let's take a non-computer example. Let's say you decide to preserve your bright image for posterity and order your portrait. But portrait is different from portrait. It can be done different materials, different tools, different techniques. You can contact a photographer, artist or even a sculptor.

(To illustrate my words, I took portraits of Vladimir Semenovich Vysotsky, may those who find this seem inappropriate forgive me)

The photograph can be black and white, color, digital, paper, or in slide form. An artist can make your portrait with paints, pencil, ink, on paper, on canvas, on the wall. A sculptor can make a portrait from plaster, marble, wood, metal...

In general, there are countless options. But any of them will be your portrait.

Same thing with image formats– there are many options.

But they can all be divided into two large groups - raster and vector. But no, there is another group - mixed, or complex, where would we be without them in the modern world :)

We are more interested in raster formats - they are the ones we most often encounter. But a few words need to be said about other groups.

Vector images based on geometric shapes - points, curves, circles, polygons. Vector images can be enlarged without losing quality. Examples of vector files – svg, cdr, eps. But, to be honest, I have not encountered such formats.

Complex formats, as the name suggests, have features of both vector and raster images. The most famous example of this format is files pdf. Surely everyone has come across them: many electronic books and documents are stored in PDF format.

Raster images

Most common image formats –jpg (jpeg),gif,png,bmp. All of them belong to the raster group.

Raster images, upon closer inspection, consist of small squares - pixels. Therefore, unlike vector images, raster images lose quality at high magnification.

Here is an example of a raster image and its part under magnification.

Do you see how blurred the picture is when zoomed in?

But editing, storing and transmitting raster images is much easier than vector ones. This is very important for ordinary users.

You can work with rasters in such convenient and well-known editors as Adobe Photoshop and Paint.

Characteristics of raster images

One of the disadvantages of raster images is that such files are stored in a compressed form and when they are displayed on the screen or printed, it is impossible to restore the original appearance, the quality suffers to one degree or another. But often these losses are not even noticeable, so do not get upset and refuse to use raster graphics. Moreover, by and large, there is no alternative.

The most common image formats are definitely BMP,GIF,PNG, JPEG.

The first group includes BMP, GIF, PNG formats, the second – JPEG. Lossless compression is based on removing redundant information, while lossy compression is based on discarding information that human vision does not perceive.

What are the differences between the image formats bmp, png, jpg, gif

I wrote a lot, a lot above, but still did not answer the question in the title. I don't know if I can answer, but I'll try.

But first, a little illustration. I took one picture and saved it in a separate folder in several formats. The results are clear. Pay attention to the weight of images of different formats.

FormatJPEG (Joint Photographic Experts Group) is a joint group of expert photographers. That was the name of the company that developed this format. Perhaps the most common image format that everyone who has ever sat down at a computer has encountered. You can edit jpeg files in almost any graphics editor. During compression, the color of neighboring pixels is averaged. This causes loss in quality. However, the quality of such images is not bad, even good when compared with some other formats.

In addition, jpeg files weigh little. They can easily be sent from phone to phone, by email or posted on the Internet. Also, the small size allows you to store a large number of images.

FormatBMP (Bitmap Picture) – raster image. The image quality is excellent because the information is almost not compressed. But the size of such files compared to jpeg is huge.

FormatGIF (GraphicsInterchangeFormat) – graphic data exchange format. Very popular format. It allows you to save animated images. Although it is considered outdated. But judging by the popularity of gifs, this format will not disappear from the scene anytime soon. Of course, gif will not work for photographers - the number of colors in this format is very limited to 256. But on the Internet it is almost the main format. Another important plus - gif files support transparency mode.

FormatPNG(Portable Network Graphics) – portable network graphics. The format was developed to replace GIF format. There is even an unofficial decoding of the acronym as “PNG is Not GIF” - PNG is not GIF. This format not only supports transparency, but also translucency from 1% to 99%, which is a big plus. But PNG cannot store multiple images in one file, like GIF. Therefore, it cannot be used to create animated pictures.

Of course, I haven't talked about all image formats. But these are the most common. Therefore, I think my article was useful to you “What is the difference between image formatsbmp,png,jpg,gif".

If the information was interesting and useful, subscribe to announcements of articles on, and also share the article with friends on social networks. Social media buttons are below the article, subscription form is at the link above or in the form at the top left.

Good luck to you in all your noble endeavors!

Senior Technology Writer

Someone sent you a e-mail BMP file and you don't know how to open it? Maybe you found a BMP file on your computer and were wondering what it was? Windows may tell you that you cannot open it, or in the worst case, you may encounter a corresponding error message associated with the BMP file.

Before you can open a BMP file, you need to find out what kind of file the BMP file extension is.

Tip: Incorrect BMP file association errors can be a symptom of other underlying issues within your Windows operating system. These invalid entries can also produce associated symptoms such as slow Windows startups, computer freezes, and other PC performance issues. Therefore, it is highly recommended that you scan your Windows registry for invalid file associations and other issues related to a fragmented registry.

Answer:

BMP files are Bitmap Image Files, which are primarily associated with Infinity Game Engine Palette Information (BioWare Corp.).

BMP files are also associated with Award AWBM BIOS Bitmap (Phoenix Technologies LTD), Windows OS/2 Bitmap Graphics and FileViewPro.

Additional types of files may also be using the BMP file extension. If you are aware of any other file formats that use the BMP file extension, please contact us so we can update our information accordingly.

How to open your BMP file:

The fastest and easy way Opening your BMP file means double-clicking on it. In this case Windows system she will choose the necessary program to open your BMP file.

In case your BMP file does not open, it is very likely that you do not have the required application program installed on your PC to view or edit files with BMP extensions.

If your PC opens the BMP file, but it's the wrong application, you'll need to change your file association settings. Windows registry. In other words, Windows associates the BMP file extensions with the wrong program.

Install optional products - FileViewPro (Solvusoft) | | | |

BMP Multipurpose Internet Mail Extensions (MIME):

• mime image/bmp

BMP File Analysis Tool™

Not sure what type the BMP file is? Do you want to get precise information about a file, its creator and how it can be opened?

Now you can instantly get all the necessary information about the BMP file!

Revolutionary BMP File Analysis Tool™ scans, analyzes and reports detailed information about the BMP file. Our patent-pending algorithm quickly analyzes the file and provides detailed information within seconds in a clear, easy-to-read format.†

In just a few seconds, you'll know exactly what type of BMP file you have, the application associated with the file, the name of the user who created the file, the file's protection status, and other useful information.

To start your free file analysis, simply drag and drop your BMP file inside dotted line below or click "Browse My Computer" and select a file. The BMP file analysis report will be shown below, right in the browser window.

Drag the BMP file here to start analysis

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