Basic Functions of MS-Office (MS-Word,

MS-Excel, MS-Powerpoint)
Share

Simply Office or Microsoft office can be described as a family of server software, client software
as well as other services developed by Microsoft. It was first announced on 1st August of 1988.
In the first stage, the marketing term of an office suite was used. This was the first version of
Office and mainly contained Microsoft PowerPoint, Microsoft Excel, and Microsoft Word.
These are the three basic functions of MS Office. However, over the years many new
applications have been included within MS Office such as Onedrive, OneNote, Outlook,
SharePoint Yammer Teams, etc.

MS Word
Microsoft Word is essential software for processing words. It was initially released on 25th
October of 1983 and was known as Multi-tool Word particularly for the Xenix systems. It is also
known by the names Winword, Word, Microsoft Word. It is mainly an application of office
productivity included within the suite of Microsoft Office. This basic function of MS Word is
easily available on Apple macOS, Apple IOS, Microsoft Windows, and Android. Further, it
should be mentioned that it can be further used in Linux OS through the utilization of WINE.
The importance of this Office function allows in the fact that it helps in creating professional–
quality reports, letters, resumes, and documents. Contrary to a plain text editor, Microsoft Word
has several features involving grammar check, spell check font and text formatting, image
support, HTML support, Advanced Layout of Page, and much more.

MS Excel
MS Excel or Microsoft Excel can be described as a spreadsheet program particularly utilized for
analyzing and recording statistical and numerical data. MS Excel provides a variety of features
that allows the user to perform several operations including pivot tables, calculations, macro
programming, graph tools, etc. Microsoft Excel is compatible with different types of Operating
Systems such as Apple macOS, Apple IOS, Microsoft Windows, and Android.

An Excel spreadsheet can be seen to be a collection of rows and columns that together form a
table. Rows are generally assigned by numbers whereas columns are generally assigned by
Alphabetical letters. The particular point where a row and column meet is known as a cell. A
cell’s address is specifically given by the letter that represents the column together with the
number that represents the row.

Learning MS Excel is of utmost importance. In modern times every individual deals with
numbers in some way. Everyone has daily expenses to pay from the monthly expenses earned by
them. If someone decides to spend their income wisely then they should know all aspects of their
income as well as expenditure. This is where Microsoft Excel comes into action through
recording, analyzing as well as storing important numeric data

MS PowerPoint
MS PowerPoint is one of the basic functions of MS Office which is often abbreviated as PPT or
PP. It is essentially a presentation program that Microsoft initially developed to create a
slideshow with vital charts, information as well as images in the form of a presentation. Often it
can be seen that the function is being used for school presentations and business.

If the entire package of MS Office or just the Microsoft PowerPoint is installed within Microsoft
Windows, then one can find the Powerpoint within the Start menu. It should however be kept in
mind that new computers do not always include MS PowerPoint. Hence it needs to be purchased
and then installed before it can run on the computer.

Conclusion

The entire article has been written on the core topic of different functions included within MS
Office. Learning the different functions of MS office is very important for gaining proper
knowledge about computers. The three main functions incorporated in MS Office include MS
Word, MS Excel, and MS PowerPoint. Firstly the definition and importance of MS Word have
been analyzed. This has been followed by discussions on MS Excel and lastly, the use of MS
PowerPoint has been given. From the overall article, it can be understood that these three basic
functions in MS Office allow an individual to do a wide range of functions.

Microsoft Word: An Introduction to Word,

its Various Features and Uses
Download as PDF

Overview

Test Series

Microsoft Word is the most suitable software utilized for building text files. These text files can
be altered and transferred from the creator to others and edited by them as well.

MS Word developed by Microsoft is one of the most widely used programs of Microsoft Office
suite. This article gives an introduction to MS Word, its various features, and its uses in detail.
It is one of the office productivity applications involved in the Microsoft Office suite. Formerly
developed by Charles Simonyi and Richard Brodie, software engineers. It was first released in
1983. Any word file is by default saved with the extension “.doc”.

Check out this article on Microsoft Windows here.

Introduction to MS Word
What is ms word? Microsoft Word enables us to create professional-quality reports, documents,
resumes, and letters. Unlike a plain text editor, Microsoft Word has highlights including
grammar check, spell check, image support, text and font formatting, advanced page layout,
HTML support, and more.

Follow these simple steps to open MS Word on your individual computer:

Click on Start →Go to All Programs → Select MS Office → Then select MS Word.

One can create MS Word doc by these simple steps:

Step 1: Open Microsoft Word with the above step.

Step 2: Once the program is open, click on->Microsoft office button(For Windows 7) or File(For
Windows 10) succeeded by->” New” and this will open a new doc.

MS Word is utilized by people of every age group, in schools, in colleges, and for official
purposes as well, therefore having proper knowledge of Microsoft Word is a necessity.
Crack Your Exam with Super Pass Live with India’s Best Teachers and Coaching

Get Super Pass Live SuperCoaching @ just

₹375₹375

Want to know more about this Super Coaching ? Explore SuperCoaching Now

People also like

UGC NET/SET (Hinglish)
₹13999 (76% OFF)
₹3499 (Valid till Dec'25 Exam)
Explore this Supercoaching
AE & JE - Civil
₹11399 (71% OFF)
₹3338 (Valid for 6 Months + Civil PYP Book)
Explore this Supercoaching
Nirnay IAS 2027 - Officers Batch (Hinglish)
₹110000 (13% OFF)
₹95999 (Valid for 24 Months)
Explore this Supercoaching

Features of Microsoft Word

This is how MS Word window looks like (version 2007):
As a word processing application, there are the following functions available:

To process any instructions on the existing text in Word, first, the user requires to choose the
text. To select any text, the user needs to put the cursor before the word and press the Shift +
Right arrow. Alternatively, the user can place the cursor after the word ends and press Shift +
Left Arrow.

Home
From the Home menu, the user can copy/cut the existing text & paste it to some other place in
the same document or the other document.

The other processes that can be operated from the ‘Home’ menu are changing fonts, colour, size,
case, alignment, spacing, etc.

Bullets, numbers, and paragraphs can also be introduced from the same menu. Users can look for
a particular word in the document by clicking on “Find” from the Home menu or simply Pressing
“Ctrl + F”. There is an option of replacing that word too.

Insert

From the ‘Insert’ menu, files apart from the text can be embedded in the document. E.g.
screenshots, links & hyperlinks, images, tables, charts, equations, special symbols, shapes,
headers, footers & page numbers.

Design

From the Design menu, users can obtain pre-decided templates of fonts & font sizes for heading,
subheading & other text of the document.

That helps improve the readability of the file quickly.

Page layout option provides the user with a chance to change the spacing before the paragraphs,
indents, and general margin spacing of the page.

References

From the References option, the user can include a footnote, table of contents, caption,
Bibliography & Citation of the texts in different formats like MLA, APA but for that, the user
requires to insert a list of books the user has referred to.

Review

The review option helps users check spelling & grammar errors in the document & protect the
document from being edited by non-trusted users.

Know more about Microsoft office Questions for Bank PO Exam here.
MS Word Terminologies
1. Word Wrap- A feature of the word that moves or advances text to the next line when
typing exceeds the right margin without pressing the Enter key.
2. Drag and Drop- A smart approach to copy or transfer text a short distance.
3. Word Art- Text designed as a graphic image.
4. Thesaurus- A feature that provides synonyms or alternative words for chosen words.
5. Footer- A feature that allows the text/graphics that are marked on every page or segment,
regularly at the bottom yet can be anywhere on a page.
6. Header- A feature that allows text/graphics that are imprinted on every page/section,
usually at the top yet can be anywhere on a page.
7. Paragraph Styles- A feature that allows text styles for complete paragraphs, including
their fonts, alignments, tabs, etc.
8. Endnotes- Notes or references that resemble at the end of the document.
9. Footnotes- Comments or references that appear at the bottom of each page.
10. Indent- A feature that allows setting a temporary left or right margin for paragraph lines.
11. The margin- The gap between the edge of the text in the record and top, base, or side
edges of the page.
12. Page Break– The spot in a document where one page ends and the other starts.
13. Bullets & Numbering- A feature that enables the user to generate bulleted or numbered
paragraphs.
14. Landscape- A terminology used to specify page orientation, where the page is wider than
it is tall.
15. Page Orientation- How pages are laid out in a written document.
16. Portrait- A page orientation where the page is longer than it is wide.
17. Formatting Toolbar- A feature that enables changing character and paragraph
formattings, such as alignment and type styles.
18. Font Style- Certain regular changes in the appearance of a font.
19. Charts– Graphs that employ columns, lines and pie shapes to denote numbers and data.

MS Excel is a commonly used Microsoft Office application. It is a spreadsheet program which is

used to save and analyse numerical data.
In this article, we bring to you the important features of MS Excel, along with an overview of
how to use the program, its benefits and other important elements. A few sample MS Excel
question and answers are also given further below in this article for the reference of Government
exam aspirants.

To learn more about the other programs under Microsoft Office, visit the linked article.

Table of Contents:

1. Basics of MS Excel
2. Features of MS Excel
3. Benefits of Using MS Excel
4. MS Excel – Points To Remember
5. MS Excel Questions and Answers

Computer Awareness is an integral part of the syllabus for major competitive exams and
questions from MS Excel may also be asked in these exams. To get the detailed syllabus for
Computer Knowledge, candidates can visit the linked article.

Looking for study material to ace the Computer Knowledge section in the various Government
exams??

Refer to the following links and ace the upcoming competitive exams:

 Microsoft Windows
 Fundamentals of Computer
 Important Computer Shortcut Keys
 Computer Abbreviations
 Important Computer-Related Terms

Basics of MS Excel
What is MS Excel?

MS Excel is a spreadsheet program where one can record data in the form of tables. It is easy to
analyse data in an Excel spreadsheet. The image given below represents how an Excel
spreadsheet looks like:
How to open MS Excel?

To open MS Excel on your computer, follow the steps given below:

 Click on Start
 Then All Programs
 Next step is to click on MS Office
  Then finally, choose the MS-Excel option

Alternatively, you can also click on the Start button and type MS Excel in the search option
available.

What is a cell?

A spreadsheet is in the form of a table comprising rows and columns. The rectangular box at the
intersection point between rows and columns forms a cell. Given below is an image of a cell:

What is Cell Address?

The cell address is the name by which is cell can be addressed. For example, if row 7 is
interested in column G, then the cell address is G7.

Other Related Links

High-Level Computer Languages Basics of Cloud Computing

Computer Networks Internet

Computer Software and Hardware Questions Types of Computer

Features of MS Excel
Various editing and formatting can be done on an Excel spreadsheet. Discussed below are the
various features of MS Excel.

The image below shows the composition of features in MS Excel:

 Home
o Comprises options like font size, font styles, font colour, background colour, alignment,
formatting options and styles, insertion and deletion of cells and editing options
o
 Insert
o Comprises options like table format and style, inserting images and figures, adding
graphs, charts and sparklines, header and footer option, equation and symbols
o
 Page Layout
o Themes, orientation and page setup options are available under the page layout option
o
 Formulas
o Since tables with a large amount of data can be created in MS excel, under this feature,
you can add formulas to your table and get quicker solutions
o
 Data
o Adding external data (from the web), filtering options and data tools are available under
this category
o
 Review
o Proofreading can be done for an excel sheet (like spell check) in the review category and
a reader can add comments in this part
o
 View
o Different views in which we want the spreadsheet to be displayed can be edited here.
Options to zoom in and out and pane arrangement are available under this category

For those willing to learn more about MS Excel, can refer to the video given below and
understand every small aspect of this program in detail.
5,714

Benefits of Using MS Excel

MS Excel is widely used for various purposes because the data is easy to save, and information
can be added and removed without any discomfort and less hard work.

Given below are a few important benefits of using MS Excel:

 Easy To Store Data: Since there is no limit to the amount of information that can be saved in a
spreadsheet, MS Excel is widely used to save data or to analyse data. Filtering information in
Excel is easy and convenient.
 Easy To Recover Data: If the information is written on a piece of paper, finding it may take
longer, however, this is not the case with excel spreadsheets. Finding and recovering data is
easy.
 Application of Mathematical Formulas: Doing calculations has become easier and less time-
taking with the formulas option in MS excel
 More Secure: These spreadsheets can be password secured in a laptop or personal computer
and the probability of losing them is way lesser in comparison to data written in registers or
piece of paper.
 Data at One Place: Earlier, data was to be kept in different files and registers when the
paperwork was done. Now, this has become convenient as more than one worksheet can be
added in a single MS Excel file.
 Neater and Clearer Visibility of Information: When the data is saved in the form of a table,
analysing it becomes easier. Thus, information is a spreadsheet that is more readable and
understandable.
Competitive exam aspirants must also be aware of other subjects which are a part of the
Government exam syllabus. To review and analyse the same, refer to the links below:

Logical Reasoning Quantitative Aptitude

Verbal Ability Current Affairs

Static GK Banking Awareness

MS Excel – Points To Remember

There are certain things which one must know with respect to MS Excel, its applications and
usage:

 An MS Excel file is saved with an extension of .xls

 Companies with large staff and workers use MS Excel as saving employee information becomes
easier
 Excel spreadsheets are also used in hospitals where the information of patients can be saved
more easily and can be removed conveniently once their medical history is cleared
 The sheet on which you work is called a Worksheet
 Multiple worksheets can be added in a single Excel file
 This is a data processing application

Aspirants can also prepare themselves by regularly solving mock tests and question papers to
analyse the standard of examination and excelling in them. Refer to the links below, for the
same:

MS PowerPoint is a program that is included in the Microsoft Office suite. It is used to make
presentations for personal and professional purposes.

In this article, we shall discuss in detail the functions and features of a PowerPoint presentation,
followed by some sample questions based on this topic for the upcoming competitive exams.

To learn more about the different programs under Microsoft Office, visit the linked article.

Ace the Computer Knowledge section in the upcoming Government Exams with the help of links
below:

 Computer Networks
 Internet
 Important Computer Related Terms
 Microsoft Windows
 Basics of MS Excel
Given below are a few important things that one must know about the development and
introduction of Microsoft PowerPoint:

 The program was created in a software company named Forethought, Inc. by Robert Gaskins
and Dennis Austin.
 It was released on April 20, 1987, and after 3 months of its creation, it was acquired by
Microsoft.
 The first version of this program, when introduced by Microsoft was MS PowerPoint 2.0 (1990).
 It is a presentation-based program that uses graphics, videos, etc. to make a presentation more
interactive and interesting.
 The file extension of a saved Powerpoint presentation is “.ppt”.
 A PowerPoint presentation comprising slides and other features is also known as PPT.

Gradually, with each version, the program was more creative and more interactive. Various other
features were added in PowerPoint which massively increased the requirement and use of this
MS Office program.

From the examination point of view, MS PowerPoint happens to be a very important topic.
Candidates who are preparing for the various Government exams can visit the Computer
Knowledge page and get a list of topics included in the syllabus and prepare themselves
accordingly.

Related Links

Computer Shortcut Keys Computer Abbreviations

Basics of Cloud Computing High Level Computer Languages

Types of Computers Hardware and Software

Basics of MS PowerPoint
Discussed below are a few questions that one must be aware of while discussing the basics of
MS PowerPoint. Once this is understood, using the program and analysing how to use it more
creatively shall become easier.

Question: What is MS PowerPoint?

Answer: PowerPoint (PPT) is a powerful, easy-to-use presentation graphics software program

that allows you to create professional-looking electronic slide shows.

The image given below shows the main page of MS PowerPoint, where a person lands when the
program is opened on a computer system:
Question: How to open MS PowerPoint on a personal computer?

Answer: Follow the steps below to open MS PowerPoint on a personal computer:

1. Click on the start button

2. Then choose “All Programs”
3. Next step is to select “MS Office”
 4. Under MS Office, click on the “MS PowerPoint”

A blank presentation is open on the screen. According to the requirement, a person can modify
the template for a presentation and start using the program.

Question: What is a PowerPoint presentation or PPT?

Answer: A combination of various slides depicting a graphical and visual interpretation of data,
to present information in a more creative and interactive manner is called a PowerPoint
presentation or PPT.

Question: What is a slide show in a PowerPoint presentation?

Answer: When all the slides of a PowerPoint presentation are set in series and then presented to
a group of people, where each slide appears one after the other, is a set pattern, this is known as a
PowerPoint slide show.

Question: What all elements can be added to a slide?

Answer: The following elements can be added to a Powerpoint slide:

1. Clip Art
2. Graphs
3. Tables
4. Photographs
5. Charts
6. Media Clips
7. Videos

All these elements are mainly used to enhance presentation skills and make the slide more
interactive.

To learn more about the Fundamentals of Computer, visit the linked article.

For a better understanding of the Microsoft PowerPoint and its operations, functions and usage,
refer to the video given below:
3,793

Features of MS PowerPoint

There are multiple features that are available in MS PowerPoint which can customise and
optimise a presentation. The same have been discussed below.

 Slide Layout

Multiple options and layouts are available based on which a presentation can be created. This
option is available under the “Home” section and one can select from the multiple layout options
provided.

The image below shows the different slide layout options which are available for use:
  Insert – Clipart, Video, Audio, etc.

Under the “Insert” category, multiple options are available where one can choose what feature
they want to insert in their presentation. This may include images, audio, video, header, footer,
symbols, shapes, etc.

The image below shows the features which can be inserted:

 Slide Design
MS PowerPoint has various themes using which background colour and designs or textures can
be added to a slide. This makes the presentation more colourful and attracts the attention of the
people looking at it.

This feature can be added using the “Design” category mentioned on the homepage of MS
PowerPoint. Although there are existing design templates available, in case someone wants to
add some new texture or colour, the option to customise the design is also available. Apart from
this, slide designs can also be downloaded online.

Refer to the below for slide design:

 Animations

During the slide show, the slides appear on the screen one after the other. In case, one wants to
add some animations to the way in which a slide presents itself, they can refer to the
“Animations” category.

The different animation styles available on PowerPoint are:

Apart from all these options; font size, font style, font colour, word art, date and time, etc. can
also be added to a PPT.

Also, there are various other subjects that are included in the exam syllabus for various
competitive exams. Candidates can check the detailed section-wise syllabus in the links given
below:

Logical Reasoning Quantitative Aptitude

Verbal Ability Current Affairs

Static GK Banking Awareness

Uses of PowerPoint Presentation

PowerPoint presentations are useful for both personal and professional usage. Given below are a
few of the major fields where PPT is extremely useful:

 Education – With e-learning and smart classes being chosen as a common mode of education
today, PowerPoint presentations can help in making education more interactive and attract
students towards the modified version of studying

 Marketing – In the field of marketing, PowerPoint presentations can be extremely important.

Using graphs and charts, numbers can be shown more evidently and clearly which may be
ignored by the viewer if being read

 Business – To invite investors or to show the increase or decrease in profits, MS PowerPoint can
be used
  Creating Resumes – Digital resumes can be formed using MS PowerPoint. Different patterns,
photograph, etc. can be added to the resume
 Depicting Growth – Since both graphics and text can be added in a presentation, depicting the
growth of a company, business, student’s marks, etc. is easier using PPT

Government exam aspirants can upgrade their preparation with the help of the links given below:

Introduction to different formats of images and their uses.

Introduction
In today’s digital world, images are everywhere — from websites and social media to printed
materials and user interfaces. For a Computer Operator and Programming Assistant
(COPA), understanding how images work and how to edit them is an essential skill. Whether it's
resizing a logo, adjusting photo brightness, or creating a promotional banner, basic image editing
is a common part of daily IT tasks.

This lesson will introduce you to the properties of digital images, image file formats, and the
fundamentals of editing images using free and open-source tools like Paint.NET, GIMP, or
even OpenOffice Draw.

What is a Digital Image?

A digital image is a visual representation of something, created or stored on a computer. It is
made up of pixels (short for "picture elements") arranged in a grid. Each pixel has a specific
color value that together forms the complete image.

Digital images are mainly of two types:

1. Raster Images

 Composed of pixels.
 Common formats: JPG, PNG, GIF, BMP.
 Best for photos and complex visuals.
 Loses quality when scaled up (pixelation).

2. Vector Images

 Made of lines, curves, shapes defined mathematically.

 Common formats: SVG, EPS, AI.
 Best for logos, icons, illustrations.
 Can be resized without losing quality.
📷 Common Image File Formats
Format Full Form Characteristics
JPG Joint Photographic Experts Group Compressed format; small size; slight quality loss
PNG Portable Network Graphics Lossless compression; supports transparency
GIF Graphics Interchange Format Supports animation; 256 colors only
BMP Bitmap Uncompressed; large file size
TIFF Tagged Image File Format High quality; used in printing
SVG Scalable Vector Graphics Vector-based; used in web graphics

🧪 Basic Properties of Digital Images

When editing images, you need to understand their key properties:

📏 1. Resolution

 Measured in DPI (dots per inch) or PPI (pixels per inch).

 Higher resolution = more detail.
 Common screen resolution: 72 PPI; for print: 300 DPI.

📐 2. Dimensions

 Width × height in pixels.

 Example: 1920×1080 (Full HD), 1280×720 (HD).

🎨 3. Color Depth

 Number of colors an image can contain.

 Common depths: 8-bit (256 colors), 24-bit (16.7 million colors).

🧵 4. File Size

 Depends on resolution, format, and compression.

 Affects storage space and website loading times.

🪄 5. Transparency

 Some formats (PNG, GIF) support transparent backgrounds.

 Useful for logos and overlays.
✏️Introduction to Image Editing
Image editing is the process of modifying or improving a digital image using software tools.

You can:

 Change colors
 Crop or resize
 Add text or shapes
 Remove objects or blemishes
 Apply effects or filters

Common editing software includes:

 MS Paint (basic editing)

 Paint.NET (lightweight and powerful)
 GIMP (open-source alternative to Photoshop)
 Adobe Photoshop (professional level)
 Online editors like Canva, Photopea

🔧 Basic Image Editing Operations

Let’s explore some common image editing techniques:

✂️1. Cropping

 Removes unwanted outer areas.

 Focuses on the main subject.

🔍 2. Resizing

 Changes dimensions (in pixels).

 Maintains aspect ratio to avoid distortion.

3. Brightness & Contrast

 Adjusts light levels and highlights.

 Enhances visibility and quality.

🌈 4. Color Correction

 Adjust hue, saturation, and color balance.

 Fixes faded or overly colored images.
✍️5. Adding Text

 Insert captions, titles, watermarks.

 Change font, color, size, and alignment.

🧹 6. Removing Background

 Makes image transparent or changes background.

 Useful for product photos and graphic design.

7. Drawing Tools

 Add lines, shapes, arrows.

 Useful for annotations and presentations.

🌀 8. Filters and Effects

 Stylize image using blur, sharpen, vignette, etc.

Practical Uses of Image Editing in COPA

As a COPA trainee or technician, image editing is useful in:

 Creating ID cards and certificates

 Editing images for websites or apps
 Preparing visual presentations
 Designing social media graphics
 Fixing scanned documents
 Adding watermarks to documents or photos

Tools for Image Editing – Free and Open Source

Here are some great tools COPA students can practice on:

GIMP (GNU Image Manipulation Program)

 Advanced image editing software.

 Layers, masks, filters, plugins.
 Available for Windows, macOS, and Linux.
🧱 Paint.NET

 Lightweight and easy to use.

 Good for beginners.
 Supports layers and effects.

📏 Krita

 Best for digital painting and drawing.

 Used by illustrators and animators.

🌐 Photopea (Online Editor)

 Works in browser, similar to Photoshop.

 Supports PSD, PNG, JPG, etc.

🧩 Inkscape

 Vector graphics editor.

 Create SVGs, logos, diagrams.

✅ Best Practices in Image Editing

 Always keep a backup of the original image.
 Use non-destructive editing (use layers if possible).
 Maintain proper resolution for print or screen use.
 Save in the appropriate format (e.g., PNG for transparency).
 Optimize image size for faster web loading.

Image file type and format guide

In this guide, we'll cover the image file types generally supported by web browsers, and provide
insights that will help you select the most appropriate formats to use for your site's imagery.

In this article
 Common image file types
 Image file type details
 Choosing an image format
 Providing image fallbacks
 See also
Explore AWS's generative AI offerings AWS offers a range of generative AI services to help developers
innovate faster. Learn More

Ad

Common image file types

The image file formats that are most commonly used on the web are listed below.

File
Abbreviation File format MIME type Summary
extension(s)

Good choice for lossless animation

Animated sequences (GIF is less performant). AVIF
Portable and WebP have better performance but
APNG image/apng .apng, .png
Network less broad browser support.
Graphics Support: Chrome, Edge, Firefox, Opera,
Safari.

Good choice for both images and

animated images due to high
performance and royalty free image
format. It offers much better
compression than PNG or JPEG with
AV1 Image File support for higher color depths,
AVIF image/avif .avif
Format animated frames, transparency, etc.
Note that when using AVIF, you
should include fallbacks to formats
with better browser support (i.e.,
using the <picture> element).
Support: Chrome, Edge, Firefox,
Opera, Safari.
Good choice for basic images and
animations. Prefer PNG for lossless and
Graphics
indexed still images, and consider WebP,
GIF Interchange image/gif .gif
AVIF or APNG for animation sequences.
Format
Support: Chrome, Edge, Firefox, IE,
Opera, Safari.

JPEG Joint image/jpeg .jpg, .jpeg, Good choice for lossy compression of
Photographic .jfif, .pjpe still images (currently the most
Expert Group g, .pjp popular). Prefer PNG when more
precise reproduction of the image is
 File
Abbreviation File format MIME type Summary
extension(s)

required, or WebP/AVIF if both better

reproduction and higher compression
image
are required.
Support: Chrome, Edge, Firefox, IE,
Opera, Safari.
PNG is preferred over JPEG for more
precise reproduction of source images,
Portable or when transparency is needed.
PNG Network image/png .png WebP/AVIF provide even better
Graphics compression and reproduction, but
browser support is more limited.
Support: Chrome, Edge, Firefox, IE,
Opera, Safari.
Vector image format; ideal for user
interface elements, icons, diagrams, etc.,
Scalable Vector that must be drawn accurately at
SVG image/svg+xml .svg
Graphics different sizes.
Support: Chrome, Edge, Firefox, IE,
Opera, Safari.

Excellent choice for both images and

animated images. WebP offers much
better compression than PNG or JPEG
with support for higher color depths,
animated frames, transparency etc. AVIF
Web Picture
WebP image/webp .webp offers slightly better compression, but is
format
not quite as well-supported in browsers
and does not support progressive
rendering.
Support: Chrome, Edge, Firefox, Opera,
Safari

Note: The older formats like PNG, JPEG, GIF have poor performance compared to newer
formats like WebP and AVIF, but enjoy broader "historical" browser support. The newer image
formats are seeing increasing popularity as browsers without support become increasingly
irrelevant (i.e., have virtually zero market share).

The following list includes image formats that appear on the web, but which should be avoided
for web content (generally this is because either they do not have wide browser support, or
because there are better alternatives).
 File
Abbreviation File format MIME type Supported browsers
extension(s)

Chrome, Edge, Firefox, IE, Opera,

BMP Bitmap file image/bmp .bmp
Safari

image/x- Chrome, Edge, Firefox, IE, Opera,

ICO Microsoft Icon .ico, .cur
icon Safari

Tagged Image File

TIFF image/tiff .tif, .tiff Safari
Format

Note: The abbreviation for each image format links to a longer description of the format, its
capabilities, and detailed browser compatibility information (including which versions
introduced support and specific special features that may have been introduced later).

Note: Safari 11.1 added the ability to use a video format, as an animated gif replacement. No
other browser supports this. See the Chromium bug, and Firefox bug for more information.

Image file type details

The following sections provide a brief overview of each of the image file types supported by web
browsers.

In the tables below, the term bits per component refers to the number of bits used to represent
each color component. For example, an RGB color depth of 8 indicates that each of the red,
green, and blue components are represented by an 8-bit value. Bit depth, on the other hand, is
the total number of bits used to represent each pixel in memory.

APNG (Animated Portable Network Graphics)

APNG is a file format first introduced by Mozilla which extends the PNG standard to add
support for animated images. Conceptually similar to the animated GIF format which has been in
use for decades, APNG is more capable in that it supports a variety of color depths, whereas
animated GIF supports only 8-bit indexed color.

APNG is ideal for basic animations that do not need to synchronize to other activities or to a
sound track, such as progress indicators, activity throbbers, and other animated sequences. For
example, APNG is one of the formats supported when creating animated stickers for Apple's
iMessage application (and the Messages application on iOS). They're also commonly used for
the animated portions of web browsers' user interfaces.

MIME type image/apng

File extension(s) .apng, .png

Specification W3C PNG Specification

Browser
Chrome 59, Edge 12, Firefox 3, Opera 46, Safari 8
compatibility

Maximum
2,147,483,647×2,147,483,647 pixels
dimensions

Bits per
Color mode Description
component (D)

1, 2, 4, 8, and Each pixel consists of a single D-bit value indicating the

Greyscale
16 brightness of the greyscale pixel.

Each pixel is represented by three D-bit values indicating

True color 8 and 16
the level of the red, green, and blue color components.

Supported color Each pixel is a D-bit value indicating an index into a color
Indexed
modes 1, 2, 4, and 8 palette which is contained within a PLTE chunk in the
color
APNG file; the colors in the palette all use an 8-bit depth.

Each pixel is represented by two D-bit values: the

Greyscale
8 and 16 intensity of the greyscale pixel and an alpha sample,
with alpha
indicating how opaque the pixel is.

Each pixel is comprised of four D-pixel color components:

True color
8 and 16 red, green, blue, and the alpha sample indicating how
with alpha
opaque the pixel is.

Compression Lossless

Free and open under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike license (CC-BY-SA)
Licensing
version 3.0 or later.

AVIF image

AV1 Image File Format (AVIF) is a powerful, open source, royalty-free file format that encodes
AV1 bitstreams in the High Efficiency Image File Format (HEIF) container.

Note: AVIF has potential to become the "next big thing" for sharing images in web content. It
offers state-of-the-art features and performance, without the encumbrance of complicated
licensing and patent royalties that have hampered comparable alternatives.
AV1 is a coding format that was originally designed for video transmission over the Internet.
The format benefits from the significant advances in video encoding in recent years, and may
potentially benefit from the associated support for hardware rendering. However it also has
disadvantages for some cases, as video and image encoding have some different requirements.

The format offers:

 Excellent lossy compression compared to JPG and PNG for visually similar compression levels
(e.g., lossy AVIF images are around 50% smaller than JPEG images).
 Generally, AVIF has better compression than WebP — median 50% vs. 30% compression for the
same JPG set (source: AVIF WebP Comparison (CTRL Blog)).
 Lossless compression.
 Animation/multi-image storage (similar to animated GIFs, but with much better compression)
 Alpha channel support (i.e., for transparency).
 High Dynamic Range (HDR): support for storing images that can represent bigger contrasts
between the lightest and darkest parts of the image.
 Wide Color Gamut: Support for images that can contain a larger range of colors.

AVIF does not support progressive rendering, so files must be fully downloaded before they can
be displayed. This often has little impact on real-world user experience because AVIF files are
much smaller than the equivalent JPEG or PNG files, and hence can be downloaded and
displayed much faster. For larger file size the impact can become significant, and you should
consider using a format that supports progressive rendering.

AVIF is supported in Chrome, Edge, Opera, Safari and Firefox. As support is not yet
comprehensive (and has little historical depth) you should provide a fallback in WebP, JPEG or
PNG format using the <picture> element (or some other approach).

MIME type image/avif

File
.avif
extension(s)

Specification
AV1 Image File Format (AVIF)
Chrome 85, Edge 121, Opera 71, Firefox 93, and Safari 16.1.

 Firefox 93 supports still images, with colorspace support for both full and limited
Browser
range colors, image transforms for mirroring and rotation. The preference
compatibility
image.avif.compliance_strictness can be used to adjust the compliance
strictness with the specification.
 Firefox 113 and later support animated images.

Maximum
2,147,483,647×2,147,483,647 pixels
dimensions
 Color mode support information is provided in the AV1 Bitstream & Decoding
Process Specification, section 6.4.2 : Color config semantics.

A non-exhaustive summary is:

 Color modes: YUV444, YUV422, YUV420

Supported
 Greyscale support: YUV400
color modes
 Bits: 8/10/12-bit
 Alpha support
 ICC profile support
 NCLX support: sRGB, linear sRGB, linear Rec2020, PQ Rec2020, HLG Rec2020, PQ
P3, HLG P3, etc.
 Tiling support

Compression Lossy and lossless.

Licensing Royalty free. Licensing information is available at License Page.

BMP (Bitmap file)

The BMP (Bitmap image) file type is most prevalent on Windows computers, and is generally
used only for special cases in web apps and content.

Warning: You should typically avoid using BMP files for website content. The most common
form of BMP file represents the data as an uncompressed raster image, resulting in large file
sizes compared to png or jpg image types. More efficient BMP formats exist but are not widely
used, and rarely supported in web browsers.

BMP theoretically supports a variety of internal data representations. The simplest, and most
commonly used, form of BMP file is an uncompressed raster image, with each pixel occupying 3
bytes representing its red, green, and blue components, and each row padded with 0x00 bytes to
a multiple of 4 bytes wide.

While other data representations are defined in the specification, they are not widely used and
often completely unimplemented. These features include: support for different bit depths,
indexed color, alpha channels, and different pixel orders (by default, BMP is written from
bottom-left corner toward the right and top, rather than from the top-left corner toward the right
and bottom).

Theoretically, several compression algorithms are supported, and the image data can also be
stored in JPEG or PNG format within the BMP file.

MIME type image/bmp

File .bmp
 extension(s)

No specification; however, Microsoft provides general documentation of the format at

Specification
docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/desktop/gdi/bitmap-storage

Browser
All versions of Chrome, Edge, Firefox, Opera, and Safari
compatibility

Maximum Either 32,767×32,767 or 2,147,483,647×2,147,483,647 pixels, depending on the format

dimensions version

Bits per
Color mode Description
component (D)

Each bit represents a single pixel, which can be either

Greyscale 1
black or white.

Each pixel is represented by three values representing

True color 8 and 16 the red, green, and blue color components; each is D
bits.
Supported
color modes
Each pixel is represented by a value which is one 2, 4,
Indexed color 2, 4, and 8
or 8 bits, serving as an index into the color table.

Greyscale with
n/a BMP has no distinct grayscale format.
alpha

Each pixel is represented by four values representing

True color
8 and 16 the red, green, blue, and alpha color components; each
with alpha
is D bits.

Compression Several compression methods are supported, including lossy or lossless algorithms

Covered by the Microsoft Open Specification Promise; while Microsoft holds patents
against BMP, they have published a promise not to assert its patent rights as long as
Licensing
specific conditions are met. This is not the same as a license, however. BMP is included
under the Windows Metafile Format (.wmf).

GIF (Graphics Interchange Format)

In 1987, the CompuServe online service provider introduced the GIF (Graphics Interchange
Format) image file format to provide a compressed graphics format that all members of their
service would be able to use. GIF uses the Lempel-Ziv-Welch (LZW) algorithm to losslessly
compress 8-bit indexed color graphics. GIF was one of the first two graphics formats supported
by HTML, along with XBM.

Each pixel in a GIF is represented by a single 8-bit value serving as an index into a palette of 24-
bit colors (8 bits each of red, green, and blue). The length of a color table is always a power of 2
(that is, each palette has 2, 4, 8, 16, 32, 64, or 256 entries). To simulate more than 255 or 256
colors, dithering is generally used. It is technically possible to tile multiple image blocks, each
with its own color palette, to create true color images, but in practice this is rarely done.

Pixels are opaque, unless a specific color index is designated as transparent, in which case pixels
colored that value are entirely transparent.

GIF supports simple animation, in which following an initial full-size frame, a series of images
reflecting the parts of the image that change with each frame are provided.

GIF has been extremely popular for decades, due to its simplicity and compatibility. Its
animation support caused a resurgence in its popularity in the social media era, when animated
GIFs began to be widely used for short "videos", memes, and other simple animation sequences.

Another popular feature of GIF is support for interlacing, where rows of pixels are stored out of
order so that partially-received files can be displayed in lower quality. This is particularly useful
when network connections are slow.

GIF is a good choice for simple images and animations, although converting full color images to
GIF can result in unsatisfactory dithering. Typically, modern content should use PNG for
lossless and indexed still images, and should consider using APNG for lossless animation
sequences.

MIME type image/gif

File extension(s) .gif

GIF87a specification
Specification
GIF89a specification

Browser
All versions of Chrome, Edge, Firefox, Opera, and Safari
compatibility

Maximum
65,536×65,536 pixels
dimensions

Supported color Bits per

Color mode Description
modes component (D)

Greyscale n/a GIF does not include a dedicated greyscale format.

 True color n/a GIF does not support true color pixels.

Each color in a GIF palette is defined as 8 bits each

Indexed color 8
of red, green, and blue (24 total bits per pixel).

Greyscale with
n/a GIF does not provide a dedicated greyscale format.
alpha

True color with

n/a GIF does not support true color pixels.
alpha

Compression Lossless (LZW)

While the GIF format itself is open, the LZW compression algorithm was covered by
Licensing patents until the early 2000s. As of July 7, 2004, all relevant patents have expired and
the GIF format may be used freely

ICO (Microsoft Windows icon)

The ICO (Microsoft Windows icon) file format was designed by Microsoft for desktop icons of
Windows systems. However, early versions of Internet Explorer introduced the ability for a
website to provide an ICO file named favicon.ico in a website's root directory to specify a
favicon — an icon to be displayed in the Favorites menu, and other places where an iconic
representation of the site would be useful.

An ICO file can contain multiple icons, and begins with a directory listing details about each.
Following the directory comes the data for the icons. Each icon's data can be either a BMP image
without the file header, or a complete PNG image (including the file header). If you use ICO
files, you should use the BMP format, as support for PNG inside ICO files wasn't added until
Windows Vista and may not be well supported.

Warning: ICO files should not be used in web content. Additionally, their use for favicons has
subsided in favor of using a PNG file and the <link> element, as described in Providing icons
for different usage contexts.

MIME type image/vnd.microsoft.icon (official), image/x-icon (used by Microsoft)

File extension(s) .ico

Specification

Browser
All versions of Chrome, Edge, Firefox, Opera, and Safari
compatibility

Maximum 256×256 pixels

 dimensions

Supported color Icons in BMP format

modes
Bits per
Color mode Description
component (D)

Each bit represents a single pixel, which can be either

Greyscale 1
black or white.

Each pixel is represented by three values representing

True color 8 and 16 the red, green, and blue color components; each is D
bits.

Each pixel is represented by a value which is one 2, 4,

Indexed color 2, 4, and 8
or 8 bits, serving as an index into the color table.

Greyscale
n/a BMP has no distinct grayscale format.
with alpha

Each pixel is represented by four values representing

True color
8 and 16 the red, green, blue, and alpha color components;
with alpha
each is D bits.

Icons in PNG format

Bits per
Color mode Description
component (D)

1, 2, 4, 8, and Each pixel consists of a single D-bit value indicating the

Greyscale
16 brightness of the greyscale pixel.

Each pixel is represented by three D-bit values indicating

True color 8 and 16
the level of the red, green, and blue color components.

Each pixel is a D-bit value indicating an index into a color

Indexed
1, 2, 4, and 8 palette which is contained within a PLTE chunk in the
color
APNG file; the colors in the palette all use an 8-bit depth.

Each pixel is represented by two D-bit values: the

Greyscale
8 and 16 intensity of the greyscale pixel and an alpha sample,
with alpha
indicating how opaque the pixel is.

True color 8 and 16 Each pixel is comprised of four D-pixel color components:
with alpha red, green, blue, and the alpha sample indicating how
 opaque the pixel is.

BMP-format icons nearly always use lossless compression, but lossy methods are
Compression
available. PNG icons are always compressed losslessly.

Licensing —

JPEG (Joint Photographic Experts Group image)

The JPEG (typically pronounced "jay-peg") image format is currently the most widely used
lossy compression format for still images. It's particularly useful for photographs; applying lossy
compression to content requiring sharpness, like diagrams or charts, can produce unsatisfactory
results.

JPEG is actually a data format for compressed photos, rather than a file type. The JFIF (JPEG
File Interchange Format) specification describes the format of the files we think of as "JPEG"
images.

MIME type image/jpeg

File extension(s) .jpg, .jpeg, .jpe, .jif, .jfif

Specification jpeg.org/jpeg/

Browser
All versions of Chrome, Edge, Firefox, Opera, and Safari
compatibility

Maximum
65,535×65,535 pixels
dimensions

Supported color Bits per

Color mode Description
modes component (D)

True greyscale can be supported using the single

Greyscale n/a
luma channel (Y).

Each pixel is described by the red, blue, and green

True color 8
color components, each of which is 8 bits.

Indexed color n/a JPEG does not offer an indexed color mode.

Greyscale with
n/a JPEG does not support an alpha channel.
alpha

True color with n/a JPEG does not support an alpha channel.
 alpha

Compression Lossy; based on the discrete cosine transform

Licensing As of October 27, 2006, all United States patents have expired.

PNG (Portable Network Graphics)

The PNG (pronounced "ping") image format uses lossless compression, while supporting higher
color depths than GIF and being more efficient, as well as featuring full alpha transparency
support.

PNG is widely supported, with all major browsers offering full support for its features.

MIME type image/png

File extension(s) .png

Specification Portable Network Graphics (PNG) Specification

Browser
All versions of Chrome, Edge, Firefox, Opera, and Safari
compatibility

Maximum
2,147,483,647×2,147,483,647 pixels
dimensions

Supported color Bits per

Color mode Description
modes component (D)

1, 2, 4, 8, and Each pixel consists of a single D-bit value indicating the

Greyscale
16 brightness of the greyscale pixel.

Each pixel is represented by three D-bit values indicating

True color 8 and 16
the level of the red, green, and blue color components.

Each pixel is a D-bit value indicating an index into a color

Indexed
1, 2, 4, and 8 palette which is contained within a PLTE chunk in the
color
APNG file; the colors in the palette all use an 8-bit depth.

Each pixel is represented by two D-bit values: the

Greyscale
8 and 16 intensity of the greyscale pixel and an alpha sample,
with alpha
indicating how opaque the pixel is.

True color 8 and 16 Each pixel is comprised of four D-pixel color components:
with alpha red, green, blue, and the alpha sample indicating how
 opaque the pixel is.

Compression Lossless, optionally indexed color like GIF

©2003 W3C (MIT, ERCIM, Keio), All Rights Reserved. W3C liability, trademark,
Licensing
document use and software licensing rules apply. No known royalty-bearing patents.

SVG (Scalable Vector Graphics)

SVG is an XML-based vector graphics format that specifies the contents of an image as a set of
drawing commands that create shapes, lines, apply colors, filters, and so forth. SVG files are
ideal for diagrams, icons, and other images which can be accurately drawn at any size. As such,
SVG is popular for user interface elements in modern Web design.

SVG files are text files containing source code that, when interpreted, draws the desired image.
For instance, this example defines an drawing area with initial size 100 by 100 units, containing
a line drawn diagonally through the box:

html

<svg viewBox="0 0 100 100" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg">

<line x1="0" y1="80" x2="100" y2="20" stroke="black" />
</svg>

SVG can be used in web content in three ways:

1. An <svg> element can appear directly within the HTML. It can contain SVG elements to draw
the image.
2. An SVG image can be embedded in HTML using elements such as <iframe>, <object> and
<embed>.
3. It is possible to use SVG images anywhere where other image types can be used, including with
the <img> element, the background-image CSS property, and so forth. However, there are
additional restrictions when SVG is used in this way.

SVG is an ideal choice for images which can be represented using a series of drawing
commands, especially if the size at which the image will be rendered is unknown or may vary,
since SVG will smoothly scale to the desired size. It's not generally useful for strictly bitmap or
photographic images, although it is possible to include bitmap images within an SVG.

MIME type image/svg+xml

File extension(s) .svg

Specification Scalable Vector Graphics (SVG) 2

Browser All versions of Chrome, Edge, Firefox, Opera, and Safari

 compatibility

Maximum
Unlimited
dimensions

Supported color
Colors in SVG are specified using CSS color syntax.
modes

SVG source may be compressed during transit using HTTP compression techniques, or
Compression
on disk as an .svgz file.

©2018 W3C (MIT, ERCIM, Keio, Beihang), All Rights Reserved. W3C liability,
Licensing trademark, document use and software licensing rules apply. No known royalty-
bearing patents.

TIFF (Tagged Image File Format)

TIFF is a raster graphics file format which was created to store scanned photos, although it can
be any kind of image. It is a somewhat "heavy" format, in that TIFF files have a tendency to be
larger than images in other formats. This is because of the metadata often included, as well as the
fact that most TIFF images are either uncompressed or use compression algorithms that still
leave fairly large files after compression.

TIFF supports a variety of compression methods, but the most commonly used are the CCITT
Group 4 (and, for older fax systems, Group 3) compression systems used for by fax software, as
well as LZW and lossy JPEG compression.

Every value in a TIFF file is specified using its tag (indicating what kind of information it is,
such as the width of the image) and its type (indicating the format the data is stored in), followed
by the length of the array of values to assign to that tag (all properties are stored in arrays, even
for single values). This allows different data types to be used for the same properties. For
example, the width of an image, ImageWidth, is stored using tag 0x0100, and is a one-entry
array. By specifying type 3 (SHORT), the value of ImageWidth is stored as a 16-bit value:

Tag Type Size Value

0x0100 (ImageWidth) 0x0003 (SHORT) 0x00000001 (1 entry) 0x0280 (640 pixels)

Specifying type 4 (LONG) stores the width as a 32-bit value:

Tag Type Size Value

0x0100 (ImageWidth) 0x0004 (LONG) 0x00000001 (1 entry) 0x00000280 (640 pixels)

A single TIFF file can contain multiple images; this may be used to represent multi-page
documents, for example (such as a multi-page scanned document, or a received fax). However,
software reading TIFF files is only required to support the first image.

TIFF supports a variety of color spaces, not just RGB. These include CMYK, YCbCr, and
others, making TIFF a good choice for storing images intended for print, film, or television
media.

Other than Safari, browsers do not natively support TIFF images in web content except by using
special libraries or browser add-ons. As such, TIFF files are not broadly used for displaying web
content, but it's common to provide downloadable TIFF files when distributing photos and other
artwork intended for precision editing or printing.

MIME type image/tiff

File
.tif, .tiff
extension(s)

https://www.adobe.com/devnet-apps/photoshop/fileformatashtml/#50577413_pgfId-
Specification
1035272

Browser
Safari
compatibility

Maximum
4,294,967,295×4,294,967,295 pixels (theoretical)
dimensions

Supported Bits per

Color
color modes component Description
mode
(D)

A bilevel TIFF stores 8 bits in each byte, one bit per pixel. The
Bilevel 1 PhotometricInterpretation field specifies which of 0 and
1 are black and which is white.

Each pixel consists of a single D-bit value indicating the

Greyscale 4 and 8
brightness of the greyscale pixel.

All true color RGB images are stored using 8-bits each of red,
True color 8
green, and blue.

Indexed 4 and 8 Each pixel is an index into a ColorMap record, which defines
color the colors used in the image. The color map lists all of the red
values, then all of the green values, then all of the blue values
 (rather than rgb, rgb, rgb…).

Alpha information is added by specifying that there are more

than 3 samples per pixel in the SamplesPerPixel field, and
Greyscale indicating the type of alpha (1 for an associated, pre-multiplied
4 and 8
with alpha alpha component, and 2 for unassociated alpha - a separate
matte); however, alpha channels are rarely used in TIFF files
and may be unsupported by the user's software.

Alpha information is added by specifying that there are more

than 3 samples per pixel in the SamplesPerPixel field, and
True color indicating the type of alpha (1 for an associated, pre-multiplied
8
with alpha alpha component, and 2 for unassociated alpha - a separate
matte); however, alpha channels are rarely used in TIFF files
and may be unsupported by the user's software.

Most TIFF files are uncompressed, but lossless PackBits and LZW compression are
Compression
supported, as is lossy JPEG compression.

No license required (aside from any associated with libraries you might use); all known
Licensing
patents have expired.

WebP image

WebP supports lossy compression via predictive coding based on the VP8 video codec, and
lossless compression that uses substitutions for repeating data. Lossy WebP images are on
average 25–35% smaller than JPEG images of visually similar compression levels. Lossless
WebP images are typically 26% smaller than the same images in PNG format.

WebP also supports animation: in a lossy WebP file, the image data is represented by a VP8
bitstream, which may contain multiple frames. Lossless WebP holds the ANIM chunk, which
describes the animation, and the ANMF chunk, which represents a frame of an animation
sequence. Looping is supported.

WebP now has broad support in the latest versions of major web browsers, although it does not
have deep historical support. Provide a fallback in either JPEG or PNG format, such as with the
<picture> element.

MIME type image/webp

File extension(s) .webp

Specification RIFF Container Specification

RFC 6386: VP8 Data Format and Decoding Guide (lossy encoding)
 WebP Lossless Bitstream Specification
All versions of Chrome, Edge, Firefox, Opera, and Safari
Browser
compatibility
WebP can also be used for exporting images from a Canvas. See
HTMLCanvasElement.toBlob() for more detailed support version information.
Maximum
16,383×16,383 pixels
dimensions

Lossy WebP stores the image in 8-bit Y'CbCr 4:2:0 (YUV420) format. Lossless WebP
Supported color
uses 8-bit ARGB color, with each component taking 8 bits for a total of 32 bits per
modes
pixel.

Compression Lossless (Huffman, LZ77, or color cache codes) or lossy (VP8).

Licensing No license required; source code is openly available.

Note: On Safari for macOS, WebP support depends on both Safari and macOS versions. You
need Safari 14 or later as well as macOS Big Sur (11) or a more recent version.

XBM (X Window System Bitmap file)

XBM (X Bitmap) files were the first to be supported on the Web, but are no longer used and
should be avoided, as their format has potential security concerns. Modern browsers have not
supported XBM files in many years, but when dealing with older content, you may find some
still around.

XBM uses a snippet of C code to represent the contents of the image as an array of bytes. Each
image consists of 2 to 4 #define directives, providing the width and height of the bitmap (and
optionally the hotspot, if the image is designed as a cursor), followed by an array of unsigned
char, where each value contains 8 1-bit monochrome pixels.

The image must be a multiple of 8 pixels wide. For example, the following code represents an
XBM image which is 8 pixels by 8 pixels, with those pixels in a black-and-white checkerboard
pattern:

#define square8_width 8
#define square8_height 8
static unsigned char square8_bits[] = {
0xAA, 0x55, 0xAA, 0x55, 0xAA, 0x55, 0xAA, 0x55
};
MIME type image/xbm, image-xbitmap

File extension(s) .xbm

 Specification None

Browser compatibility Firefox 1–3.5, Internet Explorer 1–5

Maximum dimensions Unlimited

Color mode Bits per component Description

Greyscale 1 Each byte contains eight 1-bit pixels.

True color n/a n/a

Supported color modes
Indexed color n/a n/a

Greyscale with alpha n/a n/a

True color with alpha n/a n/a

Compression Lossless

Licensing Open source

Choosing an image format

Picking the best image format for your needs is likely easier than video formats, as there are
fewer options with broad support, and each tends to have a specific set of use-cases.

Photographs

Photographs typically fare well with lossy compression (depending on the encoder's
configuration). This makes JPEG and WebP good choices for photographs, with JPEG being
more compatible but WebP perhaps offering better compression. To maximize quality and
minimize download time, consider providing both using a fallback with WebP as the first choice
and JPEG as the second. Otherwise, JPEG is the safe choice for compatibility.

Best choice Fallback

WebP or JPEG JPEG

Icons

For smaller images such as icons, use a lossless format to avoid loss of detail in a size-
constrained image. While lossless WebP is ideal for this purpose, support is not widespread yet,
so PNG is a better choice unless you offer a fallback. If your image contains fewer than 256
colors, GIF is an option, although PNG often compresses even smaller with its indexed
compression option (PNG-8).

If the icon can be represented using vector graphics, consider SVG, since it scales across various
resolutions and sizes, so it's perfect for responsive design. Although SVG support is good, it may
be worth offering a PNG fallback for older browsers.

Best choice Fallback

SVG, Lossless WebP, or PNG PNG

Screenshots

Unless you're willing to compromise on quality, you should use a lossless format for screenshots.
This is particularly important if there's any text in your screenshot, as text easily becomes fuzzy
and unclear under lossy compression.

PNG is probably your best bet, but lossless WebP is arguably going to be better compressed.

Best choice Fallback

Lossless WebP or PNG; PNG or JPEG;

JPEG if compression artifacts aren't a concern GIF for screenshots with low color counts

Diagrams, drawings, and charts

For any image that can be represented using vector graphics, SVG is the best choice. Otherwise,
you should use a lossless format like PNG. If you do choose a lossy format, such as JPEG or
lossy WebP, carefully weigh the compression level to avoid causing text or other shapes to
become fuzzy or unclear.

Best choice Fallback

SVG PNG

Providing image fallbacks

While the standard HTML <img> element doesn't support compatibility fallbacks for images, the
<picture> element does. <picture> is used as a wrapper for a number of <source> elements,
each specifying a version of the image in a different format or under different media conditions,
as well as an <img> element which defines where to display the image and the fallback to the
default or "most compatible" version.
For example, if you're displaying a diagram best displayed with SVG, but wish to offer a
fallback to a PNG or GIF of the diagram, you would do something like this:

html

<picture>
<source srcset="diagram.svg" type="image/svg+xml" />
<source srcset="diagram.png" type="image/png" />
<img
src="diagram.gif"
width="620"
height="540"
alt="Diagram showing the data channels" />
</picture>

You can specify as many <source>s as you wish, though typically 2 or 3 is all you need.

Top 12 Image File Types and Their Uses

Image files, from JPEG, BMP, and GIF to application-native ones like PSD, play a vital role in
the digital experience.

Chiradeep BasuMallick Technical Writer

January 9, 2023

Image files are among the most ubiquitous digital file types in the world of personal
computing and in several lines of business, like marketing, web development, advertising,
graphic design, etc. This article explains the 12 types of image file formats in use today. It
also discusses the key features of image files and how they work.

Table of Contents
 Defining Features of Image Files
 12 Types of Image File Extensions

Defining Features of Image Files

Image files are probably the most commonly encountered file type by regular computer device
users. At the beginning of the digital learning curve, users experience image files in various
formats used in different scenarios – from social media to photography and personal sharing. In
recent years, image files have become all the more critical for two reasons:

 The rise of platforms like Instagram and Pinterest: Platforms such as these rely heavily on
images (and other types of visuals) to garner traffic. Related to this is the rise of digital ads,
which also use embedded images to attract users.
 The software as a service (SaaS) and web app revolution: With many personal and productivity
applications moving online, image files are everywhere. Productivity apps rely heavily on file
types like icons to interact with the user and improve the user experience (UX).

However, despite their ubiquity, image files are more complex than they may seem on the
surface. Digital images have been around for several decades, and image file types have evolved
over the years to keep up with emerging trends. For example, since 2021-2022, we have seen the
widespread use of 3D file types that can capture and represent a sense of depth through a three-
camera setup and appropriate encoding of the file’s information.

The first digital images appeared in the 1960s, driven by advancements in satellite imagery,
aerospace research, and medicine. At that time, these digital images were still not linked with
computing, and it would be many years before personal computing became widespread.

Only in the 80s and 90s did software applications like Deluxe Paint and PC Paintbrush start
being shipped with computing devices. Thanks to these applications, users could now create and
save their own images to personal computer storage. This gave rise to the first generation of
image file types, as we know them today, outside of industrial use.

Deluxe Paint used the Interchange File Format (.iff) image file extension, while PC Paintbrush
used the PiCture eXchange (.pcx) format. Both of these are defunct today. In its place, the 90s
saw the rise of Joint Photographic Experts Group (.jpeg) and Bitmap (.bmp) formats that would
stand the test of time and are still being used today.

Apart from this, several image editing software applications have their own native file
extensions, which have evolved to keep pace with the software. For example, .stl, .obj, etc., have
been developed to contain and convey 3D printing information in 3D files, distinct from image
files.

See More: What Is Email Security? Definition, Benefits, Examples, and Best Practices

Now that we have looked at the meaning of image files let us discuss their defining features:

1. Contains encoded information

A digital image, like any other file, encodes information found in the real world into a format
that machines can understand. For an image, this is typically done by setting multiple thresholds
for different levels of darkness and then marking pixels darker or lighter than that threshold with
1 or 0. More complex algorithms are developed for more complex image types using data
processing tools like MATLAB.
A digital image can not only store information, but it can also convey it. This means that output
devices can read image file types and present them to the user in a visual format. If you use the
correct software application, it is also possible to edit the contents of an image file already
created.

2. Includes a header and image data

All image file formats have two parts – the header and the data. The header contains essential
metadata about the file, such as its format, compression type, whether it is a grayscale or color
image, the image’s dimensions, version and editing information, etc. Notably, the length of the
file header is often fixed so that it does not contain anything more than strictly necessary data.
Inside, the image data will contain the encoded version of the visual representation. It may also
include a color map that aligns pixel-level data with a range of colors.

3. Follows a raster or vector format

Raster formats are the regular 2d digital images that we see every day. They are widely used to
edit images and photos in graphic design. Raster files are made of pixels, while vector image
files are composed of paths. As a result, vectors have several parts that together form clear
outlines of shapes. These paths are independent of resolution. On the other hand, Raster files are
an array of pixels that form a complex image.

4. Can be resized with or without a loss in quality

A defining feature of an image file is that it can be resized – i.e., shrunk or expanded while
maintaining the ratio of its dimensions. A lossless compression algorithm archives this while
preserving the quality, but it may add to the file’s size. In regular (lossy) compression, the image
file is expanded, but there can be a near-imperceptible loss in its quality.

The image file type you choose will depend on the application, the use cases, and the resources
available (e.g., memory).

See More: What Is NAS (Network Attached Storage)? Working, Features, and Use Cases

12 Types of Image File Extensions

The 12 key image file types and their extensions that are widely used today are detailed below in
alphabetical order:

1. Adobe Illustrator (AI)

Overview: AI file is a proprietary Adobe Illustrator (AI) format for vector images developed by
Adobe systems. AI files are small in size and easily scalable. Vector files are built on an
infinitely expandable and complex graph-like formula; thus, they don’t lose resolution when
scaled. They also allow for layering and transparency. The filename extension is .ai.
Best suited for: AI files are used mainly by designers and illustrators in print media and digital
graphics. AI files are only compatible with Adobe Illustrator or other professional editing
software, albeit with fewer capabilities.

Pros: AI files offer infinite resizing capabilities. This makes them an excellent choice for
reproducing print illustrator drawings and logos.

Cons: AI file formats are not supported by browsers nor by most default image viewers and are
not meant for use on the web.

2. Bitmap (BMP)

Overview: Bitmap (BMP) files were initially developed to display high-quality images on
Windows computers, although they are currently compatible with Mac and Android devices as
well. BMP files store two-dimensional images in monochrome or color. The filename extensions
are .bmp or .dib.

Best suited for: BMP files are compatible with most web browsers, standard image viewers, and
editing software. Designers and photographers use BMP files to store and print high-quality
digital photos.

Pros: BMP files are device independent and thus can be stored across multiple devices without
loss in quality. They can also handle multiple color depths, profiles, and alpha channels.

Cons: BMP files only contain red, green, and blue (RGB) images, which is unsuitable for people
who regularly use cyan, magenta, yellow, and black (CMYK). Uncompressed BMP files are
unsuitable for sharing, use on websites, or storing.

3. Encapsulated postscript (EPS)

Overview: An encapsulated postscript (EPS) file is a vector image used for storing illustrations
in Adobe Illustrator or third-party illustrators such as CorelDraw. EPS files support lossless
scaling as text-based documents outline shapes and lines using code. The file name extensions
are .eps, .epsf, and .epsi.

Best suited for: EPS extension is a universal file type that can open vector-based artwork in any
design editor. Designers and artists use EPS files to produce high-resolution graphics for print.
EPS files create logos, vector artwork, illustrations, and icons.

Pros: EPS image files are backward compatible with printers and thus suitable for printing with
a wide range of printers.

Cons: EPS files are not supported by major web browsers. They are also not editable once saved,
requiring designers to use the original design file to make changes before resaving.
See More: What Is Web Real-Time Communication (WebRTC)? Definition, Design,
Importance, and Examples

4. Graphics interchange format (GIF)

Overview: GIF stands for graphics interchange format. It is a raster format that uses lossless
compression. However, it restricts the image to 8 bits per pixel and can contain only 256 indexed
colors; thus, it has lower quality. GIF files are popular for animating support used in memes or
creating animated banners. The filename extension is .gif.

Best suited for: GIF files are compatible with web browsers and several image viewers. Content
creators use GIF files to create how-to tutorial guides.

Pros: GIF files offer animation support by allowing images or frames to be combined. The file
sizes are small and load faster on web pages.

Cons: GIF files are limited to a palette of 256 colors; thus, images have low resolution and, at
times, maybe blurry. Editing GIF files can be time-consuming because they combine multiple
images.

5. High-efficiency image file (HEIF)

Overview: HEIF stands for high-efficiency image file format. It is an alternative to JPEG with
almost twice its efficiency. HEIF is a lossy compressed format that requires less storage space
while maintaining the same image quality. The filename extensions are .heif(s), .heic(s), .avci,
and .avif(s).

Best suited for: HEIF files are associated with Apple devices. Major browsers do not support
HEIF files. Professional photographers use HEIF files as they have high image quality with a 16-
bit color scheme.

Pros: HEIF files can contain image sequences, storing multiple images in a single format, such
as burst images or live photos.

Cons: HEIF is a raster image format which leads to a loss of quality when scaling up images.
Most social platforms do not offer support for HEIF files; therefore, uploaded images lose their
quality.

6. Joint photographic experts’ group (JPEG or JPG)

Overview: The joint photographic experts’ group (JPEG or JPG) file format is the most common
file type found across the web and in photographs. JPEG files use lossy compression to compress
images for storage and sharing. They also support up to 24-bit color. The filename extensions are
.jpg, .jpeg, .jpe, .jif, .jfif, and .jfi.
Best suited for: JPEG files are supported by all browsers and image viewers. Photographers use
them to display photographs as they are small. Bloggers also use JPEG files to display images
for faster page loading times.

Pros: JPEG image files allow for easier post-processing as white balance and saturation are set
with the shutter’s click.

Cons: Lossy compression of JPEG files may cause the appearance of artifacts such as noise,
blooming, and aliasing on the edges of images, thus affecting image quality.

See More: Top 10 Antivirus Software in 2022

7. Portable network graphics (PNG)

Overview: Portable network graphics (PNG) is a raster file format that supports lossless data
compression. PNG files are suitable for displaying high-quality digital images on web pages as
they allow saving images with a greater color variation on a transparent background. The
filename extension is .png.

Best suited for: PNG files are supported by all major browsers, software, and image editors.
Designers use PNG files for logos as they support transparent backgrounds. They are also used to
display detailed graphics and charts on websites.

Pros: PNG files have greater color variation than GIF files and thus can store more detailed
images.

Cons: PNG files retain original data when compressed and thus are bigger when compared to
GIF or JPEG files. They are also unsuitable for print media as they don’t support cyan, magenta,
yellow, and black (CMYK) color modes.

8. Adobe Photoshop (PSD)

Overview: PSD is an image file format used for saving image documents and works in progress
in Adobe Photoshop. PSD files contain an image with layers and masks. The layers are stacked
on top of one another, allowing designers to credit images using multiple levels of transparency.
The filename extension is .psd.

Best suited for: PSD files are compatible with browser-based apps and professional editing
software such as Photoshop, Adobe Illustrator, and Premiere Pro. Designers and artists use PSD
files to produce and edit high-quality images.

Pros: PSD files support high-quality graphics with a vast image depth and color depth range, as
they can retain up to 30,000 pixels in height and width.

Cons: After manipulation, PSD files may get large, up to 2GB making it impractical to share or
store. PSD files are also not meant for use on the web.
9. Raw or camera uncompressed format

Overview: Digital cameras use raw image file formats to store full-quality and unedited images.
Raw files can be large as they contain uncompressed images. Raw files can have up to 14-bit
color per image, which gives photographers flexibility when editing in post-processing. Raw has
several filename extensions, such as .3fr, .arw, .cr, and .rw2.

Best suited for: Raw files are compatible with major browsers and can only be edited in relevant
software such as Photoshop or Lightroom. Photographers edit and convert raw files before
printing.

Pros: Raw files are uncompressed and detailed; thus, designers have more to work with. They
have a wide color range and increased RGB tonal values.

Cons: Raw files are large, which may require additional space. They are also not suitable for
web use.

10. Scalable vector graphics (SVG)

Overview: Scalable vector graphics (SVG) is an extensible markup language (XML) vector
image format for two-dimensional graphics with support for animation and interactivity. The
SVG file format is commonly used in responsive web design as it stores text information in a
discoverable form by search engines. The filename extensions are .svg and .svgz.

Best suited for: SVG files are supported by major browsers and most illustration software.
Designers can resize SVG files with no loss in quality; thus, these files display icons, logos, and
simple illustrations.

Pros: SVG files describe images and graphs in a form that is readable by search engines.
Therefore, they are used for SEO optimization.

Cons: The code in SVG files is difficult to understand for beginners. They cannot display high-
quality images as they lack pixels.

11. Tag image file format (TIFF)

Overview: TIFF stands for tag image file format. TIFF is a raster image format commonly used
for storing and editing photos, graphics, and artwork for print. TIFF supports both lossy and
lossless compression. They are usually uncompressed and large. TIFF files also support
transparency. The filename extensions are .tiff and .tif.

Best suited for: TIFF files are compatible with software such as Adobe Illustrator and
Photoshop. They have limited browser support, such as Safari and Edge. Professional
photographers and editors use them to produce and store high-quality photos before printing.
Pros: TIFF files work as containers for smaller JPEG files and can store multiple images in a
single raster graphic.

Cons: TIFF formats are not suitable for use on the web. TIFF files are large due to incredible
details and resolution and thus can be impractical for storing or sharing.

12. Web picture (WebP)

Overview: WebP format enables developers to create smaller images of the same quality as
JPEG files. The web file format supports both lossless and lossy compression for digital images.
WebP formats also provide support for animation and transparency. The filename extension
is .webp.

Best suited for: WebP is compatible with major web browsers and professional image editors
such as Photoshop. Web developers and designers use WebP files and animated WebP files to
compress photos and graphics without reducing the quality of the website images.

Pros: WebP files come in small sizes, which enable faster web loading speeds and enhance user
experience. They also save server disk space for websites.

Cons: WebP files require a good internet connection. Sometimes, compressions can lead to
reduced quality of images.

Image Editing

Image editing is the process of modifying or enhancing digital images using software tools. It
includes:

 Basic Editing: Cropping, resizing, adjusting brightness, contrast, and color.

 Advanced Editing: Retouching, removing backgrounds, applying filters, and layering
multiple images.
 Common Software: Adobe Photoshop, GIMP, Pixlr, and Paint.NET.
 Uses: Creating professional visuals for marketing, social media, print media, and
personal projects.

Use of Windows and Open Source Image Editing Software

Windows offers basic image editing tools like Paint and Photos, which are good for simple tasks
like resizing, cropping, and annotating images. For more complex editing, you may want to
explore open-source tools such as OpenOffice Draw, GIMP, and IrfanView.

💻 Windows Image Editing Tools:

  Paint: Basic drawing and editing tools for quick edits.
 Photos: Simple image management and editing, including cropping and rotating images.

Open Source Image Editing Tools:

1. OpenOffice Draw:

Overview: OpenOffice Draw is primarily a vector graphics editor but can be used for simple
image editing tasks. It allows you to create and edit graphics, diagrams, and flowcharts.

 Features:
o Shape tools, cliparts, and freehand drawing.
o Adding text and images, resizing, rotating, and aligning objects.
o Exporting graphics in various formats such as PNG, JPG, and SVG.
 Use Case: Ideal for simple editing and diagram creation rather than pixel-based photo
manipulation.

2. 🎨 GIMP (GNU Image Manipulation Program):

Overview: GIMP is a powerful open-source alternative to Adobe Photoshop, offering advanced

image manipulation tools and supporting a variety of file formats.

 Features:
o Layers, masks, and filters for advanced editing.
o Tools for retouching, color correction, and enhancing images.
o Customizable user interface and plugins for additional functionality.
 Use Case: Perfect for detailed photo editing, compositing, and graphic design.

3. IrfanView:

Overview: IrfanView is a lightweight, fast, and simple image viewer and editor. It's perfect for
quick editing and batch processing.

 Features:
o Basic editing tools like cropping, resizing, and converting image formats.
o Supports batch processing for editing multiple images at once.
o Filters, effects, and plugins for extended functionality.
 Use Case: Best for quick editing tasks and converting images in bulk.

Practical Steps for Basic Image Editing:

Using OpenOffice Draw:

1. Open OpenOffice Draw.

2. Insert an image by going to Insert > Picture.
3. Use the toolbar to crop, resize, or rotate the image.
4. Add text and shapes to the image using the toolbar.

Using GIMP:

1. Launch GIMP and open your image.

2. Use the Crop Tool (Shift+C) to cut parts of the image.
3. Adjust the image color using Colors > Levels or Colors > Curves.
4. Create multiple layers for advanced editing and retouching.

Using IrfanView:

1. Open your image in IrfanView.

2. Use the toolbar to resize or crop the image.
3. Apply filters and effects by clicking on Image > Effects.
4. To batch convert images, use File > Batch Conversion/Rename.