BMP File Extension
Have a problem opening a .BMP file? We collect information about file formats and can explain what BMP files are. Additionally we recommend software suitable for opening or converting such files.
Have a problem opening a .BMP file? We collect information about file formats and can explain what BMP files are. Additionally we recommend software suitable for opening or converting such files.
The .bmp extension represents the Bitmap (BMP) raster image format and belongs to bitmap image files. A .bmp file is an array of bits (1-48 bits per pixel) corresponding to the number of pixels in the image. The BMP format was first introduced in Windows but later became universally supported.
BMP image files are fully device- and platform-independent, as they only store color information about image pixels with little or no metadata. A .bmp file can store an image of any size, limited only by filesystem restrictions. Compared to JPEG, GIF and PNG, .bmp files are huge, as they use little, if any compression.
Although providing lossless image storage, .bmp files are rarely used on the Web because of their size. Practically, .bmp files are used in desktop and office printing. Also, all image files embedded into popular office documents are stored internally as BMP's.
Containing much redundant data, BMP files are well compressed with archive managers. The default association for .bmp files in Windows is 'MS Paint,' a primitive raster graphics editor.