PNG
What is a PNG file?
Portable Network Graphics (PNG) is a raster graphics file format that supports lossless data compression, created as a patent-free replacement for the Graphics Interchange Format (GIF). Standardized as ISO/IEC 15948:2004, PNG utilizes the DEFLATE compression algorithm (a combination of LZ77 and Huffman coding) and supports palette-based images, grayscale, and full-color non-palette-based RGB/RGBA images. A defining feature is its alpha channel support, allowing for variable transparency levels, unlike the binary transparency of GIF. It does not support animation but offers gamma correction and interlacing via the Adam7 algorithm.
How to open a PNG file
PNG files possess near-universal compatibility across all major operating systems (Windows, macOS, Linux, Android, iOS) and web browsers (Chrome, Firefox, Safari) without requiring additional software. Default image viewers such as Microsoft Photos, Apple Preview, and virtually all graphics editing software including GIMP, Adobe Photoshop, and Paint.NET natively handle the format.
- Full Name
- Portable Network Graphics
- Developed By
- PNG Development Group
- Initial Release
- 1996
- MIME Type
- image/png