Windows Metafile

Revision as of 05:15, 28 December 2023

Not to be confused with Windows Media Metafile.

For EMF, see Enhanced Metafile.

Windows Metafile (WMF) is a vector graphics format native to Microsoft Windows 3.x. It stores a list of commands which, when executed, generate an image.

The term Windows Metafile usually refers specifically to WMF format, though it can also be an umbrella term that includes the successor format, Enhanced Metafile (EMF).

The .wmz extension reportedly indicates a ZIP-compressed WMF file, but the only .wmz files we've seen are actually gzip-compressed.

Most WMF files begin with a 22-byte "Aldus Placeable Metafile" header, which supplies suggested placement and scaling information. Some (mainly older) WMF files lack this header.

Identification

WMF data (usually?) begins with the byte sequence 01 00 09 00 or 02 00 09 00. This sequence may appear at the beginning of a WMF file, but it is usually at offset 22, and the file begins with the Aldus Placeable Metafile signature of D7 CD C6 9A.

Specifications

• [MS-WMF]: Windows Metafile Format - Current version
• Windows Metafile Format (wmf) Specification - Unknown version, 2007
• Microsoft Docs: Windows-Format Metafiles

Software

• Inkscape
• Scribus
• Konvertor
• XnView
• ImageMagick
• libUEMF
• libwmf
• UniConvertor
• abydos

Sample files

• http://cd.textfiles.com/10000gp2/COLORWMF/
• http://cd.textfiles.com/cdreview/cdreview66/MULTIM/MEDI8OR/CLIPART/PICTURES/
• dexvert samples — image/wmf

See also

• Enhanced Metafile
• Segmented Hypergraphics

Links

• Wikipedia article
• Microsoft Windows Metafile File Format Summary, from the Encyclopedia of Graphics File Formats.
• Microsoft support: Windows Metafile Functions & Aldus Placeable Metafiles
• MSDN: WmfPlaceableFileHeader structure
• http://wvware.sourceforge.net/caolan/ora-wmf.html