FixFile
File Format

BMP (.bmp)

Windows Bitmap — the original uncompressed raster image format. Stores pixel data directly with no compression, producing large files but perfect quality.

Extension
.bmp
MIME Type
image/bmp

Last updated

Overview

BMP (Bitmap Image File) is the native raster image format for Windows, introduced with Windows 3.0 in 1990. It stores colour data for every pixel individually, with no compression by default. A 1920×1080 BMP at 24-bit colour requires approximately 6 MB — compared to roughly 100–500 KB for an equivalent JPG or 200–800 KB for a PNG.

BMP files have a simple, well-documented structure: a fixed-size file header, followed by a DIB (Device-Independent Bitmap) header describing dimensions and colour depth, followed by raw pixel data row by row. This simplicity makes BMP easy to parse programmatically and reliable for Windows system-level graphics.

Common Uses

  • Windows wallpapers and icons — historically Windows used BMP for desktop backgrounds
  • Clipboard images — Windows clipboard stores copied screen regions as BMP internally
  • Simple image capture — legacy screen capture tools and scanners default to BMP
  • Printing workflows — some industrial printing systems require uncompressed BMP input
  • Intermediate editing format — used when processing images programmatically to avoid re-compression

Advantages

  • No compression loss — every pixel is stored exactly; no quality degradation
  • Universal Windows support — every Windows application that handles images supports BMP natively
  • Simple structure — easy to read and write in any programming language without complex libraries
  • Supports multiple colour depths — from 1-bit monochrome to 32-bit RGBA

Limitations

  • Very large file sizes — no default compression; 6–24 MB for a typical full-screen image
  • No metadata support — BMP stores no EXIF, ICC colour profile, or camera data
  • No web support — browsers technically support BMP but it is never used on web pages
  • Obsolete — PNG provides lossless compression with universal support; there is no modern reason to prefer BMP

Supported Software

  • Windows: Paint (native), Photoshop, GIMP, IrfanView, any Windows image viewer
  • macOS: Preview (can open BMP), Photoshop, GIMP
  • Linux: GIMP, Inkscape, Eye of GNOME
  • Online: FixFile.online Compress Image and Resize Image tools

Tools for BMP files