Reference number: CH000759

Why can't I open a .gif, .jpg, or other type of image file in mspaint?

Question:

Why can't I open a .gif, .jpg, or other type of image file in mspaint?

Answer:

Early versions of mspaint only supported .bmp, or bitmap images. So users who are running Microsoft Windows 95, Windows NT or an earlier version of Microsoft Windows will be unable to open other types of image files using mspaint.

Microsoft later included additional image support in mspaint when they released Microsoft Windows 98. Microsoft Windows 98, Windows ME, and Windows 2000 come with support for opening .bmp, .gif, .jpg, and .jpeg image files.

Microsoft Windows XP added additional support for image files .jpe, .jfif, .tif, .tiff, and .png, and continued to support all image formats available in previous versions of Windows.

If you're using Microsoft Windows Paint that does not support the type of image files you need to open, see document CH000760 for a listing of other image editing programs, most of which are capable of opening a much broader range of different image files.

Additional information:

See our bmp, gif, and/or jpg dictionary definitions for additional information about each of these types of files as well as related links.