Why can't I open a .gif, .jpg, or other image file in mspaint?
Question
Why can't I open a .gif, .jpg, or other 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 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 image files you need to open, use a more up-to-date image editor.
Additional information
- What program can I use to view, edit, or create images?
- See the bmp, gif, and jpg dictionary definitions for further information and related links.