Open PNG files

  • Full name
    Portable Network Graphic Format
  • Developer
    N/A
  • Popularity
Have you encountered a problem with a PNG file? Don’t you know which program opens a file with this extension? You will find all the information you need about working with a PNG file here. In the further part of this page we have added a list of programs that should open your PNG file. It is enough you choose a proper application for your operating system, download and install it.

What is PNG file?

The Portable Network Graphics Format is an image format that is most commonly used on the Internet today, in addition to JPEG. The PNG format was developed as a substitute for the GIF, which unfortunately could not be freely used in any graphics application due to license requirements.

More info

PNG is license-free, which is why there are now numerous, even free software that can read and write this format. PNG compresses the graphics data with the lossless Deflate method, supports transparency, embedded gamma corrections, TrueColour, color palettes and color profiles. This makes PNG ideal for use on the Internet, especially when lossless graphics and images are required.

A replacement for the animated gif files was developed with MNG, which was not successful until now. Instead, an extension apng was created, which can now be displayed by some browsers. (Firefox 3 and Opera 9.5)

Although almost all graphics programs can generate PNG files, the compression rates are usually very different. Often PNG files are insufficiently optimized or padded with metadata, which makes the PNG files unnecessarily large. Some programs offer special options such as "save for web" or bring an extra application (such as Imageready in Photoshop). In some cases, the optimized saving functions can also be found under "Export" (eg Corel PaintShop Pro).

Pretty much any image viewer can display PNG images and since PNG is also a web format, of course, as well as any browser. It should be noted here that the Internet Explorer can only show the transparency of a PNG file as of version 7.

Programs which can open a PNG file

How to open file with PNG extension?

In order to open a file with PNG extension one of the following programs must be installed on user’s system. If a problem with opening PNG file occurred, it is highly possible that none of the listed programs is present on user’s system. Even if one or more said programs are installed, there may be issues related with given programs. In order to solve a problem with PNG files, follow the instructions below.
1
Install Apple Preview or other program from the list

Most often resolving problems with opening PNG files is very simple. Just install an appropriate program that supports such files. All of the listed programs support PNG files, but may vary in offered function and purpose. Some programs may be capable only of viewing contents of PNG files or offer file conversion options, but may not be capable of editing such files.

Set Apple Preview as the default program for opening PNG files

It is possible that although a compatible program has been installed on user’s system, it is not used by the system to open it. This may happen because no default application was associated with this type of files. To associate PNG files with given application, select "Open with" from drop-down menu (accessed by right-clicking on the file). Then select from the list the program or application you want to be used to open this type of file. If the Apple Preview applications is not on the list, select "Browse" option in order to manually locate the directory where Apple Preview has been installed.

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Check the section that lists most common problems with PNG files

Sometimes problems with opening PNG files may not lie with the application itself, but can arise due to other causes, such as:

  • File data is corrupted
  • PNG files has been not been completely download from the internet (only a part of the data has been downloaded)
  • Currently used user account hasn’t been granted necessary privileges to open PNG files (should that be the case, please contact your system administrator or IT specialist)
  • PNG file was being copied from a corrupted storage device and is incomplete or data is corrupted. (Copying files from unknown or untrusted sources should be conducted with great care as such files may contain malicious software, which can damage your system)

Possible conversions of PNG file

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