Just Solve the File Format Problem - User contributions [en]

RAR

2026-04-28T19:52:22Z

Davidsong: /* Links */ add my research notes

{{FormatInfo
|formattype=electronic
|subcat=Archiving
|extensions={{ext|rar}}, {{ext|r00}}, {{ext|rev}}, ...
|mimetypes={{mimetype|application/vnd.rar}}, {{mimetype|application/x-rar-compressed}}
|locfdd={{LoCFDD|fdd000450}}, others
|pronom={{PRONOM|x-fmt/264}}, {{PRONOM|fmt/411}}, {{PRONOM|fmt/613}}
|wikidata={{wikidata|Q243303}}
|kaitai struct=rar
|released=1993
}}
'''RAR''' (Roshal Archive) is a compressed archive format used by the compression software RAR and WinRAR. It was originally for DOS, but has been widely used on Windows (as WinRAR) and other platforms.

The developers make the decompression code available for use in other programs and allow its distribution, but with a license provision that "You cannot use the unrar source to re-create the RAR compression algorithm, which is proprietary."

== Discussion ==
=== Format classification ===
RAR can be considered to be a family of three main file formats:

* The format used by RAR before v1.50. Largely obsolete. (1993)
* The format associated with RAR v1.50 through v4.xx. (1994)
* "RAR 5.0" format. (2013)

The second of these format classes can be subdivided, based on the number that is usually written to the ''version needed to extract'' field:
* version-needed='''1.5''': Created by v1.5x. (1994)
* version-needed='''2.0''': Created by v2.xx. (1996)
* version-needed='''2.9''': Created by v3.00-4.xx (or later, using an option). Can be decompressed by v2.90+. (2002)

=== Early history ===
Some of the earliest versions of RAR appear to be lost. RAR v1.34 beta (1993-12-05) seems to be the oldest version known to still exist as of this writing. There were probably about a dozen earlier versions, starting with v0.1 in 1993-03<ref>Discussion at [http://old-dos.ru/index.php?page=files&mode=files&do=show&id=696]</ref>, but it's not clear which of them were released publicly. Of those that can be found, the first non-beta release seems to be v1.51 (1994-06-17).

=== Overview of DOS releases ===
RAR v2.50 (1999-03-24) was the last one for traditional 16-bit DOS. After that came versions 2.60 through 3.93, which use a 32-bit DOS extender. These versions are sometimes called "RAR32", though their actual name is still "RAR".

== Self-extracting archives ==
RAR supports creating self-extracting archives. This is sometimes done simply by appending a RAR file to a pre-made "executable stub". Multiple stubs, or even customized stubs, may be available, so it's difficult to classify all of the RAR self-extracting archive formats. Distributions of RAR often include one or more stubs in files with an '''.SFX''' extension, though note that there may be additional stubs that are built into the software.

For the 16-bit DOS stubs, the decompressor is [[MS-DOS EXE|EXE]]-based, and is pre-compressed with [[LZEXE]]. The ASCII signature "<code>RSFX</code>" (instead of LZEXE's usual "<code>LZ91</code>") appears at offset 28.

While "<code>RSFX</code>" is indicative of a RAR self-extracting archive, it is not unique to the LZEXE-based formats, and it does not appear in all EXE-based RAR self-extracting archives.

=== Installation SFX ===
For at least RAR v1.54 through 2.50, an "installation SFX module" is available, in the included IDOS.SFX file. This stub features a script interpreter that processes a script stored in what would normally be the archive comment field. For an example RAR installation script, see the STANDARD.S file included with these versions.

== Recovery record ==
Starting with v2.0, RAR supported the addition of up to 1-10% recovery data into the archive. This works similar to [[Parity Volume Set|par2]] and lets it repair small amounts of data corruption. V5 greatly improved the capability and allowed >100% recovery data

== Recovery volumes ==
Starting with v3.0, RAR supported the creation of .rev recovery volumes. They are similar to .par files in that each .rev file will allow the replacement of any missing part of a multi-volume set. They have the advantage of being the exact same size as the volume parts, whereas .par files are slightly larger (This is no longer true with the v5 format). An example 3 volume set with 2 recovery volumes would look like file.part1.rar, file.part2.rar, file.part3.rar, file.part1.rev, file.part2.rev and would be able to successfully recover from losing any 2 files.

== File identification ==
RAR files made by versions prior to v1.50 start with bytes {{magic|52 45 7e 5e}}.

RAR files associated with versions 1.50 through 4.20 start with 7 signature bytes: {{magic|52 61 72 21 1a 07 00}}.

"RAR 5.0" format starts with 8 signature bytes: {{magic|52 61 72 21 1a 07 01 00}}.

== Specifications ==
Most distributions of RAR through v2.50, and WinRAR through v4.xx, include a "TechNote" document describing the file structure of the relevant RAR format. For more details, including compression formats, you may have to refer to the UnRAR source code.

The RAR 5.0 version of the TechNote document seems to only be available online. It is not clearly versioned, though it has had at least some small changes over time.<ref>For example, the "Unix time format with nanosecond precision" feature appeared around June 2019.</ref>

(Note that some of these files are self-extracting RAR archives, which can be opened by WinRAR, [[7-Zip]], etc.)

Before v1.50:
* {{CdTextfiles|nfbfiles/compress/RAR1_402.EXE|RAR1_402.EXE}} → TECHNOTE.DOC (Russian)
** {{CdTextfiles|simtel/simtel/DISK1/DISC2/ARCHIVER/RAR140DC.EXE|RAR140DC.EXE}} → technote.doc - English translation

v1.50-4.20:
* {{CdTextfiles|simtel/simtel9510/disk2/DISC2/ARCHIVER/RAR155.EXE|RAR155.EXE}} → TECHNOTE.DOC
* wrar290.exe ([https://www.os2site.com/sw/util/archiver/rar/index.html], [http://old-dos.ru/index.php?page=files&mode=files&do=show&id=781], etc.) → TechNote.txt
* [{{SACFTPURL|pack|wrar420.exe}} wrar420.exe] → TechNote.txt

5.0 format:
* [https://www.rarlab.com/technote.htm RAR 5.0 archive format] - Latest version
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20130101000000*/https://www.rarlab.com/technote.htm Archived copies at archive.org]

Various:
* [{{ForensicsWikiURL|rar}} Forensics Wiki article]

== Software ==
* [https://www.rarlab.com/ RARLAB/WinRAR website]
** [https://www.rarlab.com/download.htm WinRAR and RAR downloads]
** [https://www.rarlab.com/rar_add.htm Extras] : Other RAR-related items
* [ftp://ftp.rarlab.com/rar/ RARLAB FTP site]
** [https://archive.org/details/ftp.rarlab.com-201505 Archive of FTP site (2015-05)]
* [[Konvertor]]
* [[7-Zip]]
* {{XAD}} [[The Unarchiver]]
* [http://old-dos.ru/index.php?page=files&mode=files&do=show&id=696 RAR: Various versions, at old-dos.ru]
* [http://old-dos.ru/index.php?page=files&mode=files&do=show&id=781 WinRAR: Various versions, at old-dos.ru]
* [https://www.sac.sk/files.php?d=7 SAC archive, PACK section] - Has lots of RAR software, but no easy way to get a list of it.
* RAR for DOS, selected versions:
** {{CdTextfiles|nfbfiles/compress/RAR1_402.EXE|RAR 1.40.2 beta}}
** {{CdTextfiles|simtel/simtel9510/disk2/DISC2/ARCHIVER/RAR155.EXE|RAR 1.55}}
** {{CdTextfiles|simtel/simtel9703/disk2/DISC2/ARCERS/RAR200.EXE|RAR 2.00}}
** [{{SACFTPURL|pack|rar250.exe}} RAR 2.50]
** [{{SACFTPURL|pack|rarx393.exe}} RAR 3.93 (DOS, OS/2)]
* UnRAR source code
** [https://www.rarlab.com/rar_add.htm Extras] → "UnRAR source" - Latest version
** See the RARLAB FTP site, for versions back to 3.1.0.
** [https://github.com/pmachapman/unrar A GitHub project tracking UnRAR]
** {{CdTextfiles|simtel/simtel9510/disk2/DISC2/ARCHIVER/RAR155.EXE|RAR155.EXE}} → UNRAR105.EXE → UNRARS10.RAR - (v1.01) Supports RAR v1.5x format. For a bug fix, see v2.00's "WHATSNEW.DOC" file.

== Sample files ==
* {{CdTextfilesURL|ataricompendium/FILES/MISC/PRTFOLIO/}}
* {{CdTextfilesURL|thebbsorg/max_files/}}
* {{DexvertSamples|archive/rar}}

== Links ==
* [[Wikipedia:RAR (file format)|Wikipedia article]]
* [https://www.rarlab.com/ RARLAB/WinRAR website]
* [https://imgur.com/a/MtQZv#0 Mini RAR poster]
* [http://rescene.wikidot.com/rar-versions ReScene's list of RAR versions]
* [https://github.com/bitplane/rar-research file format research notes]

== References ==
<references/>

AMOS Sprite Bank

2026-04-14T04:31:57Z

Davidsong: link my AMOS abk pillow plugin

{{FormatInfo
|formattype=electronic
|subcat=Graphics
|extensions={{ext|abk}}
}}
'''AMOS Sprite Bank''' is a raster image file format associated with AMOS. See [[AMOS BASIC tokenized file]] for more information about AMOS. The format may also be known as '''Object Bank''' or '''Bob Bank'''.

[[AMOS Icon Bank]] is a very similar format. See also [[AMOS Picture Bank]].

Note that other types of AMOS files also use '''.abk''' filename extension.

== Identification ==
Files begin with ASCII characters "<code>AmSp</code>".

== AMOS Sprite/Icon Bank format ==
A sprite bank and an icon bank share very similar attributes. They define graphic data which can be drawn onscreen. They have this format:

{|class="wikitable"
!Field!!Length
|-
|Bank identifier: <samp>AmSp</samp> for sprites (bank 1) or <samp>AmIc</samp> for icons (bank 2)
|4 bytes
|-
|Count of sprites/icons to follow
|2 bytes
|-
|Sprites/Icons. Each sprite or icon has this format:
* 2 bytes: <var>width</var>, in 16-bit words (multiply by 16 to get width in pixels)
* 2 bytes: <var>height</var>, in raster lines (pixels)
* 2 bytes: <var>depth</var>, in bitplanes (1 to 5)
* 2 bytes: hot-spot X co-ordinate
* 2 bytes: hot-spot Y co-ordinate
* <var>width</var> * <var>height</var> * <var>depth</var> * 2 bytes: Amiga planar graphic data
|-
|Color palette: 32 16-bit colors in 0x0RGB form, the Amiga COLORx hardware register format
|64 bytes
|}

== Specifications ==
* [https://www.exotica.org.uk/wiki/AMOS_file_formats#AMOS_Sprite_and_Icon_bank_formats AMOS Sprite and Icon bank formats]
* [http://www.ultimateamiga.co.uk/HostedProjects/AMOSFactory/AMOSProManual/ AMOS Pro User Guide] → [http://www.ultimateamiga.co.uk/HostedProjects/AMOSFactory/AMOSProManual/14/1431.html Memory Bank Structures]

== Software ==
* [https://github.com/dschwen/amosbank amosbank]
* [https://github.com/kyz/amostools amostools]
* [[Konvertor]]
* [http://sourceforge.net/projects/javaamosabk/ Java AMOS Sprite Bank Viewer]
* {{Deark}}
* [[RECOIL]]
* [https://bitplane.net/dev/python/amos-abk/ python amos-abk] - loads sprites, icons and Pac.Pic banks in Pillow

== Sample files ==
* Most of the files at http://cd.textfiles.com/amospd/Sprites/
* http://sourceforge.net/projects/javaamosabk/files/abk/ (e.g. Mouse.Abk)
* [http://cd.textfiles.com/zoom2/graphics/misc/procad/brushes/teletube_h.abk teletube_h.abk]
* {{DexvertSamples|archive/amosSpriteBank}}

== Links ==
* [[Wikipedia:AMOS (programming language)|Wikipedia: AMOS]]

[[Category:Amiga]]

DEGAS image

2026-04-14T04:27:29Z

Davidsong: /* Software */ add my DEGAS loader for Pillow

{{FormatInfo
|formattype=electronic
|subcat=Graphics
|subcat2=Atari graphics formats
|extensions={{ext|pi1}}, {{ext|pi2}}, {{ext|pi3}}, {{ext|suh}}, {{ext|pc1}}, {{ext|pc2}}, {{ext|pc3}}
}}
'''DEGAS image''' refers to a family of raster graphics formats associated with the ''DEGAS'' (or ''D.E.G.A.S.'', for ''Design & Entertainment Graphic Arts System'') and ''DEGAS Elite'' paint programs for Atari ST.

The compressed formats use [[PackBits]] compression.

== Formats ==
There are nine main DEGAS image formats:
{| class="wikitable"
! Format
! Resolution
! Ext.
! Signature
! File size
|-
|DEGAS low res. || 320×200, 16 colors || .PI1 || {{magic|00 00}} || 32034
|-
|DEGAS medium res. || 640×200, 4 colors || .PI2 || {{magic|00 01}} || 32034
|-
|DEGAS high res. || 640×400, 2 colors || .PI3 || {{magic|00 02}} || 32034
|-
|DEGAS Elite low res. || 320×200, 16 colors || .PI1 || {{magic|00 00}} || 32066
|-
|DEGAS Elite medium res. || 640×200, 4 colors || .PI2 || {{magic|00 01}} || 32066
|-
|DEGAS Elite high res. || 640×400, 2 colors || .PI3 .SUH || {{magic|00 02}} || 32066
|-
|DEGAS Elite low res. compressed || 320×200, 16 colors || .PC1 || {{magic|80 00}} || (varies)
|-
|DEGAS Elite medium res. compressed || 640×200, 4 colors || .PC2 || {{magic|80 01}} || (varies)
|-
|DEGAS Elite high res. compressed || 640×400, 2 colors || .PC3 || {{magic|80 02}} || (varies)
|}

For formats with extensions '''.PI4''' through '''.PI9''', see [[Extended DEGAS image]].

== Related formats ==
Other DEGAS formats:
* [[DEGAS Elite icon]] (.ICN)
* DEGAS Elite block (.BL1, .BL2, .BL3): These files are in [[ILBM]] format, with an unusual file extension. ([http://cd.textfiles.com/806atari/401-500/438/DEGELITE/BLOCKS/ examples])
* [[DEGAS Elite brush]] (.BRU) ([http://cd.textfiles.com/806atari/401-500/438/DEGELITE/BRUSHES/ examples])
* DEGAS Elite fill pattern (.FIL, .FI1, .FI2) ([http://cd.textfiles.com/806atari/401-500/438/DEGELITE/FILLS/ examples])
* [[Extended DEGAS image]] (.PI4, .PI5, .PI6, .PI7, .PI8, .PI9)

See also:
* [[Atari ST color palette]]

== Software ==
* [[Konvertor]]
* [[RECOIL]]
* [[Netpbm]]: pi1toppm, pi3topbm, pc1toppm
* [[XnView]]
* [[Tom's Editor]]
* [[Tom's Viewer]]
* {{Deark}}
* [http://snisurset.net/code/abydos/ abydos]
* [https://bitplane.net/dev/python/pillow-degas/ pillow-degas] - Pillow plugin for Python

== Sample files ==
* http://cd.textfiles.com/suzybatari2/degas/
* http://cd.textfiles.com/geminiatari/FILES/EMAG/ (see the [http://cd.textfiles.com/geminiatari/FILES/EMAG/00_LIST.TXT index])
* http://samples.libav.org/image-samples/atarist/degas/
* [http://www.page6.org/st_lib/st_lib.htm ST Library] →
** [http://www.page6.org/st_lib/standard/st0005.php ST5] (PI1, PI2)
** [http://www.page6.org/st_lib/standard/st0370.php ST370] (PC1)
** [http://www.page6.org/st_lib/standard/st1049.php ST1049] (PI1)
** [http://www.page6.org/st_lib/clipart/cl053.php CL053] through [http://www.page6.org/st_lib/clipart/cl070.php CL070] (PI3)
** [http://www.page6.org/st_lib/clipart/cl071.php CL071] (PI3, PC3)
* http://whatis.rest7.com/how-to-open-pi1-file (Sample Degas Pi1 images)
* http://whatis.rest7.com/how-to-open-pi2-file (Sample Degas Pi2 images)
* http://whatis.rest7.com/how-to-open-pi3-file (Sample Degas Pi3 images)
* {{DexvertSamples|image/degasLow}}
* {{DexvertSamples|image/degasLowPI}}
* {{DexvertSamples|image/degasMed}}
* {{DexvertSamples|image/degasMedPI}}
* {{DexvertSamples|image/degasHi}}
* {{DexvertSamples|image/degasHiPI}}
* {{DexvertSamples|image/iffILBM}} → *.bl1, *.bl2, *.bl3

== Resources ==
* {{AtariForumWiki|ST_Picture_Formats|ST Picture Formats}}
* [http://wiki.multimedia.cx/index.php?title=Degas MultimediaWiki article]

Zoo

2026-04-14T04:22:37Z

Davidsong: /* Software */ add link to my zoo fork with working Linux make target

{{FormatInfo
|subcat=Archiving
|extensions={{ext|zoo}}
|mimetypes={{mimetype|application/x-zoo}}
|pronom={{PRONOM|x-fmt/269}}
|wikidata={{wikidata|Q219983}}
|compression=lossless, optional
|magic=DC A7 C4 FD (at offset 20)
|released=1986
}}
'''Zoo''' is a compressed archive format developed by Rahul Dhesi. It was one of the many competing archive formats in the 1980s, and was based (originally) on [[LZW]] compression. It had some popularity with Open/VMS and Amiga systems, but didn't ultimately win out over [[ZIP]].

== Discussion ==
The Zoo software encompassed several different utilities, which were sometimes distributed individually, and which had their own version numbers.
* '''Zoo''' - The main program
* '''Ooz''' - Extractor
* '''Booz''' (Barebones Ooz) - Extractor; some versions can also list files
* '''Looz''' (Ooz with List) - Extract/list/execute
* '''Atoz''' - Helper utility for converting other formats ([[ARC (compression format)|ARC]], [[LBR]]) to Zoo
* '''Fiz''' - Analyze damaged Zoo files
* '''Stuff''' - File finder
* '''Sez''' - Self-Extracting Zoo utility

== Compression methods ==

{| class="wikitable"
! ID !! Name !! Description
|-
|0 || No packing || Uncompressed
|-
|1 || LZD || [[LZW]]. A fairly generic LZW implementation, with a dynamic code size from 9 to 13 bits, and two special codes: 256=Clear, 257=Stop.
|-
|2 || LZH || [[LZ77 with Huffman coding|LZ77+Huffman]]. Nearly identical to [[LHA]]'s "lh5" method. A small difference is that Zoo defines a way to mark the end of data. The format is pretty well documented in the comments in unzoo.c by Martin Schoenert (see below).
|}

== Identification ==
Files have bytes {{magic|DC A7 C4 FD}} at offset 20.

Zoo files typically start with "{{magic|ZOO ?.?? Archive.}}", followed by the byte <code>0x1a</code>, where each "<code>?</code>" is a digit. Regarding this field, the source code says "The contents of the text message are however not used by Zoo and they may be anything."

== Related formats ==
* [[Zoo filter format]]
* [[Zoo Z format‎]]
* [[Brik]] - same author

== Specifications ==
''[Ed. note: The Zoo format information in these documents is not of the highest quality. We haven't found a specification that is reasonably complete and correct.]''

* [https://www.fileformat.info/format/zoo/corion.htm The ZOO Archive File Format] from Corion.net, via FileFormat.info
* [http://apple2.org.za/gswv/a2zine/GS.WorldView/Resources/The.MacShrinkIt.Project/ARCHIVES.TXT Archive format info, including ZOO]
* [http://www.textfiles.com/programming/FORMATS/arc_fmts.txt ZOO file header format (among other archive types)]

== Software ==
* [[Konvertor]]
* Zoo - DOS binaries
** {{CdTextfiles|megarom/megarom1/ARC_LBR/ZOO120.ZIP|v1.20}} (1986-09-06)
** {{CdTextfiles|carousel344/013/ZOO121.ZIP|v1.21}} (1986-09-21)
** v1.22 (1986-10-01): [https://archive.org/details/ibm-wgam-wbiz-collection] → ibm-wgam-wbiz-collection/xtra0320-0329.zip → xtra0321.tar → FNW315-1.ZIP → ZOO122.EXE (bare executable)
** v1.40 (1987-01-24): [https://archive.org/details/shareware-grab-bag] → Shareware_Grab_Bag_1988.zip → 014/zoo140.arc
** v1.41: [https://archive.org/details/os2sharewarebbs OS/2 Shareware BBS Full Collection] → 08-Other.zip → S12215.ZIP → ZOO.EXE (bare executable)
** {{CdTextfiles|rbbsv3n1/zzap/zoo200.exe|v2.00}} (~1988-02-06)
** {{CdTextfiles|hof91/ARC/ZOO201.EXE|v2.01}} (1988-08-25) - Also includes Fiz 2.0 and Stuff 1.0
** {{CdTextfiles|simtel/simtel20/MSDOS/ARCHIVRS/ZOO210.EXE|v2.10}} (1991-07-09)
* Other official Zoo utilities:
** {{CdTextfiles|simtelctc/disk1/ZOO/BOOZ20.ZIP;1|Booz 2.0}} - Extractor; includes source code and DOS binary
** {{CdTextfiles|carousel344/013/LOOZ210.ZIP|Looz 2.1}}
** {{CdTextfiles|carousel/013B/OOZ130.ZIP|Ooz 1.30}}
** Sez {{CdTextfiles|carousel344/013/SEZ200.ZIP|2.0}}, {{CdTextfiles|microhaus/mhblackbox3/ARCHIVER/SEZ230.ZIP|2.3}} - Makes self-extracting archives
** {{CdTextfiles|simtelctc/disk1/ZOO/ATOZ112.ZIP;1|Atoz 1.12}} - Conversion helper
** {{CdTextfiles|simtel/simtel9211/msdos/zoo/stuff2.zip|Stuff 2.0}}
* [https://www.amiga-stuff.com/archivers-download.html amiga-stuff.com: Archivers] - Lists several versions of Zoo for Amiga
* [http://archives.math.utk.edu/software/multi-platform/gap/util/unzoo.c unzoo.c] by Martin Schoenert (Does not support LZD.)
* [https://github.com/PascalVault/Lazarus_Unpacker Open-source library in Free Pascal]
* {{Deark}}

Original(?) source code:
* v1.41 (1987-02-07): {{CdTextfiles|hof91/PROGLC/ZOO141_C.LZH|ZOO141_C.LZH}}
* v1.51 (1987-07-12)
** [https://archive.org/details/ASMEsMechanicalEngineeringToolkit1997December ASME's Mechanical Engineering Toolkit Dec. 1997] → C_LANG/Z150_SRC.LZH
** As posted to Usenet comp.sources.unix 1987-08: [{{CdTextfilesURL|sourcecode/usenet/compsrcs/unix/volume11/zoo/}}]
* v2.01 (1988-08-25)
** [http://www.nic.funet.fi/index/unix/tools/zoo/zoo-2.01.tar.gz zoo-2.01.tar.gz]
** [https://archive.org/details/ASMEsMechanicalEngineeringToolkit1997December ASME's Mechanical Engineering Toolkit Dec. 1997] → C_LANG/{Z201SRC1.Z00 + Z201SRC2.Z00}
** [https://archive.org/details/pegasus20 Pegasus 2.0] → pegasus/c_2/zoo_src.zip
* v2.10, a.k.a. v2.1 (1991-07-07)
** [http://www.nic.funet.fi/index/unix/tools/zoo/zoo-2.1.tar.gz zoo-2.1.tar.gz]
** {{CdTextfiles|aminet0294/AMINET/MISC/UNIX/ZOO_2_10.TAR|ZOO_2_10.TAR}}

Other source code and packages:
* [http://distcache.freebsd.org/ports-distfiles/zoo-2.10pl1.tar.gz zoo-2.10pl1.tar.gz]
* [http://www.ibiblio.org/pub/Linux/utils/compress/zoo-2.10-3.src.rpm zoo-2.10-3.src.rpm]
* [https://build.opensuse.org/package/show/openSUSE:Factory/zoo openSUSE maintained variant of zoo-2.10]
* [https://github.com/troglobit/zoo zoo - GitHub] - "A service to all computer archaeologists and acts as a focal point for patches and maintenance for the long haul." Provides updated licensing terms that it is now Unlicense/Public Domain.
* [https://github.com/bitplane/zoo zoo with Linux build target] - patched for Linux in 2026

== Sample files ==
* {{CdTextfilesURL|aminet0294/AMINET/UTIL/ARC/}} → *.ZOO
* {{CdTextfilesURL|garbo/PC/}} → .../*.ZOO
* {{CdTextfilesURL|geminiatari/ZIP/PROGRAM/}} → *.ZOO
* {{DexvertSamples|archive/zoo}}

== Links ==
* [[Wikipedia: Zoo (file format)]]
* {{CdTextfiles|rbbsv3n1/zzap/zooplan1.zip|zooplan1.zip}} → ZOOPLAN1.TXT - A Zoo Manifesto, by Rahul Dhesi (1986-11-01)
* {{CdTextfiles|simtelctc/disk1/ZOO/UGUIDE.ZIP;1|The zoo Archiver User's Guide}}, by Bill Davidsen (for Zoo 2.01)
* [https://manpages.ubuntu.com/manpages/bionic/man1/zoo.1.html Zoo man page] - Includes a change log going back to v1.71
* {{CdTextfiles|carousel344/013/ZOO121.ZIP|Zoo 1.21}} → ZOOHSTRY.TXT - Has some historical information about older versions

Amiga Workbench icon

2026-04-14T04:15:26Z

Davidsong: add links to amiga .info trove, representative test data, python and javascript parsers

{{FormatInfo
|formattype=electronic
|subcat=Graphics
|extensions={{ext|info}}
}}
'''Amiga Workbench icon''' is a family of unnecessarily-complicated icon formats used on Amiga computers.

This article describes the original format (sometimes called "Old Style icon", or something to that effect). For information specific to the newer formats, refer to [[NewIcons]] and [[GlowIcons]].

An icon file is typically located alongside the file to which it is associated. For example, a file named <code>foo.bar.info</code> would be associated with the file named <code>foo.bar</code>.

Most files contain a second image, to be displayed when the icon is selected.

== Color format ==
Icons in the original format usually have 4 colors. The actual colors displayed depend on the user's Workbench palette.

The number of colors can apparently be any power of 2, but this is of limited usefulness, because no palette is stored in the file. Some variant formats do use more than 4 colors.

8-color icons often use the palette from the third-party ''MagicWB'' software.

== Identification ==
Files begin with bytes <code>0xE3 0x10</code>. But make sure the file is not actually in [[NewIcons]] or [[GlowIcons]] format, which have the same signature.

== Specifications ==
* http://www.evillabs.net/index.php/Amiga_Icon_Formats
* http://krashan.ppa.pl/articles/amigaicons/

== Software ==
* [[Konvertor]]
* [[Netpbm]]: infotopam
* [[XnView]]
* {{Deark}}
* [[RECOIL]]
* [http://snisurset.net/code/abydos/ abydos]
* [https://bitplane.net/dev/python/amigainfo/ python amigainfo]
* [https://github.com/steffest/Amiga-Icon-converter javascript library used by dpaint.js]

== Sample files ==
* http://aminet.net/pix/icon - has icons in various formats
* http://zapatopi.net/icon/ - in the .lha files
* [http://cd.textfiles.com/directory.html cd.textfiles.com] - the Amiga CDs have lots of .info files
* {{DexvertSamples|image/info}}
* [https://github.com/bitplane/amiga-info-test-files most of the .info files]
* [https://github.com/bitplane/amigainfo/tree/master/tests/test-icons test data for each type]

== Links ==
* [[Wikipedia:Workbench (AmigaOS)]]
* [[Wikipedia:MagicWB]]
* http://gega.homelinux.net/AmigaDevDocs/lib_14.html
* [http://wiki.amigaos.net/wiki/Icon_Library AmigaOS Documentation Wiki: Icon Library]
* [http://hippie2000.back2roots.org/#infotoppm Ralf Steines' (unreleased) infotoppm] - manpage may have useful information

[[Category:Amiga]]

Pro-Pack

2026-04-14T04:08:23Z

Davidsong: add my pro-pack project + test data links

{{FormatInfo
|formattype=electronic
|subcat=Compression
|extensions={{ext|rnc}}, others
|wikidata={{wikidata|Q105860435}}, {{wikidata|Q105860831}}, {{wikidata|Q105855066}}
|released=1991
}}
'''PROPACK''' (spelled '''PRO-PACK''' in some versions, and also known as '''RNC''' compression) is multi-function data compression utility that was used by several commercial games. It was developed by Rob Northen (frequently misspelled "Northern"), who also produced the Rob Northen copylock ([[wikipedia:Rob Northen copylock|Wikipedia article]]) copy protection scheme.

Binary versions of the software were available for at least Amiga and IBM PC (DOS). Decompression routines written in assembly language were provided for 680x0 processors (Amiga, Atari ST, Megadrive), 80x86 (IBM PC), 65c816 (SNES) and 65C02 (Atari Lynx).

Its native formats include a compressed file format, a compressed archive format (at least in v2.14+), and various executable compression formats. Supported executable formats include [[Amiga Hunk]], [[MS-DOS EXE|DOS EXE]] (compressed to EXE), [[DOS executable (.com)|DOS COM]] (compressed to COM), Atari ST [[Atari ST executable|TOS]], MC68000, and Atari Lynx executables.

== Identification ==
Many of the formats feature a common compression "header", of about 18 bytes, which starts with the ASCII signature "{{magic|RNC}}". But in compressed executable formats, finding the header isn't always simple; and files have been observed in which the signature has been modified.

=== Identification of data files ===
ProPack data files begin with ASCII "{{magic|RNC}}", followed by an <code>0x01</code> or <code>0x02</code> byte to indicate the compression method used.

=== Identification of archive files ===
ProPack archive files begin with ASCII "{{magic|RNCA}}".

=== Identification of COM files ===
The <code>-m2</code> compression option has a big effect on compressed COM format. The <code>-k</code> ("lock with a key") option has a smaller effect. Other complications may exist.

No version-specific differences have been seen for the version range 2.08-2.19.

Files with default compression start with the byte pattern {{magic|83 ec ?? 8b ec be ?? ?? fc e8 41 00 05 00 01 8b}}. The "RNC" header is at offset { {the 2-byte integer at offset 6} − 260 }. Known offsets are 502, or 516 if <code>-k</code> was used.

Files with <code>-m2</code> compression start with the byte pattern {{magic|be ?? ?? fc e8 3c 00 05 00 01 8b c8 e8 34 00 8b}}. The "RNC" header is at offset { {the 2-byte integer at offset 1} − 260 }. Known offsets are 326 for just <code>-m2</code>, or 362 if <code>-k</code> was also used.

=== Identification of EXE files ===
Define byte sequence ''B'' to be {{magic|8c d3 8e c3 8c ca 8e da 8b 0e 08 00 8b f1 83}}. For all known compressed EXE formats, ''B'' appears either at the ''execution starting point'' (refer to [[MS-DOS EXE#Special file positions]]), or one byte past it.

For v2.08, the "RNC" header is at offset 32. ''B'' appears at the ''execution starting point'', which must be calculated.

For v2.14-2.19, ''B'' appears at offset 47. The "RNC" header is at offset 32 + {the 2-byte integer at offset {32 + 8} }, where 32 is the presumed ''start of code image''.

=== Identification of other formats ===
''(TODO)''

== Examples ==
Here are some example commands, based on the DOS PROPACK utilities.

=== Examples - v2.08 compress data file ===
To compress data files FILE1.DAT and FILE2.DAT:

PP.EXE p d FILE1.DAT FILE2.DAT

Creates compressed files FILE1.RNC and FILE2.RNC.

=== Examples - v2.08 compress DOS EXE file ===
To create a compressed executable file:

PP.EXE p p EXAMPLE.EXE

Creates EXAMPLE.RNC, an EXE file with extension .RNC. You'll then want to rename EXAMPLE.RNC to something.EXE.

=== Examples - v2.14+ compress data file ===
To replace FILE1.DAT and FILE2.DAT with compressed files:

PP.EXE p FILE1.DAT FILE2.DAT

=== Examples - v2.14+ compress DOS EXE file ===
To replace EXAMPLE.EXE with a compressed executable file:

PP.EXE p -fp EXAMPLE.EXE

=== Examples - v2.14+ create archive file ===
To create archive ARCHIVE.RNC containing FILE1.DAT and FILE2.DAT:

PP.EXE c ARCHIVE.RNC FILE1.DAT FILE2.DAT

== Format documentation ==
* [https://www.segaretro.org/Rob_Northen_compression Reverse-engineered data format from Sega Retro]
* [https://wiki.multimedia.cx/index.php/RNC_ProPack MultimediaWiki article]

== Software ==
* [http://aminet.net/package/util/pack/RNC_ProPack RNC_ProPack.lha] - includes the original compressor for IBM PC and Amiga, all the decompression routines mentioned above, plus a MIPS R4300 version for the Nintendo 64 and a Z80 version for the GameBoy
* {{OldskoolDOSEXE}} → DOSEXE Executable Tools Pack → packers/propack.* (has 2.08, 2.14, 2.19)
* [http://old-dos.ru/index.php?page=files&mode=files&do=show&id=5325 Various versions, at old-dos.ru]
* [https://github.com/lab313ru/rnc_propack_source Pro-Pack compressor and decompressor written in C]
* [https://github.com/temisu/ancient Ancient]
* [https://bitplane.net/dev/python/propack/ python propack]

== Sample files ==
Various:
* {{DexvertSamples|archive/rnc}}
* [https://github.com/bitplane/pro-pack-test-data huge extract from aminet]

Compressed EXE:
* {{CdTextfiles|simtel/stmsdos9709/disk1/DISC1/4DOS/SB4_4DOS.ZIP|SB4_4DOS.ZIP}} → INSTALL.EXE
* {{CdTextfiles|simtel/stmsdos9709/disk1/DISC1/DISKUTIL/35SEC120.ZIP|35SEC120.ZIP}} → PMKLOGO.EXE
* {{CdTextfiles|cream/cream05/games/kryptegg.zip|kryptegg.zip}} → KUKOO2.EXE
* [https://archive.org/details/So_Much_Shareware_5_CD-ROM_Power_User_Software_1995 So Much Shareware/5]...
** MUSIC/PLENTY.ZIP → PLENTY.EXE
** MUSIC/YAKUZA.ZIP → INTRO.EXE
** UTILS/PGS099A.ZIP → PGS.EXE
* [https://archive.org/details/Power_DOS_CD-ROM_Walnut_Creek_July_1995 Power DOS July 1995]...
** DEMO/SOUND/FIDDERLI.ZIP → FIDDERLI.EXE
** DEMO/SOURCE/TYO92ASM.ZIP → XMAS.EXE

[[Category:Executable compression]]
[[Category:Archiving]]
[[Category:Amiga]]

AmigaGuide

2026-04-14T04:04:37Z

Davidsong: add my amigaguide parser + links to all the test data I collected

{{FormatInfo
|formattype=electronic
|subcat=Help files
|extensions={{ext|guide}}
}}
[[AmigaGuide]] is a documentation format used on Amiga computers.

== Software ==
* [http://grotag.sourceforge.net/ grotag]
* [https://bitplane.net/dev/python/pymigaguide pymigaguide]

== Sample files ==
* [http://cd.textfiles.com/amigaacs/amigaacs199806/Utilities/Shareware/Graphics/PCD_Manager/Guides/ http://cd.textfiles.com/amigaacs/.../PCD_Manager/Guides/] → *.guide
* [http://aminet.net/package/pix/back/AnimeOS AnimeOS.lha] → *.guide
* {{DexvertSamples|document/amigaGuide}}
* [https://github.com/bitplane/amigaguide-test-data all the aminet and tosec .guide files]

== Links ==
* [[Wikipedia: AmigaGuide]]
* [http://wiki.amigaos.net/wiki/AmigaGuide AmigaOS Documentation Wiki: AmigaGuide]

[[Category:Hypermedia]]
[[Category:Amiga]]

Most

2026-04-14T03:57:27Z

Davidsong: Add Most viewer docs, decoder + test data links

{{FormatInfo
|formattype=electronic
|subcat=Document
}}

== Description ==
Most was a compressed text and IFF image viewer written by Richard Wynn in 1988-1989 for the Commodore Amiga. The viewer was distributed on MegaDisc collections along with software, where it was used to view the docs for a bundled release.

The compressed files didn't have a file extension.

== Software ==
* [https://github.com/bitplane/cff-most-test-data/blob/master/most-binary m68k binary]
* [https://bitplane.net/dev/python/cff-most python reader source]

== Links ==
* [https://github.com/bitplane/cff-most-test-data test data]

Crunch-Mania

2026-04-14T03:23:00Z

Davidsong: /* Software */ add python decompressor I wrote

{{FormatInfo
|formattype=electronic
|subcat=Compression
}}
'''Crunch-Mania''' is a compressed file format produced by the Amiga packer program Crunch-Mania.

== Identification ==
Files begin with "{{magic|CrM2}}".

== Software ==
* http://aminet.net/package/util/pack/decrunchmania-mos (Compiles and works fine on modern linux)
* [http://aminet.net/package/util/pack/CrMv191t Crunch-Mania Test Version 1.91]
* [https://bitplane.net/dev/python/crunchmania/ python decompressor]

== Sample files ==
* {{DexvertSamples|archive/crunchMania}}
[[Category:Amiga]]

LZX

2026-04-13T05:45:28Z

Davidsong: /* Software */ add my lzx compressor

{{FormatInfo
|subcat=Archiving
|extensions={{ext|lzx}}
|released=1995
}}

'''LZX''' is both a compression algorithm (of the Lempel-Ziv family) and an archiving program (and file format). The archiving program and compression algorithm were both created by Jonathan Forbes and Tomi Poutanen in Canada, and the archiver was released for the Amiga computer in both shareware and registered versions. When the authors ended support for the program in 1997, they released a key for the registered version so that anybody could use it free.

One of the authors, Jonathan Forbes, later worked for Microsoft, and used LZX compression in some Microsoft formats, including [[Cabinet]], [[CHM]], [[LIT]], [[WIM]], [[Xbox Live Avatar]]s, and [[Microsoft XNA Compiled Format]].

== Identification ==
LZX files begin with ASCII "{{magic|LZX}}".

== Specifications ==
[https://msdn.microsoft.com/library/bb417343.aspx#lzxdatacompressionformat Microsoft's LZX algorithm description] is available, but has several errors—see libmspack's comments. There is also an [[LZX Delta]] variant of the format, with a much clearer and more correct specification.

== Software ==
* [http://xavprods.free.fr/lzx/ LZX downloads]
* [http://aminet.net/package/util/arc/lzx121r1 LZX V1.21R] at aminet
* [https://www.cabextract.org.uk/libmspack/ libmspack] - [https://github.com/kyz/libmspack/blob/master/libmspack/mspack/lzxd.c libmspack's implementation] of the algorithm is complete and somewhat commented. Note especially the description of errors in Microsoft's LZX specification.
* [http://aminet.net/misc/unix/unlzx.c.gz unlzx] - Implements an optimized extractor for LZX archives.
* [[The Unarchiver]]
* [https://github.com/bitplane/amiga-lzx/ amiga-lzx] - Rust rewrite of m68k Amiga lzx compressor with format spec docs

== Sample files ==
* {{DexvertSamples|archive/lzx}}

== Links ==
* [[Wikipedia:LZX|Wikipedia article]]
* [http://eab.abime.net/showthread.php?t=18695 Discussion on extracting LZX under Windows]

[[Category:Compression]]

Freeze/Melt

2026-04-11T01:50:56Z

Davidsong: /* Software */ add my freeze fork

{{FormatInfo
|formattype=electronic
|subcat=Compression
|extensions={{ext|F}}, {{ext|lzc}}
|released=≤1991
}}
:''See [[Freeze]] for other formats with that name.''

'''Freeze''' is a file compression utility used from the command line in Unix-style operating systems. '''Melt''' is the corresponding decompressor. The format is sometimes called "'''frozen'''". It was developed by Leonid A. Broukhis. It is considered obsolete now in favor of [[gzip]].

== Discussion ==
File attributes, ownership, etc., are preserved, and a .F extension is added.

== Format details ==
Freeze/Melt uses [[LZ77 with Huffman coding]]. The compressed data format is similar in design to that of [[LHA]]'s "lh" compression methods.

''Codes'' are compressed with [[adaptive Huffman coding]]. For the newer format, ''offsets'' are decoded with the help of a static Huffman tree stored near the beginning of the file. For the older format, a predefined Huffman-like code is used.

The adaptive Huffman format is derived from [[LZHUF]].

== Identification ==
Files begin with a two-byte signature: {{magic|0x1f 0x9e}} for versions 1.x, and {{magic|0x1f 0x9f}} for later versions.

== Software ==
* Freeze
** [http://ftp.lyx.org/pub/unix/archive/freeze-2.4.tar.Z v2.4.0 source code]
** [https://ibiblio.org/pub/linux/utils/compress/freeze-2.5.0.tar.gz v2.5.0 source code]
** Versions 2.1–2.5 were posted to the comp.sources.misc Usenet group in 1991–1993:
*** [{{CdTextfilesURL|sourcecode/usenet/compsrcs/misc/volume17/freeze/}}], [{{CdTextfilesURL|sourcecode/usenet/compsrcs/misc/volume25/freeze/}}], [{{CdTextfilesURL|sourcecode/usenet/compsrcs/misc/volume26/freeze/}}]
*** [https://archive.org/details/Source_Code_CD-ROM_Walnut_Creek_March_1994 Source Code CD ROM (Walnut Creek) (March 1994)]
* [https://github.com/temisu/ancient Ancient]
* [https://github.com/bitplane/freeze freeze 2.5.0 for modern Linux]

== Sample files ==
* {{DexvertSamples|archive/freeze}}

== References ==
* [http://www.esrl.noaa.gov/gmd/dv/hats/cats/stations/qnxman/freeze.html Man page] (in NOAA site, which should know something about freezing!)

[[Category:File formats with extension .f]]
[[Category:File formats with case sensitive extensions]]

Sun icon

2026-03-29T02:33:35Z

Davidsong: resolved Sembiance's todo, added link to some test data extracted from solaris

{{FormatInfo
|formattype=electronic
|subcat=Graphics
|extensions={{ext|ico}} {{ext|icon}} {{ext|pr}} {{ext|cursor}}
}}
'''Sun icon''' is a raster image format, used for icons on some Sun operating systems.

Images are usually bi-level. 8-bit grayscale or palette color images are possible, but may not be portable (no palette is stored in the file).

== Format ==
Sun icon files are entirely ASCII text. They have a header delimited by "<code>/*</code>" and "<code>*/</code>", followed by a comma-separated list of hexadecimal numbers.

== Identification ==
Files usually begin with ASCII text "<code>/* Format_version=1</code>". Sometimes there's an SCCS comment before that, e.g. "<code>/* @(#)black.cursor 85/08/19 1.1 SMI */</code>

== Software ==
* [[Konvertor]]
* [[Netpbm]] (sunicontopnm with version 10.53 and newer; icontopbm with older versions)
* [[XnView]]

== Sample files ==
* http://www.fileformat.info/format/sunicon/sample/index.htm
* {{DexvertSamples|image/sunIcon}}
* https://github.com/bitplane/sunos-icon-test-data

== Resources ==
* [http://www.fileformat.info/format/sunicon/egff.htm Sun Icon File Format Summary]

[[Category:Sun]]

FaceSaver

2026-03-29T01:21:01Z

Davidsong: /* Links */

{{FormatInfo
|formattype=electronic
|subcat=Graphics
|extensions={{ext|face}}, {{ext|fac}}, {{ext|fs}}, {{ext|txt}}
|released=1987
}}
'''FaceSaver''' is a format for saving images in the form of an [[ASCII]] text file for distribution. It is unrelated to the [http://www.target.com/p/remington-facesaver-pre-shave-powder/-/A-12768838 Remington FaceSaver pre-shave powder]. Images are 8 bits per pixel, stored in hexified manner (which takes twice the bits... or more if it's got extra delimiters like commas and 0x prefixes... which there aren't in this case, though there are some newlines, but finding some actual sample files to see the details of the format is surprisingly difficult these days as online face databases have generally been converted to more modern formats like [[JPEG]] or [[GIF]]). There are also some header lines.

Pictures of attendees at USENIX conferences were taken in this format starting 1987 and stored in a public database.

== Identification ==
One of the header lines begins with "<code>PicData:</code>", and another with "<code>Image:</code>".

== Software ==
* [[Konvertor]]
* [[Netpbm]]: pgmtofs, fstopgm
* [https://git.sr.ht/~milobanks/face2ppm face2ppm]

== Sample files ==
* [http://annex.corestack.com/files/3b1/osu_archive/att7300/graphics/facedsp.cpio.Z facedsp.cpio.Z] → gil, lenny
* [https://github.com/OSPreservProject/sprite/tree/e96c03abb319964e69cd21577d724ee83a950a9c/docs/pictures Sprite developer pictures]
* http://web.mit.edu/Graphics/src/xloadimage/sample/jimf.face
* {{DexvertSamples|image/faceSaver}}

== Links ==
* {{EGFF|face|FaceSaver File Format Summary}}, from the [[Encyclopedia of Graphics File Formats]]
* [http://www.textfiles.com/programming/FORMATS/face.pro Some format description]
* [http://www.metron.com/FaceSaver/ Promotional info]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20151028075124/http://www.graphicsgroups.com/1-graphics-misc/0ef8c095e2f6459a.htm 1992 discussion about converting this format]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20050415105324/http://plan9.bell-labs.com/wiki/plan9/Adding_your_face/index.html Adding your face]
* [http://netpbm.sourceforge.net/doc/fstopgm.html fstopgm man page; Linux/Unix command to convert FaceSaver to PGM]

== Editors' notes ==
Many image format lists include something called "Usenix FaceS'''er'''ver" format. Is this another name for FaceSaver, or a transcription error, or a different format? Note that XnView claims to support FaceServer format, but is unable to open FaceSaver files.

FaceSaver

2026-03-29T00:37:02Z

Davidsong: oops fix that

{{FormatInfo
|formattype=electronic
|subcat=Graphics
|extensions={{ext|face}}, {{ext|fac}}, {{ext|fs}}, {{ext|txt}}
|released=1987
}}
'''FaceSaver''' is a format for saving images in the form of an [[ASCII]] text file for distribution. It is unrelated to the [http://www.target.com/p/remington-facesaver-pre-shave-powder/-/A-12768838 Remington FaceSaver pre-shave powder]. Images are 8 bits per pixel, stored in hexified manner (which takes twice the bits... or more if it's got extra delimiters like commas and 0x prefixes... which there aren't in this case, though there are some newlines, but finding some actual sample files to see the details of the format is surprisingly difficult these days as online face databases have generally been converted to more modern formats like [[JPEG]] or [[GIF]]). There are also some header lines.

Pictures of attendees at USENIX conferences were taken in this format starting 1987 and stored in a public database.

== Identification ==
One of the header lines begins with "<code>PicData:</code>", and another with "<code>Image:</code>".

== Software ==
* [[Konvertor]]
* [[Netpbm]]: pgmtofs, fstopgm
* [https://git.sr.ht/~milobanks/face2ppm face2ppm]

== Sample files ==
* [http://annex.corestack.com/files/3b1/osu_archive/att7300/graphics/facedsp.cpio.Z facedsp.cpio.Z] → gil, lenny
* [https://github.com/OSPreservProject/sprite/tree/e96c03abb319964e69cd21577d724ee83a950a9c/docs/pictures Sprite developer pictures]
* http://web.mit.edu/Graphics/src/xloadimage/sample/jimf.face
* {{DexvertSamples|image/faceSaver}}

== Links ==
* {{EGFF|face|FaceSaver File Format Summary}}, from the [[Encyclopedia of Graphics File Formats]]
* [http://www.textfiles.com/programming/FORMATS/face.pro Some format description]
* [http://www.metron.com/FaceSaver/ Promotional info]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20151028075124/http://www.graphicsgroups.com/1-graphics-misc/0ef8c095e2f6459a.htm 1992 discussion about converting this format]
* [http://plan9.bell-labs.com/wiki/plan9/adding_your_face/ Adding your face]
* [http://netpbm.sourceforge.net/doc/fstopgm.html fstopgm man page; Linux/Unix command to convert FaceSaver to PGM]

== Editors' notes ==
Many image format lists include something called "Usenix FaceS'''er'''ver" format. Is this another name for FaceSaver, or a transcription error, or a different format? Note that XnView claims to support FaceServer format, but is unable to open FaceSaver files.

FaceSaver

2026-03-29T00:36:03Z

Davidsong: add txt and fs to extensions list, observed in the wild

{{FormatInfo
|formattype=electronic
|subcat=Graphics
|extensions={{ext|face|fs|txt}}, {{ext|fac}}
|released=1987
}}
'''FaceSaver''' is a format for saving images in the form of an [[ASCII]] text file for distribution. It is unrelated to the [http://www.target.com/p/remington-facesaver-pre-shave-powder/-/A-12768838 Remington FaceSaver pre-shave powder]. Images are 8 bits per pixel, stored in hexified manner (which takes twice the bits... or more if it's got extra delimiters like commas and 0x prefixes... which there aren't in this case, though there are some newlines, but finding some actual sample files to see the details of the format is surprisingly difficult these days as online face databases have generally been converted to more modern formats like [[JPEG]] or [[GIF]]). There are also some header lines.

Pictures of attendees at USENIX conferences were taken in this format starting 1987 and stored in a public database.

== Identification ==
One of the header lines begins with "<code>PicData:</code>", and another with "<code>Image:</code>".

== Software ==
* [[Konvertor]]
* [[Netpbm]]: pgmtofs, fstopgm
* [https://git.sr.ht/~milobanks/face2ppm face2ppm]

== Sample files ==
* [http://annex.corestack.com/files/3b1/osu_archive/att7300/graphics/facedsp.cpio.Z facedsp.cpio.Z] → gil, lenny
* [https://github.com/OSPreservProject/sprite/tree/e96c03abb319964e69cd21577d724ee83a950a9c/docs/pictures Sprite developer pictures]
* http://web.mit.edu/Graphics/src/xloadimage/sample/jimf.face
* {{DexvertSamples|image/faceSaver}}

== Links ==
* {{EGFF|face|FaceSaver File Format Summary}}, from the [[Encyclopedia of Graphics File Formats]]
* [http://www.textfiles.com/programming/FORMATS/face.pro Some format description]
* [http://www.metron.com/FaceSaver/ Promotional info]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20151028075124/http://www.graphicsgroups.com/1-graphics-misc/0ef8c095e2f6459a.htm 1992 discussion about converting this format]
* [http://plan9.bell-labs.com/wiki/plan9/adding_your_face/ Adding your face]
* [http://netpbm.sourceforge.net/doc/fstopgm.html fstopgm man page; Linux/Unix command to convert FaceSaver to PGM]

== Editors' notes ==
Many image format lists include something called "Usenix FaceS'''er'''ver" format. Is this another name for FaceSaver, or a transcription error, or a different format? Note that XnView claims to support FaceServer format, but is unable to open FaceSaver files.