PICT

File Format
Name	PICT
Ontology	Electronic File Formats Graphics PICT
Extension(s)	.pict, .pct, .pic
MIME Type(s)	image/x-pict, image/pict
PRONOM	fmt/341, x-fmt/80
Released	1984

PICT, or QuickDraw/PICT, is a complex graphics file format used on Macintosh computers. It is associated with the QuickDraw API.

Though it is a vector format, it is often used as if it were a raster format. Many files contain just a single bitmap image.

Identification

Version 1 PICT files have (hex) bytes 11 01 at offset 522.

Version 2 PICT files have bytes 00 11 02 ff 0c 00 at file offset 522.

Custom data

Custom application data is sometimes stored in PICT files by using (abusing?) the "LongComment" opcode. Comment "kind" 224 is used for ICC profiles, and kind 498 appears to be related to Photoshop.

Related formats

• PICT is used for graphics stored within Keynote documents.

Specifications

• Inside Macintosh: Imaging With QuickDraw
• PICT File Format Notes
• HELIOS ICC profile tagging specifications - Tells how to embed an ICC profile in a PICT file

Software

• Netpbm
• ImageMagick

Sample files

• http://www.fileformat.info/format/macpict/sample/index.htm
• http://cd.textfiles.com/cdreview/cdreview66/PCT01_01/PC0101P/
• http://cd.textfiles.com/fantaziasampler/CLIPART/PCT/

Resources

• Macintosh PICT File Format Summary, from the Encyclopedia of Graphics File Formats
• ExifTool: PICT Tags
• Wikipedia article