Sushifiend Posted January 3 Share Posted January 3 As time goes on it's becoming harder to open these image files generated on the Amiga platform. I know Photoshop can (or at least it used to be able to) open these files and there is a freeware plugin for GIMP which allows opening of these files. See: https://blitterstudio.com/gimp-iff-plugin/ https://github.com/unwind/gimpilbm It would be really nice to be able to open these files natively in the Affinity suite. I realise that it's a bit of a corner case, but the Amiga was huge in graphics in the 1980s and 1990s and it would be awful if the ability to open these files was lost in time. Right now I'm using GIMP to open the files and resave them in more modern formats as appropriate. Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
walt.farrell Posted January 3 Share Posted January 3 As another alternative for you to consider, the XnViewMP application also provides XnConvert which can batch-convert Amiga IFF files to another format, such as PNG. Sushifiend 1 Quote -- Walt Designer, Photo, and Publisher V1 and V2 at latest retail and beta releases PC: Desktop: Windows 11 Pro, version 23H2, 64GB memory, AMD Ryzen 9 5900 12-Core @ 3.00 GHz, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3090 Laptop: Windows 11 Pro, version 23H2, 32GB memory, Intel Core i7-10750H @ 2.60GHz, Intel UHD Graphics Comet Lake GT2 and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Laptop GPU. iPad: iPad Pro M1, 12.9": iPadOS 17.4.1, Apple Pencil 2, Magic Keyboard Mac: 2023 M2 MacBook Air 15", 16GB memory, macOS Sonoma 14.4.1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeTO Posted January 3 Share Posted January 3 @Sushifiend I haven't heard anybody ask for support for IFF/ILBM for decades! While it was heavily used for multimedia, it wasn't a popular file format for users of Amiga DTP apps even at the peak of the Amiga market. I suggest batch converting the images. While this could be done with more modern tools as Walt suggested, it could also be done with old Amiga apps, too. Quote Download a free manual for Publisher 2.4 from this forum - expanded 300-page PDF My system: Affinity 2.4.2 for macOS Sonoma 14.4.1, MacBook Pro 14" (M1 Pro) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wonderings Posted January 3 Share Posted January 3 2 hours ago, walt.farrell said: As another alternative for you to consider, the XnViewMP application also provides XnConvert which can batch-convert Amiga IFF files to another format, such as PNG. That is the route I would go. I would seriously recommend converting those files while you can. Not sure what incentive Affinity would have to supporting a dead file format that is no longer in use. If you have not used these files since the 90's what are the chances the client is coming back, at least for that file? And if they do, it is an easy sell to let them know their files from 30 years ago are no longer compatible so it is time to look at recreating or replacing with new artwork. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fde101 Posted January 3 Share Posted January 3 You should be able to bulk convert them using the free ImageMagick utility. Alternatively, if you are on a Mac, GraphicConverter (can be found on the App Store or at https://www.lemkesoft.de/en/products/graphicconverter - about $40 for a new license) can do the same thing with a graphical interface (GraphicConverter has long been a "Swiss army knife" graphic file utility in the Mac world; ImageMagick is a command line utility which is cross-platform but which is probably best known in the UNIX/Linux world). Sushifiend 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bit Disappointed Posted January 3 Share Posted January 3 It's a very versatile storage format that was far, far ahead of its time. The IFF format was innovative because it addressed challenges and needs that would later become central in the multimedia and data storage industry. Its modular and flexible nature made it timeless, and it continues to be of interest to some today. Today, several commercial and non-commercial image editing programs can open Amiga IFF/ILBM images. Some commercial options include Adobe Photoshop and Corel PaintShop Pro. Additionally, there are free and open-source programs like GIMP that can also handle IFF/ILBM images. XnView, IrfanView, Paint.NET also opens such images. The format is still being used in some - let's call them retro circles - as the Amiga emulator market is thriving, Amiga enthusiasts are active, and the demoscene is still alive, although the number of users is relatively small, of course. I haven't heard of it being used in legacy systems for a long time. However, it has not been removed even from Photoshop, but they have also had the code for it for years. Sushifiend 1 Quote I simply no longer believe that there are any professional graphic designers here. Everything follows suit. Just everything. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sushifiend Posted January 4 Author Share Posted January 4 13 hours ago, walt.farrell said: As another alternative for you to consider, the XnViewMP application also provides XnConvert which can batch-convert Amiga IFF files to another format, such as PNG. Thanks very much Walt for this suggestion. I wasn't aware of XnViewMP and I have downloaded it and it works better than expected. I'm sure it'll come in handy, not only for Amiga files but also for my entire photo library which I've been looking for a way to manage in place of Lightroom tags. It looks like this tool has categories which may fit the bill in terms of organisation and best of all it works on all three platforms I use regularly. I do also wish that Serif would come out with a Lightroom alternative - hopefully that's in the works! walt.farrell 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sushifiend Posted January 4 Author Share Posted January 4 6 hours ago, fde101 said: You should be able to bulk convert them using the free ImageMagick utility. Alternatively, if you are on a Mac, GraphicConverter (can be found on the App Store or at https://www.lemkesoft.de/en/products/graphicconverter - about $40 for a new license) can do the same thing with a graphical interface (GraphicConverter has long been a "Swiss army knife" graphic file utility in the Mac world; ImageMagick is a command line utility which is cross-platform but which is probably best known in the UNIX/Linux world). ImageMagick - another tool I hadn't heard of. I'm actually a UNIX and Linux engineer by trade so completely at home with command line tools. As for GraphicConverter, I prefer not to pay for Mac-only software as it's my least-used platform but great to know what exists. Many thanks for the suggestion! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sushifiend Posted January 4 Author Share Posted January 4 6 hours ago, Bit Arts said: It's a very versatile storage format that was far, far ahead of its time. The IFF format was innovative because it addressed challenges and needs that would later become central in the multimedia and data storage industry. Its modular and flexible nature made it timeless, and it continues to be of interest to some today. Today, several commercial and non-commercial image editing programs can open Amiga IFF/ILBM images. Some commercial options include Adobe Photoshop and Corel PaintShop Pro. Additionally, there are free and open-source programs like GIMP that can also handle IFF/ILBM images. XnView, IrfanView, Paint.NET also opens such images. The format is still being used in some - let's call them retro circles - as the Amiga emulator market is thriving, Amiga enthusiasts are active, and the demoscene is still alive, although the number of users is relatively small, of course. I haven't heard of it being used in legacy systems for a long time. However, it has not been removed even from Photoshop, but they have also had the code for it for years. It was such a versatile and ubiquitous format in its day and that's why I think it deserves to be readable by the Affinity suite - I don't know how much work it would take since the code to read the files is open source (linked in my OP) but anyway I won't hold my breath. Anyway my immediate needs are met by GIMP, XnView and ImageMagick (the latter two I only learned of today) so many thanks everyone! Alex Bit Disappointed 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andreas Scherer Posted January 4 Share Posted January 4 17 hours ago, fde101 said: You should be able to bulk convert them using the free ImageMagick utility. CMIIW, not necessarily with all versions/installations. Here on macOS 13.6.3, imagemagick: stable 7.1.1-25 (bottled) (installed from Homebrew) does not magick identify -list format neither (A)IFF nor ILBM. Also ImageMagick 6.9.11-60 Q16 x86_64 2021-01-25 on Kubuntu 22.04 does not show these for convert display -list format. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bit Disappointed Posted January 4 Share Posted January 4 11 hours ago, Sushifiend said: It was such a versatile and ubiquitous format in its day and that's why I think it deserves to be readable by the Affinity suite - I don't know how much work it would take since the code to read the files is open source (linked in my OP) but anyway I won't hold my breath. Anyway my immediate needs are met by GIMP, XnView and ImageMagick (the latter two I only learned of today) so many thanks everyone! Alex It could actually be beneficial if Affinity had an Import ... menu item from which you could import a number of formats such as IFF, and from there it is also more transparent that Affinity cannot necessarily also save in the format. This could be a smart thing to implement if it is also coded appropriately, so that plugins can be created for import. There will be some fighting over the concepts of place and import content, but nothing a good UXer can't solve. It can be simplified. Sushifiend 1 Quote I simply no longer believe that there are any professional graphic designers here. Everything follows suit. Just everything. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sushifiend Posted January 4 Author Share Posted January 4 14 minutes ago, Bit Arts said: It could actually be beneficial if Affinity had an Import ... menu item from which you could import a number of formats such as IFF, and from there it is also more transparent that Affinity cannot necessarily also save in the format. This could be a smart thing to implement if it is also coded appropriately, so that plugins can be created for import. There will be some fighting over the concepts of place and import content, but nothing a good UXer can't solve. It can be simplified. That would absolutely get my vote! Bit Disappointed 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeTO Posted January 4 Share Posted January 4 Serif has publicly stated that they're working on a plugin API for a future version of Affinity. Here's a recent status update. Quote Download a free manual for Publisher 2.4 from this forum - expanded 300-page PDF My system: Affinity 2.4.2 for macOS Sonoma 14.4.1, MacBook Pro 14" (M1 Pro) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fde101 Posted January 5 Share Posted January 5 On 1/4/2024 at 7:13 AM, Andreas Scherer said: CMIIW, not necessarily with all versions/installations. Yeah, that can happen. Quoting from Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ILBM): Quote ImageMagick and GraphicsMagick can also display and convert ILBM images if the ilbmtoppm and ppmtoilbm utilities from Netpbm are installed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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