Opening PNM Files

The PNM file type is primarily associated with GIMP.

PNM	File extension: PNM
	File type:	bitmap

What is a PNM file?

PNM files mostly belong to GIMP by The GIMP Team. PNM filename extension is used by image files saved in any variant of the Portable pixmap file format developed by Jef Poskanzer. This means the image stored in a PNM file may be encoded in Portable Pixmap (PPM), Portable Graymap (PGM), or Portable Bitmap (PBM) format. The contents of PNM files are written in ASCII (plain) text format or in binary (raw) format and image processing software are able to determine what kind of portable bitmap is stored in the file by the unique signature. PNM files coded in PBM format contain black & white images, those in PGM format contain grayscale or black and white images, while, PPM-type PNM files contain color images with RGB support. PNM filename extension is used also by the mail folder cache file that shows IMAP message flag status in the Mercury Mail Transport System email server used by Pegasus Mail email client.

How to open PNM files

You need a suitable software like GIMP to open a PNM file. Without proper software you will receive a Windows message "How do you want to open this file?" or "Windows cannot open this file" or a similar Mac/iPhone/Android alert. If you cannot open your PNM file correctly, try to right-click or long-press the file. Then click "Open with" and choose an application. You can also display a PNM file directly in the browser:. Just drag the file onto this browser window and drop it.

Online PNM File Viewer

Choose your .pnm file to view this image

or drag and drop it here

Online File Viewer

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How to convert PNM files to JPG, PNG, SVG, PDF, ...

You can convert PNM files using our online PNM file viewer (powered by Convert.Guru):

Just click the "Choose your .pnm file to view this image" button on this page.
After your file is opened in browser,
click "Save as..." in the menu.
Then choose the image format (e.g. JPG, PNG, TIFF, PDF, ...) you want.
Your file will be converted and downloaded.

Programs that open and convert PNM files:

GIMP by The GIMP Team
See the previous paragraphs to learn more about the main application. PNM files are often referred to as GIMP raster images because this type of file is primarily created or used by this software.
Pegasus Mail (IMAP message flag status) by David Harris
Pegasus Mail is an email client software for sending and receiving messages via the Mercury Mail Transport System server. The mail folder cache file for showing the IMAP message status is saved in a PNM file. This file format is classified as Data. Related links: Mercury Mail Transport System
Photoshop (bitmap) by Adobe
Photoshop is a professional photo editing software for Windows, Mac, Android and iOS. You can display or edit PNM image files with Photoshop. This file format is classified as Raster Image.
SANE (bitmap) by SANE Community
SANE is a cross-platform application programming interface that provides standardized access to raster image scanner hardware. By using SANE scanner hardware developers only need to write one driver per image acquisition device instead of one for each platform. Images captured by SANE may be saved in PNM files. This file format is classified as Raster Image.
XnView (bitmap) by XnSoft
XnView is a photo organizer with tools for viewing, editing, and converting images saved in various file formats. It can display and edit various bitmap image formats saved in PNM files. This file format is classified as Raster Image.

PNM file extension format:

If you know the file format, you can also find out how to open or edit the file. The first characters in a file identify the file format, for example, HTML files start with the bytes <html>. If the file extension or signature does not match the file format, errors will occur when opening or editing the file. Knowledge is power - this also applies when dealing with unknown or faulty files. Our examination of the PNM files comes to the following conclusion:

The PNM extension is quite commonly used. The file itself includes various formats for various programs. The file formats most commonly found in PNM files are:

45% of all PNM files use the same file format, which have the signature P6. These files contain neither text nor words, but only data. PNM files can be up to 100 MB in size, but are often around 15 KB - 6 MB. The file type is old but is used even today. The files contain the following words: # XSane settings, brightness IRGB, contrast IRGB, gamma IRGB, resolution_x, resolution_y and 1.00 1.00. test.pnm is a typical file name. These files are often associated with image, item, brscan, sample, debug, output, people, contrato, diag, flag and scan.
20% of all PNM files start with the magic bytes P5, which are always the first bytes of this file format. They consist of illegible, cryptic characters. The files are on average 990 KB in size and range from 16 KB to 4 MB. The keywords # XSane settings, resolution_x, resolution_y, # color-management= 0, gamma, # cms-function = 0, # contrast = 0.0 and # brightness = 0.0 are typical for these files. A usual file name is image-0001.pnm or image-0002.pnm. Such PNM files store data about line.

The remaining 35% of all PNM files are files with no common format, often, for example, Les. Often described as device, sage, circle, logo, result, bojko, japan or rays. If you want to find out what your PNM file contains, drag and drop it onto this page.

Technical Data for PNM File Extension

File classification:

Raster Image

Related files:

pgm, ppm, pnmresults, pnmwav, pbm, pmn, pnp, png, jpg, txt, off, pdf, zip, dicom, xcf, apm

Related links:

Netpbm

Mime type:

image/x-portable-anymap, image/x-portable-bitmap

The following listing is compiled from the database produced by the 'Associate This!' program, selected data from the main FILExt database and file extension information submitted by users.

ProgramID: GraphicsConverterPro.pnm, FileType: Portable Image, AppName: GraphicsConverter-reg
EXEFile: GraphicsConverter.exe

ProgramID: ICPlus, AppName: ImageEditor Plus
EXEFile: ICPlus.exe

ProgramID: konvertor
EXEFile: %ProgramFiles%\Konvertor\Konvertor.exe %1

ProgramID: TheGIMP20
EXEFile: %ProgramFiles%\GIMP-2.2\bin\gimp-win-remote.exe %1

ProgramID: CPCView.PbmDoc
EXEFile: %ProgramFiles%\Internet Explorer\iexplore.exe %1

ProgramID: TheGIMP13
EXEFile: C:\GIMP-1.3\bin\gimp-1.3.exe %1

ProgramID: XnView.Image
EXEFile: %ProgramFiles%\XnView\xnview.exe %1

ProgramID: TheGIMP20
EXEFile: %ProgramFiles%\GIMP-2.0\bin\gimp-win-remote.exe gimp-2.2.exe %1

ProgramID: Visual Photo++ file
EXEFile: %ProgramFiles%\Visual Photo++\VPhoto.exe %1

ProgramID: pngfile
EXEFile: %ProgramFiles%\Common Files\Microsoft Shared\PhotoEd\PHOTOED.EXE

ProgramID: NeroPhotoSnapViewer.Files.pnm
EXEFile: %ProgramFiles%\Ahead\Nero PhotoSnap\PhotoSnapViewer.exe

ProgramID: Pagis.Image
EXEFile: %ProgramFiles%\ScanSoft\Pagis\XIFVIEW.EXE

ProgramID: CPCView.PbmDoc
EXEFile: %ProgramFiles%\MOZILL~1\FIREFOX.EXE

ProgramID: Pagis.Image
EXEFile: %ProgramFiles%\Xerox\Pagis\XIFVIEW.EXE

ProgramID: NeroPhotoSnapViewer.Files.pnm
EXEFile: %ProgramFiles%\Ahead\Nero\Nero 7\Nero PhotoSnap\PhotoSnapViewer.exe

ProgramID: MyViewPad.pnm
EXEFile: %ProgramFiles%\My ViewPad\MyViewPad.exe

Show all 16 listings To Top

a pnm bitmap is a special file format by The GIMP Team and should only be edited and saved with the appropriate software.

How to solve problems with PNM files

Associate the PNM file extension with the correct application.
Update your software that should actually open bitmaps. Because only the current version supports the latest PNM file format. Search, therefore, e.g. on the The GIMP Team manufacturer website after an available GIMP update.
To make sure that your PNM file is not corrupted or virus-infected, get the file again and scan it with Google's virustotal.com.
Click here to open your .PNM file online - secure, fast, and no downloads needed.