All about LIF Files

The LIF file type is primarily associated with Leica Application Suite.

LIF	File extension: LIF
	File type:	image

What is a LIF file?

LIF files mostly belong to Leica Application Suite by Leica. LIF filename extension is associated with files containing highly magnified images of biological specimens. The LIF image is typically captured with a Leica microscopy instrumentation device and saved using Leica Application Suite. One or more images may be saved in such a LIF file. The layered images used by in-game models in Homeworld real-time strategy game use a different type of LIF file. LEGO Digital Designer, a software for building 3D models, saves assets such as bricks and wheels in a LIF file. Some compressed data used by older versions of TuboTax (tax preparation software) are stored in an archive file that has LIF filename extension. Game of Life, an online game also saves some game data in LIF files.

How to open LIF files

You need a suitable software like Leica Application Suite to open a LIF 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 LIF file correctly, try to right-click or long-press the file. Then click "Open with" and choose an application. You can also display a LIF file directly in the browser:. Just drag the file onto this browser window and drop it.

Online LIF File Viewer

Choose your .lif file to view

or drag and drop it here

Online File Viewer

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How to convert a LIF file to JPG, PNG, SVG, PDF, ...

If you want to convert or edit a LIF file, you can use our free Online LIF File Converter (powered by Convert.Guru):

Just click the "Choose your .lif file to view" 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 LIF files:

Leica Application Suite by Leica
See the previous paragraphs to learn more about the main application. LIF files are often referred to as Leica Application Suite raster images because this type of file is primarily created or used by this software.
CA Clipper (compressed archive) by Grafx
CA Clipper is a discontinued compiler for programs written in xBase programming language. The archive file containing resources used in a CA Clipper installation has LIF filename extension. This file format is classified as Data.
Game of Life (pattern) by Math.com
Game of Life is a math-based digital board game for Windows operating system. Patterns drawn by Game of Life players are saved in LIF files. This file format is classified as Data. Related links: Life32 by Johan Bontes, MCell by Mirek Wójtowicz
Homeworld (layered image) by Sierra
Homeworld is a real-time strategy video game for Windows operating system. Layered images files used by in-game models in Homeworld have LIF filename extension. This file format is classified as Game. Related links: XnView
HP-UX (volume) by HP
HP-UX is a is proprietary implementation of the UNIX operating system developed by Hewlett Packard (HP). Workstations in the HP 900, 500, 400, 300, and 200 family are compatible with HP-UX. The LIF file used by HP-UX is a volume containing a header, a directory, and the directory's contents. This file format is classified as System.
ImageJ (image) by NIH
ImageJ is a cross-platform Java-based image processing program with tools for editing and converting images saved in DICOM, JPEG, TIFF, LIF, and other formats. This file format is classified as Raster Image. Related links: Leica LAS AF LIF (Leica Image File Format), Bio-Formats
Knowledge Dynamics
This file format is classified as Data.
LEGO Digital Designer (Assets) by LEGO
LEGO Digital Designer is a cross-platform software for creating 3D LEGO pieces. Assets such as bricks used to construct these models are stored in LIF files. This file format is classified as Data.
TurboTax (information archive) by Intuit
TurboTax is a tax preparation software for businesses and individuals. The information archive used by TurboTax is stored in a LIF file. This file format is classified as Data.

LIF format details:

Every file has a defined file format, i.e. how the data is arranged in the file. Often, the file format can be deduced from the file extension or the initial bytes (called the signature). However, different programs can use the same file extension. Furthermore, a file extension can be renamed incorrectly and double-clicking on it will then display an error when it is opened. Exact knowledge of the format is therefore important in order to solve problems occurring in files. Our evaluation of the LIF files is as follows:

The LIF file extension is quite common and is primarily used by a single program. The file formats most commonly found in LIF files are:

75% of all LIF files use the same file format, which can be identified by the letters "70 00 00 00" at the beginning. These are binary files, so they do not contain words or text. LIF files can be up to 42 GB in size, but are often around 9 MB - 800 MB. It is a modern file type. The files contain the following words: Element Name, LMSDataContainerHeader Version, Visibility and CopyOption. These files can be linked to project, experiment, control, slide, dapi, confocal, cherry, sample, gibco and hipsc.
6% of all LIF files belong to Lego Digital Designer data. They consist of unreadable binary data. The average file size is 510 MB with most files being between 6 KB and 930 MB in size. The files contain the following words: LIFF, <?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8" standalone="no" ?> and versionMajor. The following filename is common: Assets.lif.

All other LIF files (19%) have different formats, the following 6 formats exist: Life cellular automata format, HP Logical Interchange Format disk image, TIFF and Willy. Files like these are sometimes linked to settler, image, cell or gfap. You can get all the details of your LIF file by dragging it onto this page or by clicking the button "Choose your .lif file to view" above.

Technical Data for LIF File Extension

File classification:

Raster Image

Related files:

lifext, zip, liff, xlif, life, tif, jpg, iif, dat, old, txt, fcs, scn, png, rar, gz, bin, ris, exe, rpa

Mime type:

application/octet-stream

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.lif, FileType: HomeWorld Texture, AppName: GraphicsConverter-reg
EXEFile: GraphicsConverter.exe

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

ProgramID: MsiaUtils
EXEFile: %ProgramFiles%\Microsoft Software Inventory Analyzer\\msiautils.exe %1

ProgramID: LIFE.Document
EXEFile: %ProgramFiles%\Lifey\LIFEX.EXE

ProgramID: LNDIPro
EXEFile: %ProgramFiles%\IBM\CM\DLL\lndi.exe

Show all 5 listings To Top

a lif image is a special file format by Leica and should only be edited and saved with the appropriate software.

How to solve problems with LIF files

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