How to open a .tiff file
Tagged Image File Format · Image
A .tiff file is the same as a .tif: a high-quality image, often a multi-page scan. Windows Photos and macOS Preview open both, and IrfanView handles the multi-page case properly.
What a .tiff file actually is
TIFF and TIF are one format with two spellings, the shorter one surviving from three-character extension limits.
The format supports lossless storage, high bit depths and multiple pages in a single file, which is why scanning and archiving still rely on it.
Why it will not open
The extension covers many internal variants. A TIFF using an unusual compression, or holding a multi-page scan, defeats viewers that implement only the basics.
Renaming it to an extension you can open will not help: changing the extension does not convert the file, it only changes what Windows tries to open it with.
Step by step
Windows
- 01Double-click. Windows Photos opens standard TIFF files.
- 02For a multi-page scan, use IrfanView or XnView MP, which let you page through. Photos shows only the first page.
- 03For editing, paint.net or GIMP.
macOS
- 01Double-click. Preview handles TIFF including multi-page documents, listed as thumbnails in the sidebar.
Programs that open .tiff
Our pick, in order. Every one links to the publisher's official download URL and the SHA-256 hash of the installer. Once you have downloaded it, you can check the file against our index before you run it.
If you end up downloading one of these from somewhere other than the publisher, what you can and cannot verify about that is worth two minutes.
Also registers .tiff in its manifest
Taken straight from publisher manifests. Some of these handle the format for a narrow purpose rather than as their main job.
Common questions
- Is .tiff the same as .tif?
- Yes, the same format. The shorter spelling exists because of old three-character extension limits, and every program reads both.