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ICO at a glance
ICO
ICO grew with the Windows desktop experience, where applications needed icons that scaled across shell views, toolbars, shortcuts, and later higher-DPI environments.
WMF at a glance
WMF
The original WMF specification was published in the Windows 3.1 SDK documentation in 1992. Aldus Corporation independently added a 'placeable' header for device independence, which Microsoft later incorporated in Windows 2000. The format specification was republished in 2006 under the Microsoft Open Specification Promise.
Format comparison
| Feature | ICO | WMF |
|---|---|---|
| File type | Image | Vector |
| Extensions |
|
|
| MIME type |
|
|
| Created year | 1985 | 1990 |
| Inventor | Microsoft | Microsoft Corporation |
| Status | active | legacy |
| Transparency | Not supported | Not supported |
| Animation | Not supported | Not supported |
| Primary use cases |
|
|
| Layer support | Not supported | Not supported |
| Vector scaling | Not supported | Supported |
When to use each format
When to use ICO
- Your source file is already in ICO.
- Preserve source expectations before exporting to WMF.
- ICO is commonly used in image workflows.
When to use WMF
- Your target workflow expects WMF.
- Improve delivery compatibility with WMF.
- WMF is commonly used in vector workflows.
FAQs
Why convert ICO to WMF?
Convert to WMF when preserving compatibility with older Windows document workflows, embedded legacy graphics, or archive recovery tasks where that classic metafile format is still expected.
It is useful as a bridge for historical Office-era vector assets.
For contemporary vector exchange, EMF, SVG, or PDF are usually more practical.
What changes when converting ICO to WMF?
This conversion changes how the format behaves in downstream tools and delivery environments.
Moving to WMF adds vector scaling.
What should I review after converting ICO to WMF?
Validate output quality on representative files and confirm the target format behaves correctly in the destination workflow.