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HomeFormats.PCXID

What is a .PCX file?

PCX is an early PC raster image format from ZSoft’s PC Paintbrush.

Did you know
  • PCX was one of the most common image formats on DOS PCs in the 1980s.
  • PCX stands for PiCture eXchange and was the native format of ZSoft’s PC Paintbrush program.
  • PCX squeezes its pixels with simple run-length encoding, collapsing repeated runs into compact pairs.
What Analyser reads
Decode and preview extra still-image formats in pure JavaScript - Truevision TGA, QOI, Netpbm (PPM/PGM/PBM), PCX, farbfeld, WBMP, XBM/XPM, Sun Raster and SGI are fully rendered - and read header metadata from codec-heavy formats: Radiance HDR, DirectDraw Surface (DDS) game textures, OpenEXR, JPEG 2000, JPEG XR, EPS/PostScript, Windows WMF/EMF metafiles, Apple ICNS icons, CUR/ANI cursors, MNG and Lottie animations.
Depth of analysis
.PCX is an identification-grade format: Analyser recognises it from its bytes and decodes the header metadata it carries, rather than opening it in a full viewer. Formats that do get a full viewer are marked "Full" on the formats page.
Open a .PCX file
Drag a .PCX file onto the Analyser home page (or tap to pick one). It is identified entirely in your browser - nothing is uploaded, there is no account, and it works offline once installed.
Related formats
.TGA · .QOI · .PPM · .PGM · .PBM · .PNM · .PAM · .FF · .FARBFELD · .WBMP · .XBM · .XPM · .RAS · .SGI · .BW · .HDR · .DDS · .EXR and more. See all supported file types.