DIB to BMP Converter

Device-Independent Bitmap (DIB) is a type of bitmap (BMP) that displays properly on any device. DIB accomplishes this through the use of a color table that translates pixels to RGB colors. There are two types of DIB, bottom-up and top-down. The main difference between the two is that bottom-up DIB cannot be compressed, while top-down can. For additional information, Microsoft published an excellent article that describes the more technical aspects of DIB.

How to open a DIB file?

As a device-independent file type, DIB opens in most image viewers across platforms. For example, on Microsoft Windows, it opens in Paint. On macOS, it opens in Apple Preview, Apple Photos, and ColorStrokes. DIB opens readily in all Adobe image-viewing and editing applications. Furthermore, on Linux/Unix, as well as all platforms, you can use XnView MP and the free program GIMP to open DIB files.

DIB files convert easily to many other common file formats, such as PNG, PDF, JPG, and TIF. To accomplish this, there are lots of free image converter programs to choose from, such as XNConvert. FreeConvert's free tool can also be used to convert DIB files: DIB to JPG, DIB to PNG, DIB to TIF. One cool fact about DIB is that you can open it with a free text editor, which might reveal text that offers useful information about the image. 

Developed by: Microsoft Corporation

Initial Release: 20 November 1985

Bitmap (BMP) is a pixel-based file format that stores two-dimensional images, generally without any compression. BMP utilizes a dot matrix data structure called raster graphics, which establishes the color depth of the image. BMP is mostly used for digital publishing of photographs. However, due to the lack of compression, BMP files are usually large.

How to open a BMP file?

BMP can be device-dependent or independent. BMP opens readily in the Microsoft Paint application and is often associated with Microsoft operating systems. Despite the association with Microsoft, a device-independent BMP, or DIB, can open on almost any device, operating system, or application. 

In addition to opening BMP files, many applications can be used to create them, such as Adobe Illustrator. Should you need to convert the BMP into a vector-based image, then consider using CorelDRAW. Other applications that can open BMP files include Adobe Photoshop, Microsoft Photos, Apple Preview, Apple Photos, and ColorStrokes.

Developed by: Microsoft Corporation

Initial Release: 20 November 1985

Useful links:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BMP_file_format

https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/win32/gdi/bitmaps