Windows Imaging Component

Windows Imaging ComponentDeveloper(s)| Microsoft

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Operating system| Windows NT family
Type| Application programming interface
License| docs.microsoft.com/en-gb/windows/win32/wic/-wic-lh

Windows Imaging Component (WIC) is a COM-based imaging codec framework introduced in Windows Vista (and later available in Windows XP Service Pack 3)[1] for working with and processing digital images and image metadata.

WIC enables application developers to perform image processing operations on any image format through a single set of common APIs, without requiring prior knowledge of specific image formats.

## Contents

* 1 Features
* 1.1 Codecs
* 1.2 Metadata
* 2 Usage
* 2.1 WIC in Microsoft products
* 2.2 Third-party support
* 3 See also
* 4 References
* 5 External links

## Features

Windows Imaging Component provides an extensible architecture for image codecs, pixel formats, and metadata, with automatic run-time discovery of new formats. It supports reading and writing of arbitrary metadata in image files, with the ability to preserve unrecognized metadata during editing. While working with images, it preserves high bit depth image data, up to 32 bits per channel, throughout the revamped high dynamic range image processing pipeline built into Windows Vista.

Windows Imaging Component supports Windows Color System, the ICC V4-compliant color management technology in Windows Vista.

### Codecs

By default, Windows Vista ships with JPEG, TIFF, GIF, PNG, BMP and HD Photo encoders and decoders, and an ICO decoder. Additionally, as of 2009, some camera manufacturers[2] and 3rd-parties[3][4] have released WIC codecs for proprietary raw image formats, enabling Mac-like raw image support to Windows 7 and Vista.[5] In July 2011, this was extended significantly by Microsoft itself by providing a separate Codec Pack for most current digital cameras.[6] The Progressive Graphics File (PGF) viewer is distributed with a WIC codec.

### Metadata

WIC supports Exchangeable Image File (Exif), PNG textual metadata, image file directory (IFD), IPTC Information Interchange Model (IPTC), and Extensible Metadata Platform (XMP) formats. In addition, WIC includes an extensible framework to support third-party metadata implementations.

Metadata format support is per codec. For example, the native JPEG codec supports XMP but the native GIF and PNG codecs do not.[7]

## Usage

### WIC in Microsoft products

WIC is available for Windows XP with Service Pack 2, as a stand-alone downloadable program, and is built into Windows XP with Service Pack 3. It is also available as part of .NET Framework 3.0.[8] A discontinued PowerToy for Windows XP from Microsoft, known as Photo Info, which allows viewing and editing image metadata from Windows Explorer, also uses WIC.[9]

Starting with Windows Vista, Windows Explorer, and Windows Photo Gallery, are based on WIC and can thus view and organize images in any format for which a WIC codec is installed. Office 2010 and later versions of the core Office apps (Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Outlook) can import image file formats supported by WIC.

Starting with Windows 7, Windows Media Center (available on Windows 7 Home Premium and above) is WIC-enabled. Also, the GDI+ graphic library is built on WIC, although GDI+ does not load 3rd-party or external codecs. With Windows 7 the WIC stack itself underwent a major overhaul and is now free-threaded, as are all the built-in and external codecs shipping with Windows. Being free-threaded is also a requirement for new codecs targeting Windows 7.[10]

Microsoft Expression Design's import and export capabilities are entirely based on WIC.[11] Expression Media (now Phase One Media Pro) with Service Pack 1 and later also supports additional raw camera formats and HD Photo (now JPEG XR) using WIC.[12][13]

### Third-party support

As of 2018, few third-party imaging applications (image editors, image organizers and image viewers) utilize WIC.

FastPictureViewer, a simple standalone third-party image viewer, supports standard image formats along with HD Photo and RAW camera formats (NRW, NEF, CR2, DNG) using WIC. An experimental WIC import plug-in for Adobe Photoshop can also be found on FastPictureViewer's website.[14]

Another WIC import plug-in for GIMP can be found at Gimp-Forum.net.[15]

## See also

* Core Image

## References

1. ↑ "The XPS Essentials Pack has been updated to support Windows XP Service Pack 3". Microsoft. 29 October 2008. https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/archive/blogs/xps/the-xps-essentials-pack-has-been-updated-to-support-windows-xp-service-pack-3.
2. ↑ "Codecs for Windows". http://www.microsoft.com/prophoto/downloads/codecs.aspx.
3. ↑ Ardfry Imaging, LLC.
4. ↑ FastPictureViewer WIC Codec Pack
5. ↑ Anthony, Sebastian (Oct 21, 2009). "How to add Mac-like RAW image support to Windows 7, Vista, XP". Weblogs, Inc. / AOL News. http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/10/21/raw-image-support-windows/.
6. ↑ "Microsoft Camera Codec Pack (16.0.0652.0621)". July 26, 2011. http://www.microsoft.com/download/en/details.aspx?id=26829.
7. ↑ "WIC Metadata". MSDN. Microsoft. http://msdn2.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms737407.aspx.
8. ↑ "Download WIC for Windows XP". Microsoft.com. 2006-11-09. http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?familyid=8E011506-6307-445B-B950-215DEF45DDD8&displaylang=en.
9. ↑ Photo Info shell extension for Windows Explorer
10. ↑ "Windows 7 Developer White Papers: Windows Imaging Component Codec Guidelines for Camera RAW Image Formats (PDC 2008)"". http://code.msdn.microsoft.com/Release/ProjectReleases.aspx?ProjectName=PDC08WhitePapers&ReleaseId=1797.
11. ↑ Cook, Daniel (Feb 6, 2007). "Will ED use WIC?". Newsgroup: microsoft.public.expression.graphicdesigner. Archived from the original on 2024-03-08. Retrieved 2024-03-08 - via Google Groups.
12. ↑ "DAM for Creatives". Microsoft blogs. September 12, 2007. http://k7vi.spaces.live.com/blog/cns!5AF664BF5DA1FDBB!409.entry.
13. ↑ "Expression Media Service Pack 1". Help & Support. Microsoft. 2007-09-29. http://support.microsoft.com/kb/941834.
14. ↑ WIC import plug-in for Photoshop
15. ↑ Windows Imaging Component (WIC) Plugin

## External links

* Windows Imaging Component on MSDN

* v
* t
* e

Microsoft APIs and frameworks

Graphics|

* Desktop Window Manager
* Direct2D
* Direct3D
* D3D (extensions)
* GDI / GDI+
* WPF
* Silverlight
* WinRT XAML
* Windows Color System
* Windows Image Acquisition
* Windows Imaging Component
* DirectX Graphics Infrastructure (DXGI)
* Windows Advanced Rasterization Platform
* WinG

Audio|

* DirectMusic
* DirectSound
* DirectX plugin
* XACT
* Speech API
* XAudio2

Multimedia|

* DirectX
* Media Objects
* Video Acceleration
* Xinput
* DirectInput
* DirectShow
* Image Mastering API
* Managed DirectX
* Media Foundation
* XNA
* Windows Media
* Video for Windows

Web|

* MSHTML
* RSS Platform
* JScript
* VBScript
* BHO
* XDR
* SideBar Gadgets
* TypeScript

Data access|

* Data Access Components (MDAC)
* ADO
* ADO.NET
* ODBC
* OLE DB
* Extensible Storage Engine
* Entity Framework
* Sync Framework
* Jet Engine
* MSXML
* OPC

Networking|

* Winsock
* LSP
* Winsock Kernel
* Filtering Platform
* NDIS
* Windows Rally
* BITS
* P2P API
* MSMQ
* MS MPI
* DirectPlay

Communication|

* Messaging API
* Telephony API
* WCF

Administration and
management|

* Win32 console
* Windows Script Host
* WMI (extensions)
* PowerShell
* Task Scheduler
* Offline Files
* Shadow Copy
* Windows Installer
* Error Reporting
* Event Log
* Common Log File System

Component model|

* COM
* COM+
* ActiveX
* Distributed Component Object Model
* .NET Framework

Libraries|

* Framework Class Library
* Microsoft Foundation Classes (MFC)
* Active Template Library (ATL)
* Windows Template Library (WTL)

Device drivers|

* WDM
* WDF
* KMDF
* UMDF
* WDDM
* NDIS
* UAA
* BDA
* VxD

Security|

* Crypto API
* CAPICOM
* Windows CardSpace
* Data Protection API
* Security Support Provider Interface (SSPI)

.NET|

* ASP.NET
* ADO.NET
* Remoting
* Silverlight
* TPL
* WCF
* WCS
* WPF
* WF

Software factories|

* EFx Factory
* Enterprise Library
* Composite UI
* CCF
* CSF

IPC|

* MSRPC
* Dynamic Data Exchange (DDE)
* Remoting
* WCF

Accessibility|

* Active Accessibility
* UI Automation

Text and multilingual
support|

* DirectWrite
* Text Services Framework
* Text Object Model
* Input method editor
* Language Interface Pack
* Multilingual User Interface
* Uniscribe

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