CMX to PICON Converter

CMX to PICON online — personal icon images free

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Compact Icons

CMX to PICON produces tiny, personal icon images perfect for user identification in Unix environments and messaging systems.

Near-Instant Output

PICON files are extremely small. CMX to PICON conversion finishes almost instantly — upload and download in seconds.

Privacy First

Your CMX uploads are deleted after processing. PICON outputs are purged within 24 hours for complete data security.

How to convert CMX to PICON

1

Select files from Computer, Google Drive, Dropbox, URL or by dragging it on the page.

2

Choose picon or any other format you need as a result (more than 200 formats supported)

3

Let the file convert and you can download your picon file right afterwards

About formats

CMX (Corel Presentation Exchange) is a vector graphics exchange format developed by Corel Corporation, introduced with CorelDRAW 5 in September 1994. Designed as a cross-application interchange format within the Corel product suite, CMX stores vector objects, text, bitmaps, and rendering attributes in a structure accessible to CorelDRAW, Corel PHOTO-PAINT, Corel Presentations, and other Corel applications without requiring each program to understand the full CDR native format. The format uses a chunk-based architecture that encodes geometric primitives, fill patterns, outline properties, and color definitions in a standardized way, supporting both 16-bit and 32-bit variants. CMX gained significance beyond the Corel ecosystem through its adoption by third-party applications and its role in clipart distribution — many vector art collections from the mid-to-late 1990s shipped in CMX format. One advantage is interoperability within design workflows: CMX provided a practical bridge for moving vector content between different Corel applications while preserving visual fidelity, gradients, and transparency attributes. The format's inclusion of both vector and bitmap data within a single file is another strength, allowing complex mixed-media illustrations to be exchanged as self-contained units. Microsoft also added CMX import support to some Office applications, expanding the format's reach. While modern Corel applications primarily use CDR for native work and export to SVG, PDF, or EPS for interchange, CMX files from the CorelDRAW era remain widely encountered in legacy asset libraries.
Developer: Corel Corporation
Initial release: 1994
PICON (Personal Icon) is a small-format image type used in the X Window System ecosystem, developed by Steve Kinzler at Indiana University around 1990 as part of the picons (personal icons) database project. Picons are small, typically 48x48 pixel, color images used as visual identifiers for people, organizations, domains, and Usenet newsgroups in Unix mail readers, news readers, and other communication tools. The picon format is essentially an XPM (X PixMap) image stored with specific naming conventions and directory structures that allow software to look up the appropriate icon based on email address, domain name, or newsgroup name. The picons database organized thousands of these small images in a hierarchical directory structure keyed by domain name components (e.g., faces/com/example/user.xpm), enabling mail clients like exmstrstrstr and faces to automatically display a sender's photo or organizational logo alongside their messages. The system predated the modern concept of contact photos and avatars by more than a decade. One advantage is the system's pioneering role in visual identity for electronic communication: picons introduced the idea that email and Usenet messages should display a visual representation of the sender — a concept that eventually became standard in every modern email client, messaging app, and social media platform. The XPM-based format ensures that picons are displayable on any system with X Window libraries. Picon images are supported by ImageMagick, GIMP, and X Window display utilities, and the historical picons database remains archived online at Indiana University.
Developer: Steve Kinzler
Initial release: 1990

Frequently Asked Questions

Why convert CMX to PICON?

PICON creates small personal icon images used in Unix systems. Converting CMX to PICON produces compact icons from your Corel designs.

What uses PICON files?

PICON images are used as personal icons in Unix/X11 environments and by certain messaging and directory systems.

What size are PICON images?

PICON images are typically very small — 48x48 pixels or similar — designed as compact personal or user identification icons.

Is this free?

Yes — Convertio provides free CMX to PICON conversion. Premium plans exist for users with higher-volume requirements.

How fast is it?

PICON files are tiny. Conversion from CMX is nearly instantaneous on Convertio cloud servers.