FIG to PNM Converter

FIG to PNM — quick visual export from Xfig

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Effortless Export

Export FIG diagrams as PNM files without installing Xfig or any desktop tool. Pure browser-based conversion.

Guided Process

Follow the clear step-by-step interface — upload, select output, download. No learning curve, no confusion.

Any Modern Browser

Chrome, Firefox, Safari, Edge — the converter works in all of them. No browser-specific dependencies.

How to convert FIG to PNM

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

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

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

About formats

FIG is the native file format of Xfig, a free vector graphics editor for the X Window System, originally written by Supoj Sutanthavibul at the University of Texas at Austin in 1985. The format uses a plain-text structure where each graphic object is described on one or more lines with numeric parameters specifying object type, coordinates, line properties, fill attributes, and depth ordering. FIG supports compound objects (groups), polylines, polygons, splines, arcs, ellipses, text strings, and imported bitmaps, each with configurable colors, line styles, arrow heads, and area fills. Files begin with a header line declaring the format version (currently 3.2), followed by a resolution specification and the object definitions. One advantage is exceptional simplicity — the entirely text-based format is trivially parsed, generated, and manipulated by scripts, making FIG popular as an intermediate format in automated diagram generation pipelines. The rich ecosystem of conversion tools is another strength: fig2dev exports FIG files to dozens of output formats including EPS, PDF, SVG, LaTeX picture environments, PSTricks, and TikZ. This made Xfig and FIG especially popular in academic and scientific communities, where authors generate publication-quality figures that integrate seamlessly with LaTeX documents. While graphical tools have evolved since the 1980s, FIG remains in use among researchers who value its scriptability, LaTeX integration, and well-documented format stability.

Developer: Supoj Sutanthavibul

Initial release: 1985

PNM (Portable Any Map) is an umbrella designation within the Netpbm family that encompasses all three classic portable map formats: PBM (Portable BitMap for monochrome), PGM (Portable GrayMap for grayscale), and PPM (Portable PixMap for color). Created by Jef Poskanzer in 1988 as part of the Pbmplus toolkit, PNM is not a distinct format with its own magic number but rather a collective name indicating that any of the three underlying formats may be used. When software reads a PNM file, it examines the magic number (P1/P4 for PBM, P2/P5 for PGM, P3/P6 for PPM) and processes accordingly; when software writes a PNM file, it selects the most appropriate subformat based on the image content. This convention allows Netpbm processing pipelines to pass images between tools without requiring the user to track which specific format is in use — every tool in the chain accepts PNM input and produces PNM output, with the actual format chosen automatically. The Netpbm toolkit provides hundreds of command-line utilities for image manipulation: scaling, rotation, color adjustment, compositing, format conversion, quantization, and analysis — all operating on PNM as the common interchange format. One advantage is pipeline composability: Netpbm tools can be chained with Unix pipes (e.g., pnmflip | pnmscale | ppmquant | ppmtogif) to build complex image processing operations from simple primitives, following the Unix philosophy of small, focused tools. The format family's cross-platform availability and language support is another strength — virtually every image processing library in every programming language can read and write PNM variants. PNM files are supported by ImageMagick, GIMP, and all major image tools.

Developer: Jef Poskanzer

Initial release: 1988

Frequently Asked Questions

Why convert FIG to PNM?

FIG files are a barrier when sharing technical drawings. PNM images open on any device — perfect for email or web use.

Which tools support PNM files?

You can open PNM files with GIMP, Netpbm utilities, IrfanView, and Linux command-line imaging tools.

How long does FIG to PNM conversion take?

Most conversions complete in seconds. Cloud-based processing means speed depends on file size, not your hardware.

Do I need to install anything for FIG to PNM?

No — the converter runs entirely in your browser. No downloads, plugins, or extensions are needed for the conversion.

Can I convert FIG to PNM on a Mac?

Convertio is browser-based and works on Mac, Windows, Linux, and mobile. No platform restrictions for this conversion.

How many FIG files can I convert at once?

You can upload and convert multiple FIG files in one session. Batch conversion processes all files simultaneously.

Related Conversions

FIG to JPG

FIG to PDF

FIG to PNG

FIG to EPS

FIG to SVG

FIG to JPEG

FIG to BMP

FIG to PSD

FIG to DOC

FIG to GIF

FIG to DXF

FIG to DOCX

FIG to TIFF

FIG to AI

FIG to EMF

FIG to HTML

FIG to ODT

FIG to WMF

FIG to PCX

FIG to SGI

FIG to SK

FIG to OTB

FIG to DOT

FIG to RGB

FIG to PS

FIG to CGM

FIG to SK1

FIG to PLT

FIG to JP2

FIG to WBMP

FIG to TGA

FIG to ICO

FIG to CUR

FIG to PBM

FIG to PGM

FIG to PPM

FIG to WEBP

FIG to EXR

FIG to FAX

FIG to FTS

FIG to G3

FIG to HDR

FIG to HRZ

FIG to IPL

FIG to MAP

FIG to MNG

FIG to MTV

FIG to PAL

FIG to PALM

FIG to PAM

FIG to PCD

FIG to PCT

FIG to PDB

FIG to PFM

FIG to PICON

FIG to PICT

FIG to PNM

FIG to RAS

FIG to RGBA

FIG to RGBO

Specific converters

PNG to PNM

JPG to PNM

TXT to PNM

BMP to PNM

JPEG to PNM

XLSX to PNM

PDF to PNM

XLS to PNM

CSV to PNM

HTML to PNM

WEBP to PNM

GIF to PNM

JFIF to PNM

DOCX to PNM

PPM to PNM

DOC to PNM

XCF to PNM

DXF to PNM

TIFF to PNM

SVG to PNM

RTF to PNM

PSD to PNM

PGM to PNM

MAP to PNM

BIN to PNM

ABW to PNM

DBK to PNM

KWD to PNM

SXW to PNM

AW to PNM