PGM to PCX Converter

Change PGM to PCX format — no installation required

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Fast Processing

Speed is a priority — typical PGM to PCX conversions finish in just a few seconds, regardless of your connection speed.

Data Protection Built In

Source PGM files and resulting PCX files are both deleted from servers — uploads immediately, outputs within 24 hours.

Nothing to Install

The PGM to PCX converter runs in your web browser. No plugins, extensions, or desktop applications needed — just open and use.

How to convert PGM to PCX

1

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

2

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

3

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

About formats

PGM (Portable Graymap) is the grayscale member of the Netpbm image format family, created by Jef Poskanzer in 1988 as part of the Pbmplus toolkit for Unix systems. PGM stores single-channel intensity images where each pixel holds a gray value from 0 (black) to a user-specified maximum (typically 255 for 8-bit or 65535 for 16-bit). The format exists in ASCII (magic number P2), where pixel values are written as decimal text numbers separated by whitespace, and binary (magic number P5), where values are stored as raw bytes. Both variants begin with a header specifying the magic number, width, height, and maximum gray value. PGM was designed as the grayscale intermediate in Netpbm's convert-process-convert pipeline philosophy: source images from any format are converted to PGM, processed using Netpbm's extensive command-line tool library, then converted to the target format. One advantage is format transparency — the ASCII variant makes image data directly readable by humans and trivially processable by text tools like awk and grep, invaluable for debugging and education. The scientific and computer vision community's adoption is another strength: PGM's straightforward single-channel representation makes it a natural format for image analysis algorithms, and many academic papers and course materials use PGM examples. The format is supported by ImageMagick, GIMP, and countless image processing libraries, and remains standard input for many research tools and benchmarks.
Developer: Jef Poskanzer
Initial release: 1988
PCX (PiCture eXchange) is a raster image format created by ZSoft Corporation in 1985 as the native format of their PC Paintbrush application, one of the first painting programs for IBM PC compatibles. The format uses a simple run-length encoding (RLE) compression scheme that works by replacing consecutive identical pixel values with a count-value pair, achieving modest compression on images with large areas of uniform color. A PCX file consists of a 128-byte header (specifying dimensions, color depth, palette information, DPI, and encoding method), the RLE-compressed pixel data organized in scan-line order, and an optional 256-color palette appended after the image data. The format evolved through several versions supporting increasing color depths: 1-bit monochrome, 4-bit (16 colors), 8-bit (256 colors), and 24-bit true color using multiple color planes. PCX became one of the most popular image formats during the DOS era, widely supported by paint programs, word processors, desktop publishers, and early games throughout the late 1980s and early 1990s. One advantage was broad DOS-era software compatibility — PCX served as a practical interchange format when competing programs used proprietary raster formats. The simplicity of RLE decoding is another strength, requiring minimal CPU and memory resources ideal for the hardware of that period. While PNG, JPEG, and other modern formats have replaced PCX in contemporary use, the format remains encountered in legacy archives and retro computing contexts.
Developer: ZSoft Corporation
Initial release: 1985

Frequently Asked Questions

Why convert PGM to PCX?

Converting to PCX provides legacy paintbrush format, making your content more versatile for sharing and practical use.

What programs open PCX files?

You can open PCX files with IrfanView, XnView, GIMP, ACDSee. Most platforms have at least one built-in or free option available.

Does the converter work on mobile devices?

Yes — the PGM to PCX converter is fully browser-based and works on phones, tablets, and desktop computers equally well.

Will image dimensions change during conversion?

No — the converter keeps the same image size. Dimensions only change if you explicitly set resize options.

Is the conversion process secure?

All files are handled securely. PGM uploads are purged after processing, and resulting PCX files expire within 24 hours.

What if my PGM file is corrupted?

The converter validates your file on upload. If the PGM data is unreadable or corrupt, you will get an error before processing begins.