WOFF to PICON Converter

Create personal icon images from web font glyphs online

Drop files here. 1 GB maximum file size or Sign Up
to
Facebook Amazon Microsoft Tesla Nestle Walmart L'Oreal

Tiny Icons

Render WOFF icon font glyphs as compact PICON images — perfect for user avatars, contact photos, and small visual identifiers.

No Setup Required

Create PICON icons from WOFF fonts entirely in your browser without installing X Window tools or icon editors.

Data Privacy

Uploaded WOFF files are removed after rendering, and PICON outputs are deleted within 24 hours to keep your font data secure.

How to convert WOFF 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

WOFF (Web Open Font Format) is a web font container format developed by Jonathan Kew, Tal Leming, and Erik van Blokland, and standardized by the W3C as a Recommendation in December 2012. The format wraps existing TrueType or OpenType font data in a compressed container with additional metadata, specifically designed for efficient delivery over HTTP as part of web pages using the CSS @font-face rule. WOFF applies table-level zlib compression to the font data, typically achieving 40-50% size reduction compared to raw TTF or OTF files, while preserving every table and glyph exactly. An extended metadata block allows foundries to embed licensing information, credits, and descriptions that travel with the font file. WOFF was created to address a practical impasse: type foundries were reluctant to allow their fonts on the web in raw TTF/OTF form (easily installable as desktop fonts), while the web standards community needed a freely implementable font delivery mechanism. One advantage is universal browser support — every modern browser across desktop and mobile platforms renders WOFF natively, making it the baseline format for web typography. The distinct file signature and container structure also provides a licensing benefit, giving foundries a format distinguishable from desktop fonts while remaining technically straightforward. WOFF 2.0, standardized in March 2018, replaces zlib with Brotli compression for an additional 20-30% size reduction and has achieved similarly broad browser adoption. Together, WOFF and WOFF2 enabled the custom web typography revolution that transformed web design from a handful of system fonts to millions of typeface options.
Developer: W3C
Initial release: December 13, 2012
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 WOFF to PICON?

PICON creates tiny icon images from font glyphs — useful for generating avatars, user icons, or small visual identifiers from icon fonts.

How do I open a PICON file?

PICON is an XPM-based format viewable by ImageMagick, GIMP, and X Window System applications. Most Unix desktop environments recognize PICON files.

What size are PICON images?

PICON images are typically small (around 48x48 pixels), designed for personal icon use in email systems, messaging, and desktop environments.

Is PICON the same as XPM?

PICON is closely related to XPM but specifically sized for personal icon use. Both use ASCII-based color-mapped pixel representation.

Is the conversion free?

Yes, Convertio provides free WOFF to PICON conversion online — no Unix system or icon editing tools required.