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File conversion

Convert EMF to EMZ

Verified by Adam B.· reviewed by FE Editorial ·updated Aug 4, 2026
QUICK ANSWER
Is it possible to convert EMF to EMZ?
Yes - EMF converts to EMZ.

This is not a format conversion - the EMF content is unchanged. Wrap the .emf in a GZIP archive and rename it .emz. The result is byte-for-byte identical to the original EMF, just smaller on disk.

4 programs
Also to EMZ: SVGZ

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Tested on macOS, Windows & Linux
Last verified Sep 2026

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Why convert EMF to EMZ?

Microsoft introduced .emz to reduce the size of embedded metafile graphics in Office documents and web pages. Some applications that insert Windows metafiles into .docx or .pptx files prefer or require the compressed .emz form over a plain .emf.

How to convert EMF to EMZ

7-Zip FREE

Right-click the .emf file, choose 7-Zip > Add to archive, set format to gzip, and click OK; rename the resulting .emf.gz to .emz. Or run 7z a -tgzip image.emz image.emf from the command line.

gzip FREE

Run gzip -c image.emf > image.emz in a terminal to compress the file and write it with the .emz extension in a single step; works on macOS and Linux.

Programs that convert EMF

XnView
Adobe Illustrator
Adobe Illustrator for Mac
Picture Resize Free Online Images Converter

About these formats

.EMF Enhanced Metafile (Windows vector graphic)

An EMF file is a Windows vector graphic made by Microsoft's Enhanced Metafile format, storing drawing commands rather than pixels. On Windows, open it in IrfanView (free) or insert it into…

Open .EMF details →
.EMZ Windows Compressed Enhanced Metafile

An EMZ file is a Windows vector image, an Enhanced Metafile (EMF) compressed with GZIP, used mainly by Microsoft Office and Visio. The easiest way to open it on Windows is to insert it into…

Open .EMZ details →

Quality & what to watch

  • The conversion is completely lossless - decompressing an .emz gives back the exact original .emf with no data loss or quality change.
  • EMZ is structurally standard GZIP; the first two bytes of every valid .emz file are 1F 8B. Any GZIP-capable tool works regardless of the .emz extension.
  • Not all software decompresses .emz automatically - older Office builds and some third-party tools handle plain .emf but not .emz, so keep the original .emf if compatibility is uncertain.

Frequently asked questions

Is EMZ a different format from EMF?
No - an .emz file is a GZIP-compressed .emf. The EMF drawing data inside is completely unchanged; only the file size is smaller.
How much smaller will the EMZ be?
Files containing mostly drawing commands compress well; files with embedded bitmaps compress less because bitmap data is already compact. Savings vary from a few percent to over 50%.
Can I open an EMZ directly in Office applications?
Modern Office versions (2007 and later) decompress .emz automatically when inserting or rendering the file. Older builds may require a plain .emf instead.