What is the FPX file format?
An .fpx file is a FlashPix image - a multi-resolution raster format jointly developed by Eastman Kodak, Microsoft, Hewlett-Packard, and Live Picture Inc., published in 1996. Its defining feature is a resolution pyramid: the same image is stored at multiple progressive resolutions as a grid of 64×64-pixel tiles, so a viewer can decode only the tiles needed for the current zoom level without loading the entire image into memory.
The file uses a Microsoft OLE2 Compound Document container (the same structure used by legacy .doc and .xls files), identified by the OLE2 magic bytes D0 CF 11 E0 at offset 0. The specific FlashPix content is distinguished by CLSID {56616700-C154-11CE-8553-00AA00A1F95B} in the compound root entry. Inside, a FlashPix Object stream holds the image pyramid; each tile is independently JPEG-compressed or stored raw, and an ICC colour profile is embedded. The format shares a similar era and origin with .pcd (Kodak Photo CD).
FlashPix was designed for early web image zooming and digital camera workflow. Kodak DC-series cameras and early HP photo products were among the first adopters, but the format never achieved widespread adoption. Apple dropped QuickTime FlashPix support around 2007, and by 2000 the format was effectively abandoned.
.fpx files can still be opened today with IrfanView and XnView.
Security & safety
RISK: LOWFPX files are passive image files; no code execution risk. The format is obsolete and not a realistic attack vector. Parsing via old OLE2 libraries carries theoretical buffer-overflow risk in unmaintained software, but IrfanView and XnView are regularly updated.
Format details
in a nutshell- FujiFilm RAW (FPX variant) - Some early Fujifilm cameras used .fpx for proprietary image data unrelated to the Kodak FlashPix standard.
Programs that open FPX files
Windows4 apps
IrfanView
Free File > Open - select the .fpx file. Requires IrfanView Plugins pack installed (includes FPX plugin). 
macOS1 app
Linux1 app
Technical details
deep spec| Container | Microsoft OLE2 Compound Document (CFBF / Structured Storage) |
| Magic bytes | D0 CF 11 E0 A1 B1 1A E1 at offset 0 (standard OLE2 compound file header) |
| FlashPix identifier | CLSID {56616700-C154-11CE-8553-00AA00A1F95B} in the OLE2 compound root entry |
| Encoding | Binary, little-endian |
| Resolution pyramid | Image stored at multiple resolution levels, each successive level halving the dimensions of the previous |
| Tile size | Each resolution level divided into 64×64-pixel tiles stored as independent streams |
| Tile compression | JPEG lossy compression or uncompressed - selectable per individual tile |
| MIME type | image/vnd.fpx |
| Color depth | 24-bit RGB standard; 8-bit grayscale also supported |
| ICC profile | Embedded ICC colour profile per the FlashPix 1.0 specification |
| Typical file size | 500 KB - 30 MB; approximately 33% larger than a single-resolution JPEG of equivalent quality |
| Internal streams | Summary Information, Image Contents, and Image Description streams inside the OLE2 document |
| Status | Effectively obsolete since approximately 2000; no mainstream browser or OS native support as of 2026 |
| Released | 1996 (FlashPix 1.0 specification, September 11, 1996) |
| Latest version | FlashPix 1.0.1 (minor revision, 1997) |
| Open standard | Yes · royalty-free |
| Specification | graphcomp.com |
FPX conversions
Community Q&A
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