WMF — Windows Metafile (legacy)
Open BetaWMF (Windows Metafile) is Windows' 16-bit vector format from 1990, still alive in the Office clipboard and in legacy documents. Our exporter writes WMF directly, without Inkscape: the map is rendered through QGIS to SVG, paths are parsed into polylines and encoded as Placeable WMF records. Honest about the format limits: coordinates are 16-bit (±32767), so large maps are clamped into the coordinate space with some precision loss, and the output is stroked outlines without fills or labels. WMF is chosen for compatibility with old Word and Visio versions.
Key Features
About WMF Format
WMF is a Windows vector format from the late 1980s that has survived to this day in the Office clipboard and in old documents. It is 16-bit: coordinates fit into a range of roughly minus 32 to plus 32 thousand units, and that determines all of its behavior.
It is taken for exactly one reason — compatibility. If a map has to go into a document that is opened in Word 2003 or in earlier generations of Visio, and every other format breaks there, WMF will work.
We write the file directly, without Inkscape: the map is rendered to SVG, the paths are broken down into polylines and encoded as Placeable WMF records with a correct header and scale. The output is line work: there are no fills and no labels in the file, and over a large area small geometry gets rounded off because of the cramped coordinate space.
That is why WMF is the format of last-resort compatibility. If the receiving side allows anything else, EMF, SVG or PDF will give you fills, text and precision.
What Program Opens WMF Files
The following programs and applications can open, edit, and work with WMF — Windows Metafile (legacy) (.wmf) files exported from OSM2CDR:
Format specifications
- Proprietary format
- 2D only
- Lossless (no quality loss)
- No attributes
- Output: 1 file
- A 16-bit Placeable Windows Metafile (magic 0x9AC6CDD7) from QGIS -> SVG -> polylines; coordinates clamped to +-32767 with some precision loss, stroked outlines only.
Who Uses WMF Maps
How to Export WMF
How to Open After Export
- Microsoft Word and PowerPoint — Insert → Pictures; the map will land as a vector object and will scale without losing sharpness.
- Visio — insert the image, then ungroup it (Ctrl+Shift+U): the lines become ordinary shapes of the document.
- LibreOffice Draw — opens .wmf directly, handy when the document travels between Windows and Linux.
- CorelDRAW or Inkscape — import for further work: fill the outlines, add labels, export onward to PDF or SVG.
- If the map looks sparse — it is: WMF gives line work only. For a full-fledged vector map go to SVG, PDF or EMF.
Popular maps in WMF
Get WMF — Windows Metafile (legacy) map exports
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