Pdf Tiff Jpeg Bmp?

[newomij]

In doing various projects on the computer, I am often given the choice of these different formats to use. I have never researched what they are and how they differ. Can someone take the time to explain them and when one should be used instead of the others. And, when the program is offering the choices, does it list the best option at the top of the list?

I know, I know!! This is really basic stuff! But, sometimes you are so caught up in the extremes of life that you tend to overlook the basics. Been there, done that!!!!

Thanks to everyone who responds!
newomij

[mairving]

PDF is not really in that group since it applies to a document not an image. PDF allows you to imbed fonts/images in the document and then share that document and preserve formatting.

The other 3 are images. BMP (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Windows_bitmap) and TIF's (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TIF) are uncompressed images. Jpeg's (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jpeg) are compressed (smaller sized images) often used on websites and since they are smaller to transfer by email.

[Kareeser]

You may have been referring to PNG, which is another form of lossless graphics (like BMP), but compress much better

[mairving]

You may have been referring to PNG, which is another form of lossless graphics (like BMP), but compress much better
There is also .gif which is still used quite extensively on the internet. PNG's are somewhat replacing it but aren't fully supported by some browsers.

[Cricket]

These web pages might help shed some light on this subject:

Image Formats (http://www.image-formats.com/)

Understanding Image File Formats (http://amath.colorado.edu/computing/graphics/understand_fmts.html)

Understanding Graphics File Formats (http://www.molbiol.bbsrc.ac.uk/protein/graphics_formats.html)

:) Cricket