ART image file format
Encyclopedia
ART is a proprietary
image file format used mostly by the America Online
(AOL) service and client
software.
that has been highly compressed
. The format was designed to facilitate the quick downloading of images, among other things. Originally, the compression was developed by the Johnson-Grace Company
, which was then acquired by AOL. When an image is converted to the ART format, the image is analyzed and the software decides what compression technique would be best. The ART format has similarities to the progressive JPEG
format, and certain attributes of the ART format can lead to image quality being sacrificed for the sake of image compression (for instance, the image's color palette can be limited.)
to the compressed ART format. This conversion, which can be turned off, can reduce the download time for image files.
platform, Microsoft
released the AOL Image Support Update which added support for ART images. The Internet Explorer
browser no longer supports ART files as of 2006. In June 2006, Microsoft released a security update for the Internet Explorer browser. Among other things, this update removed support for ART files from the Internet Explorer browser in order to help prevent issues where invalid ART data could cause the Internet Explorer software to unexpectedly quit. An ART file that is opened with the AOL picture viewer can be saved as another file type.
Proprietary software
Proprietary software is computer software licensed under exclusive legal right of the copyright holder. The licensee is given the right to use the software under certain conditions, while restricted from other uses, such as modification, further distribution, or reverse engineering.Complementary...
image file format used mostly by the America Online
AOL
AOL Inc. is an American global Internet services and media company. AOL is headquartered at 770 Broadway in New York. Founded in 1983 as Control Video Corporation, it has franchised its services to companies in several nations around the world or set up international versions of its services...
(AOL) service and client
Client (computing)
A client is an application or system that accesses a service made available by a server. The server is often on another computer system, in which case the client accesses the service by way of a network....
software.
Technical details
The ART format (file extension ".art") holds a single still imageImage
An image is an artifact, for example a two-dimensional picture, that has a similar appearance to some subject—usually a physical object or a person.-Characteristics:...
that has been highly compressed
Image compression
The objective of image compression is to reduce irrelevance and redundancy of the image data in order to be able to store or transmit data in an efficient form.- Lossy and lossless compression :...
. The format was designed to facilitate the quick downloading of images, among other things. Originally, the compression was developed by the Johnson-Grace Company
Johnson-Grace
Johnson-Grace is a data compression company based in the United States.The company was founded by Steve Johnson and Chris Grace in Newport Beach, California in 1992 to develop a generic spreadsheet technology for simulation modeling...
, which was then acquired by AOL. When an image is converted to the ART format, the image is analyzed and the software decides what compression technique would be best. The ART format has similarities to the progressive JPEG
JPEG
In computing, JPEG . The degree of compression can be adjusted, allowing a selectable tradeoff between storage size and image quality. JPEG typically achieves 10:1 compression with little perceptible loss in image quality....
format, and certain attributes of the ART format can lead to image quality being sacrificed for the sake of image compression (for instance, the image's color palette can be limited.)
Usage by AOL
The AOL service can automatically convert images obtained from the InternetInternet
The Internet is a global system of interconnected computer networks that use the standard Internet protocol suite to serve billions of users worldwide...
to the compressed ART format. This conversion, which can be turned off, can reduce the download time for image files.
Software support for ART
The Graphic Workshop Professional software from Alchemy Mindworks Corp. supports ART files. (With later versions of the Graphic Workshop Professional software, an ART plugin from Alchemy Mindworks is required for this support.) For the Windows 2000Windows 2000
Windows 2000 is a line of operating systems produced by Microsoft for use on personal computers, business desktops, laptops, and servers. Windows 2000 was released to manufacturing on 15 December 1999 and launched to retail on 17 February 2000. It is the successor to Windows NT 4.0, and is the...
platform, Microsoft
Microsoft
Microsoft Corporation is an American public multinational corporation headquartered in Redmond, Washington, USA that develops, manufactures, licenses, and supports a wide range of products and services predominantly related to computing through its various product divisions...
released the AOL Image Support Update which added support for ART images. The Internet Explorer
Internet Explorer
Windows Internet Explorer is a series of graphical web browsers developed by Microsoft and included as part of the Microsoft Windows line of operating systems, starting in 1995. It was first released as part of the add-on package Plus! for Windows 95 that year...
browser no longer supports ART files as of 2006. In June 2006, Microsoft released a security update for the Internet Explorer browser. Among other things, this update removed support for ART files from the Internet Explorer browser in order to help prevent issues where invalid ART data could cause the Internet Explorer software to unexpectedly quit. An ART file that is opened with the AOL picture viewer can be saved as another file type.
External links
- Johnson-Grace Company official Web site via the Internet ArchiveInternet ArchiveThe Internet Archive is a non-profit digital library with the stated mission of "universal access to all knowledge". It offers permanent storage and access to collections of digitized materials, including websites, music, moving images, and nearly 3 million public domain books. The Internet Archive...
- "Optimizing Web Graphics: Compression": A WebReference.comWebReference.comWebReference.com is a web site devoted to World Wide Web development. Created in 1995 by Athenia Associates, it is owned by Jupitermedia Corp as of 2005.-External links:* *...
article with technical details on the ART image format. - An AOL Help entry about Internet images being saved in the ART format Data compression using adaptive bit allocation and hybrid lossless entropy coding Optimal spline interpolation for image compression Method and apparatus for compressing images