CopyTrans HEIC for Windows is a free software solution that adds support for the HEIC image format to devices running Microsoft’s Windows operating system.
HEIF, the High Efficiency Image File Format, is a relatively new format for images and image sequences that is more storage space efficient than common formats such as JPG or PNG.
Apple introduced support for HEIF in iOS 11 and Mac OS High Sierra but has been the only major player to built-in support for the format.
The two common extensions that HEIF, a container format, uses are .heif and .heic. Apple uses the .heic extension for single images, and .heics for image sequence files.
While these display fine on Apple devices, they don’t display at all on Windows. Windows Explorer does not display thumbnails for these file types, and the default image viewer and most third-party viewers don’t support the format either.
This is a problem; if you connect an iOS device to Windows machines for instance, you will run into display and other issues if you transfer heic files to the device.
CopyTrans HEIC for Windows
CopyTrans HEIC for Windows is a free application for Windows that adds support for the .heic format to systems running Windows. Support is limited to .heic currently, but the developer, CopyTrans, promised to add support for the .heif format in future versions as well.
The application is compatible with Windows 7 and newer versions of the Microsoft Windows operating system.
Note: The page seems to be only available in a German version right now. Just scroll down to the big download button and hit it to download the software.
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All you need to do is download the 8 Megabyte installer file from the CopyTrans website, and run it afterwards. Support for the format is added to the system so that you will see .heic image previews in Windows Explorer.
The installer adds a new context menu option to Explorer that you may use to convert .heic images to .jpeg images using it.
It adds capabilities to integrate .heic images in Microsoft Office applications such as Microsoft Word or Microsoft PowerPoint, and enables printing options as well for .heic images.
Tip: If you just need to add viewing support, you may also install a XnView plugin that adds support for the format to the free image viewer.
Closing Words
While most Windows users who don’t use Apple devices may not run into .heic files anytime soon, those who do use Apple devices may want to add support for the format rather sooner than later. The same is true for companies who interact with Apple device users, especially if these users sometimes send in photos taken on their devices.