The converter also works in reverse, so you can convert other "Portable Graymap Image" formats to PGM without using software like ImageMagick or a similar tool.
The .PGM (Portable Graymap) file is a legacy grayscale image format originally created by Jef Poskanzer for the Netpbm open-source toolkit. It stores a 2D matrix of pixel brightness values. While usually an image, a .PGM file can alternatively be a CNC woodworking routing program used by SCM Group Xilog or a configuration file for Akai MPC samplers. To open standard .PGM images, users typically rely on developer tools like ImageMagick or raster editors like GIMP. This format is highly impractical for modern daily use. .PGM files are completely uncompressed, resulting in massive file sizes compared to modern alternatives. They lack support for color, metadata, or layers. Crucially, native web browsers and mobile operating systems cannot render .PGM files natively. If you attempt to attach one to an email or embed it in a website, it will fail to display and force a raw file download. To make these files usable, conversion is mandatory. For web publication and sharing, convert .PGM to PNG to retain lossless quality, or JPG for maximum compression. If you need to include the image in a document archive, convert it to PDF/A. Drag and drop your file here on convert.guru to analyze and convert it - free, online, and without installing software.
Use Convert.Guru to open and convert your PGM file.
If you want to convert PGM file to CUR, you can use ImageMagick or similar software from the "Grayscale Image Storage" category. In the File menu, look for Save As… or Export….
To convert files to PGM, try ImageMagick or another comparable tool in the "Grayscale Image Storage" category.
The PGM Converter Story
The history of Convert.Guru began over 25 years ago in California with Tom Simondi’s file-format database. A former contributor to Space Shuttle development and a software pioneer of the 1980s, Simondi established a trusted resource for file type analysis that was even referenced by Microsoft Windows XP. Today, we use modern technology to process and convert thousands of file formats while continually improving our PGM converter.