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Image MIME Reference
CNS-INF2

Comverse Network Systems INF2 Image

image/vnd.cns.inf2
VS

Macromedia FreeHand Document

image/x-freehand
FreeHand

A complete technical comparison of Comverse Network Systems INF2 Image and Macromedia FreeHand Document — covering compression, feature support, browser compatibility, magic bytes, and when to choose each format.

Equal browser support

Feature Support

Feature CNS-INF2 FreeHand
Transparency (Alpha) ✕ No Yes
Animation Support ✕ No Yes
Progressive Loading ✕ No ✕ No
HDR Support ✕ No ✕ No
EXIF Metadata ✕ No ✕ No
ICC Color Profile ✕ No Yes
Comverse Network Systems INF2 Image
image/vnd.cns.inf2
Extension
.inf2
Container Proprietary Comverse Container
Compression Proprietary
Algorithm
Unknown (Proprietary Telecom Encoding)
Color Depth Unknown
Developed by Comverse Network Systems (Ann McLaughlin)
Released 1999
Magic Bytes
Unknown (Proprietary)
Full CNS-INF2 reference →
Macromedia FreeHand Document
image/x-freehand
Extension
.fh.fh4.fh5.fh7.fh8.fh9.fh10.fh11.ft11
Container Proprietary Binary (Aldus Graphic Document)
Compression Uncompressed / Deflate (in later versions)
Algorithm
NoneDeflate (Optional in later versions)
Color Depth Vector Data (RGB/CMYK)
Developed by Altsys / Aldus / Macromedia
Released 1988
Magic Bytes
41 47 44 31 to 41 47 44 34
Full FreeHand reference →

Browser Support Comparison

Browser CNS-INF2 FreeHand
Chrome Chrome
✕ ✕
Firefox Firefox
✕ ✕
Safari Safari
✕ ✕
Edge Edge
✕ ✕
IE IE (Legacy)
✕ ✕
CNS-INF2

CNS-INF2 Strengths

  • Historically allowed Comverse to standardize media transmission internally across their global telecom messaging platforms
Limitations
  • Completely obsolete and non-functional outside of decommissioned telecom infrastructure
  • Undocumented, closed-source binary structure
  • Zero support in modern image processing libraries like ImageMagick, libvips, or FFmpeg
FreeHand

FreeHand Strengths

  • Historically one of the most powerful and intuitive vector editors on the market, praised for multi-page support long before Adobe Illustrator implemented it
  • Files are generally compact and self-contained
Limitations
  • Completely abandoned proprietary format; Adobe actively blocked native import in modern versions of Illustrator
  • No support in modern web browsers; must be converted to SVG
  • Versioning fragmentation means parsers must account for wildly different binary structures depending on the specific .fhX extension used

When to choose which format

CNS-INF2
Use CNS-INF2 when…
  • Legacy Telecom Infrastructure
  • Historical Comverse Unified Messaging Systems
  • Proprietary Server-to-Server Media Exchange
FreeHand
Use FreeHand when…
  • Legacy Graphic Design Portfolios
  • Historical Desktop Publishing Archival
  • Old Corporate Logo Vectors

More comparisons

CNS-INF2 vs ACES → FreeHand vs ACES → CNS-INF2 vs APNG → FreeHand vs APNG → CNS-INF2 vs AVCI → FreeHand vs AVCI → CNS-INF2 vs AVCS → FreeHand vs AVCS → CNS-INF2 vs AVIF → FreeHand vs AVIF → All comparisons →
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