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Image MIME Reference
FreeHand

Macromedia FreeHand Document

image/x-freehand
VS

JPEG Network Graphics

image/x-jng
JNG

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

Equal browser support

Feature Support

Feature FreeHand JNG
Transparency (Alpha) Yes Yes
Animation Support Yes ✕ No
Progressive Loading ✕ No Yes
HDR Support ✕ No ✕ No
EXIF Metadata ✕ No Yes
ICC Color Profile Yes Yes
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 →
JPEG Network Graphics
image/x-jng
Extension
.jng
Container PNG-style Chunk Structure (JHDR, JDAT, IDAT, IEND)
Compression Lossy (JPEG/DCT for color) / Lossless (Deflate for alpha mask)
Algorithm
JPEG (Discrete Cosine Transform)Deflate (LZ77)
Color Depth 8-bit, 12-bit, 24-bit (RGB), 32-bit (RGBA)
Developed by MNG Development Group (Glenn Randers-Pehrson et al.)
Released 2001
Magic Bytes
8B 4A 4E 47 0D 0A 1A 0A
Full JNG reference →

Browser Support Comparison

Browser FreeHand JNG
Chrome Chrome
✕ ✕
Firefox Firefox
✕ ✕
Safari Safari
✕ ✕
Edge Edge
✕ ✕
IE IE (Legacy)
✕ ✕
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
JNG

JNG Strengths

  • Solved a massive technical hurdle in the early 2000s by combining high-compression lossy photographic data with crisp, 8-bit alpha transparency
  • Utilized the highly robust, extensible chunk-based architecture of the PNG format
  • Provided an excellent, bandwidth-saving alternative to massive 32-bit transparent PNGs for web design
Limitations
  • Failed to achieve critical mass; browser vendors largely abandoned the MNG/JNG standard due to implementation complexity
  • Completely obsolete today, having been superseded by natively supported, superior formats like WebP, AVIF, and HEIC
  • Decoding requires a hybrid engine that can parse PNG chunks while simultaneously decoding a JPEG stream and a Deflate stream, complicating software support

When to choose which format

FreeHand
Use FreeHand when…
  • Legacy Graphic Design Portfolios
  • Historical Desktop Publishing Archival
  • Old Corporate Logo Vectors
JNG
Use JNG when…
  • Embedded frames in MNG animations
  • Historical web graphics requiring lossy compression with transparency

More comparisons

FreeHand vs ACES → JNG vs ACES → FreeHand vs APNG → JNG vs APNG → FreeHand vs AVCI → JNG vs AVCI → FreeHand vs AVCS → JNG vs AVCS → FreeHand vs AVIF → JNG vs AVIF → All comparisons →
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