Image Exchange Format
image/ief
Released 1992
· by IETF Network Fax Working Group
The Image Exchange Format (IEF) is a legacy image format defined in RFC 1314. Developed in the early 1990s, it provided a standardized way to transmit bi-level (black and white) fax-like images over the Internet, utilizing the TIFF Class B (TIFF-B) structure.
Technical Specifications
.ief
MHMRMMRUncompressed
image/tiff
Magic Bytes & HTTP Headers
II*. / MM.*
Browser Support Matrix
| Browser | Status | Min Version |
|---|---|---|
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Not Supported | — |
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Not Supported | — |
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Not Supported | — |
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Not Supported | — |
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Not Supported | Legacy |
Advantages & Limitations
- Provided a standard method for exchanging bi-level fax images during the early days of the Internet
- Supported multi-page documents
- Leveraged the highly resilient and well-documented TIFF container
- Completely obsolete and unsupported in modern computing environments
- Strictly limited to 1-bit monochrome data, lacking color or grayscale capabilities
- Magic bytes overlap completely with standard TIFF, making specific filetype detection difficult without parsing internal tags
Developer Code Snippets
File Detection Steps
How to programmatically detect a image/ief
file by reading its raw bytes:
- 1 Check for standard TIFF headers: 'II*\0' (49 49 2A 00) or 'MM\0*' (4D 4D 00 2A)
- 2 Parse the TIFF Image File Directories (IFD) to verify the image uses 1-bit monochrome sample depth (TIFF-B requirements)
Software Support
ImageMagick
Conversion Tools
Share & Embed
[](https://freewebptojpg.com/mime/image/ief)
<iframe src="https://freewebptojpg.com/mime/image/ief/embed" width="100%" height="280" style="border:1px solid #cbd5e1;border-radius:8px;" title="IEF Specs"></iframe>
JSON API
All data on this page is available as a free, open JSON API. Use it in your project, documentation, or tooling.
GET https://freewebptojpg.com/mime/image/ief.json
Open JSON
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the magic byte for an IEF file?
Because the IEF standard is defined as a subset of the TIFF format (specifically TIFF-B), it utilizes standard TIFF magic bytes. A file will begin with either 49 49 2A 00 (little-endian) or 4D 4D 00 2A (big-endian).
Is image/ief still used?
No. The Image Exchange Format is considered completely obsolete. It has been superseded by more robust standards like TIFF-FX, standard multi-page TIFF, PDF, and PNG for document exchange.
Can web browsers open IEF files?
No modern web browser supports the IEF format natively. It was designed for legacy internet fax gateways and requires specialized TIFF viewers or conversion to modern formats.