Windows Metafile

Windows Metafile (WMF) is a image file format originally designed for Microsoft Windows in the 1990s. Windows Metafiles are intended to be portable between applications and may contain both vector graphics and bitmap components. It acts in a similar manner to SVG files.

Essentially, a WMF file stores a list of function calls that have to be issued to the Windows Graphics Device Interface (GDI) layer to display an image on screen. Since some GDI functions accept pointers to callback functions for error handling, a WMF file may erroneously include executable code.

WMF is a 16-bit format introduced in Windows 3.0. It is the native vector format for Microsoft Office applications such as Word, PowerPoint, and Publisher.