File extension ARW
| File type | Sony Digital Camera RAW Image Format |
| Developer | Sony |
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What is a ARW file?
Files with the .ARW extension contain digital images in raw and uncompressed form – exactly as captured by the camera CCD sensor. The format is based on the TIFF specification, although it is not standardized – the encoding can be different depending on the camera model. ARW files are unique to Sony digital cameras. To ensure that it can handle the right ARW files, the program used for opening said files must support the relevant camera model.
Using a raw ARW file allows for non-lossy editing and exporting into popular raster image files, such as JPG or TIFF, for the purposes of sharing or printing.
Program(s) that can open the .ARW file
Windows
Mac OS
Linux
How to open ARW files
If you cannot open the ARW file on your computer - there may be several reasons. The first and most important reason (the most common) is the lack of a suitable software that supports ARW among those that are installed on your device.
A very simple way to solve this problem is to find and download the appropriate application. The first part of the task has already been done – the software supporting the ARW file can be found in the table. Now just download and install the appropriate application.
Possible problems with the ARW format files
The inability to open and operate the ARW file does not necessarily mean that you do not have an appropriate software installed on your computer. There may be other problems that also block our ability to operate the Sony Digital Camera RAW Image Format file. Below is a list of possible problems.
- Corruption of a ARW file which is being opened
- Incorrect links to the ARW file in registry entries.
- Accidental deletion of the description of the ARW from the Windows registry
- Incomplete installation of an application that supports the ARW format
- The ARW file which is being opened is infected with an undesirable malware.
- The computer does not have enough hardware resources to cope with the opening of the ARW file.
- Drivers of equipment used by the computer to open a ARW file are out of date.
If you are sure that all of these reasons do not exist in your case (or have already been eliminated), the ARW file should operate with your programs without any problem. If the problem with the ARW file has not been solved, it may be due to the fact that in this case there is also another rare problem with the ARW file. In this case, the only you can do is to ask for assistance of a professional staff.
Similar extensions
| .arw | Sony Digital Camera RAW Image Format |
| .bay | Kodak/Roper Bayer Picture Sequence Format |
| .cr2 | Canon Digital Camera RAW Image Format Version 2.0 |
| .crw | Canon Digital Camera RAW Image Format |
| .dcr | Kodak Digital Camera Raw Image Format |
| .dng | Adobe Digital Negative Format |
| .eip | Enhanced Image Package Format |
| .fff | Gravis Ultrasound PnP Bank Format |
This extension
can be converted to:
How to associate the file with an installed software?
If you want to associate a file with a new program (e.g. my-file.ARW) you have two ways to do it. The first and the easiest one is to right-click on the selected ARW file. From the drop-down menu select "Choose default program", then click "Browse" and find the desired program. The whole operation must be confirmed by clicking OK. The second and more difficult to do is associate the ARW file extension to the corresponding software in the Windows Registry.
Is there one way to open unknown files?
Many files contain only simple text data. It is possible that while opening unknown files (e.g. ARW) with a simple text editor like Windows Notepad will allow us to see some of the data encoded in the file. This method allows you to preview the contents of many files, but probably not in such a structure as a program dedicated to support them.