Free online BMP to TNS converter

What the BMP format is

BMP is a raster image format associated with Microsoft Windows. It stores pixel data with little or no compression and can contain monochrome, grayscale, indexed-color, or true-color images. Microsoft Paint, Windows image utilities, scanners, and older graphics applications commonly create BMP files; they also appear in legacy software, screenshots, technical diagrams, and exported artwork.

What the TNS format is

TNS is the proprietary document format used by Texas Instruments TI-Nspire software and calculators. A TNS document can contain Notes pages, calculations, graphs, geometry, and inserted image objects, including bitmap graphics.

TNS is useful when the image must be opened alongside TI-Nspire content or transferred to a compatible TI-Nspire handheld. It is not a general-purpose image format, so ordinary image viewers cannot normally open a TNS file as a picture.

How to actually convert BMP to TNS

Using the online converter

1. Open the BMP-to-TNS converter on 101convert.com.
2. Upload the required .bmp file.
3. Start the conversion and download the generated .tns file.
4. Open the result in TI-Nspire CX Student Software or compatible TI-Nspire software to verify that the image appears correctly.

This option requires no software installation. The resulting file is expected to be a TI-Nspire document containing the source image, not a TNS-native replacement for BMP pixels.

Using TI-Nspire software

1. Open TI-Nspire CX Student Software or another compatible TI-Nspire desktop application.
2. Create a new document.
3. Choose Insert → Image, select the BMP file, and place the image on a Notes, Geometry, or other page that accepts image objects.
4. Adjust the image size and position without enlarging it beyond its source resolution.
5. Choose File → Save or File → Save As and save the document with the .tns extension.
6. Transfer the document to the calculator with TI-Nspire software if handheld use is required.

Quality, compatibility, and limitations

BMP files can be large because they are often uncompressed. TI-Nspire software may resize or recompress an inserted image, and the calculator's display resolution and color capability can make fine detail unreadable. Reduce excessive dimensions before insertion while retaining the aspect ratio.

A TNS file may contain several document objects, so it cannot generally be converted back to the original BMP by merely changing the filename extension. If the converter or TI-Nspire application rejects a particular BMP, first save it as a standard 24-bit BMP or PNG in an image editor, then insert the new file.