Free online JPEG to WMF converter

What the JPEG format is

JPEG, identified by .jpg and .jpeg, is a raster format that stores images as pixels with lossy compression. Digital cameras, smartphones, scanners, web browsers, and editors such as Adobe Photoshop and GIMP commonly create or use JPEG files. JPEG is efficient for photographs and continuous-tone images, but repeated saving can add compression artifacts. It does not contain editable vector shapes.

What the WMF format is

WMF (Windows Metafile) is a legacy Windows graphics format that can store drawing instructions for lines, shapes, text, fills, and bitmap images. Its vector elements can be scaled without the jagged edges produced by enlarging pixels, and older Windows, Office, desktop-publishing, diagramming, and CAD applications may support it more readily than newer formats.

WMF is not automatically a vectorization format. When a JPEG is converted directly, the JPEG is normally embedded as a bitmap record inside the WMF file. The output retains the source image's pixels and cannot be edited as separate vector shapes. Tracing the image before export is a separate operation and works best for logos, line art, and flat-color illustrations rather than photographs.

How to convert a JPEG to WMF

Use 101convert.com when the target application only needs a WMF container around the existing image:

1. Open the site's JPEG-to-WMF converter; it works without installing software.
2. Upload a file such as photo.jpg.
3. Select WMF as the output format and start the conversion.
4. Download the resulting photo.wmf file and open it in the receiving Windows or Office application.

For confidential images, use desktop software instead of uploading the source file. LibreOffice Draw can perform a direct export in builds that include the WMF filter:

1. Open LibreOffice Draw and choose Insert → Image to place the JPEG.
2. Select the image, then choose File → Export. Depending on the version, right-clicking the image and choosing its save or export command may provide the same function.
3. Choose WMF, specify a filename ending in .wmf, and confirm the export.
4. Open the file in the target program and check its dimensions, placement, and rendering. If WMF is not listed, use the built-in converter or a Windows graphics application that explicitly supports WMF export.

CorelDRAW can also import the JPEG and export it through File → Export with WMF selected. Inkscape or CorelDRAW can trace a suitable logo or illustration before export, but tracing a photograph usually produces an approximate, much larger drawing rather than an equivalent photo.

Quality and compatibility limits

• The WMF file cannot restore detail discarded by JPEG compression. Existing noise, blocking, and blur remain in the embedded bitmap.
• Set the JPEG to the required pixel dimensions before conversion. Enlarging the WMF enlarges the embedded pixels; it does not make the photograph genuinely scalable.
• WMF vector records can scale, but a mixed WMF containing a JPEG has different quality limits for its vector and bitmap parts.
• WMF has uneven support in current macOS, Linux, browser, and graphics applications. Some programs support Enhanced Metafile (.emf) more reliably. Use SVG or PDF for new workflows when the receiving program does not specifically require WMF.
• Renaming .jpg to .wmf changes only the filename extension and does not convert the file.