Many users have repeatedly found files with the NEF extension on their computer. Sometimes they appear in a conspicuous place, but when you try to open them, the operating system gives an error message. In this regard, many are wondering how to open NEF, as well as what these files are in general.
First of all, you need to remember that this format indicates that you have a Nikon RAW image file in front of you, which is an image. Many users try to do as simple as possible, they try to open the NEF file by double-clicking on the icon in the hope that it will open by default of one of the programs installed on the computer. However, such attempts are not always successful, since the necessary software on the computer may simply be absent.
Files with the NEF extension can be opened by most graphic tools - Adobe Photoshop, IrfanView, GIMP, etc. By opening this file in one of these programs, you can overwrite it in another format that is more convenient for you. This is done quite simply - select "Save As ..." in the menu of your program, then save your NEF file with other characteristics.
In addition, when choosing how to open NEF, one should take into account the fact that many files are text data, regardless of what their extension is. Therefore, it is always worth trying to use Notepad to open such a file, since it is able to correctly display the contents. Of course, this is not the best answer to the question of how to open NEF, and this method does not always work, but it's still worth a try.
In addition, it may be that when you try to open the NEF file, the computer starts using the default program that is not suitable for this purpose. In this case, you need to make changes to the Windows settings and assign the default software that you constantly use to work with such files. Sometimes such settings are necessary when installing a new graphics program, if the files continue to open by default in other applications.
In addition, in search of an answer to the question of how to open NEF, various converter services can also help. So, you can convert a file of this format to any convenient for you, using special online services that will complete this task in a few minutes. In addition, if you work with files of this type all the time, but do not always have access to the Internet, you can download and install the appropriate software that can transfer files from one format to another. Almost any of them can convert NEF to JPG or BMP.
The last thing to remember: no need to rename the file, changing its extension to your convenience. With such actions, the file is not actually converted to another format and is recognized by the computer as containing an error. In some cases, this can lead to the fact that the image does not open at all, since the computer will not identify such data properly, therefore, it will display them as unknown.