What is a .PCT file?
PCT is the DOS/Windows three-letter spelling of an Apple PICT picture, the classic Mac bitmap-and-vector image format.
- Did you know
- The .pct name exists only because early PCs limited extensions to three letters, so Mac PICT files had to drop a letter to cross over.
- PICT was the Mac clipboard and printing format from 1984, so copying a picture between classic Mac apps almost always meant PICT data.
- Apple dropped PICT as a system format with the move to Mac OS X and Quartz, leaving it a legacy format today.
- What Analyser reads
- Decode and preview extra still-image formats in pure JavaScript - Truevision TGA, QOI, Netpbm (PPM/PGM/PBM), PCX, farbfeld, WBMP, XBM/XPM, Sun Raster and SGI are fully rendered - and read header metadata from codec-heavy formats: Radiance HDR, DirectDraw Surface (DDS) game textures, OpenEXR, JPEG 2000, JPEG XR, EPS/PostScript, Windows WMF/EMF metafiles, Apple ICNS icons, CUR/ANI cursors, MNG and Lottie animations.
- Depth of analysis
- .PCT is an identification-grade format: Analyser recognises it from its bytes and decodes the header metadata it carries, rather than opening it in a full viewer. Formats that do get a full viewer are marked "Full" on the formats page.
- Open a .PCT file
- Drag a .PCT file onto the Analyser home page (or tap to pick one). It is identified entirely in your browser - nothing is uploaded, there is no account, and it works offline once installed.