What is a PNG file exactly?

[AZ_Rachel]

? :) I noticed Fotofusion uses this format... it's the first time I've honestly heard of it.

[Emma]

okay, let me see if I remember this correctly:

PNG: portable network graphic
It was an updated, patent-free version of the GIF (graphic interchange format). It supports a broader range of colors than GIF, and has transparent backgrounds. So if you have an eyelet element, you'll have just the eyelet, and not a little white square around it like with GIF or JPG. Plus, the colors are much smoother since GIF only has 256 colors (so has poor transitions and choppy drop shadows). It's the default graphic in MX Fireworks and some other programs.

So now GIF is used for simple, bold graphics, and PNG is used for subtle, realistic graphics.

JPG (joint photographic experts group) is still the accepted format for photos.

Basically, it's just a file extension for a graphic