BMP2 to BMP3 Converter
FileFlip converts BMP2 to BMP3 entirely inside your browser, using ImageMagick compiled to WebAssembly. The file is never uploaded to a server: it is read off your disk, converted on your own machine, and saved back by the browser. That means no file-size limit, no queue and no account.
How do I convert a BMP2 file to BMP3?#
- Drop your BMP2 file onto the converter at the top of this page, or click it to pick one from your computer. You can add as many as you like.
- Leave the target set to BMP3 and the conversion starts on its own. FileFlip downloads 14.1 MB of WebAssembly the first time and nothing after that, then runs ImageMagick on your own machine.
- Save the BMP3 file. Your browser writes it straight to your downloads folder, because there was never a server holding it.
Does converting BMP2 to BMP3 lose quality?#
No. Converting BMP2 to BMP3 writes the data out again without discarding any of it, so nothing that was in the BMP2 file is lost on the way. What changes is the size of the file, not what is inside it.
Is it safe to convert BMP2 files online?#
Yes, because nothing is uploaded. FileFlip converts BMP2 files inside the browser tab you already have open, using WebAssembly builds of the same engines a desktop converter would install. Your file is read from your own disk into the page's memory, and no request carrying it is ever made.
You do not have to take that on trust. Open your browser's network panel, run a conversion, and you will see the engine come down and your file go nowhere. There is no upload, no server-side copy, no retention window, and no account tied to what you converted.
How FileFlip works lists every engine, its version and its download size, and shows how to check for yourself that nothing leaves your machine.
What BMP2 to BMP3 actually does to the file#
Converting BMP2 to BMP3 runs on ImageMagick, downloads 14.1 MB of WebAssembly the first time and nothing after that, writes the data out again without discarding any of it.
| Engine | ImageMagick |
|---|---|
| Conversion path | One step: BMP2 → BMP3 |
| Downloaded to your browser | 14.1 MB, once, then cached by your browser |
| Quality | Lossless |
| You get back | One file |
| Where it runs | In a background worker, so the page stays responsive |
What is a BMP2 file?#
BMP2 is ImageMagick's name for a Windows bitmap saved with the original 12-byte BITMAPCOREHEADER from 1987's OS/2 1.x, an encoding choice rather than a different file format, so the result is an ordinary uncompressed .bmp using the oldest and most limited header structure.
Choose BMP2 only when a specific legacy OS/2 or early-1990s Windows program requires the old-style bitmap header.
Save as standard BMP or BMP3 for anything opened on a modern system, since BMP2's extra compatibility buys nothing there.
What is a BMP3 file?#
BMP3 is ImageMagick's name for a Windows bitmap saved with the 40-byte BITMAPINFOHEADER that Windows 3.0 introduced in 1990, an encoding choice rather than a different file format, and it's the header structure the overwhelming majority of ordinary .bmp files already use.
Choose BMP3 for maximum compatibility, since it's the header format nearly all BMP-reading software expects.
Convert away from BMP to PNG when the image needs transparency, or when you want lossless compression smaller than BMP3's largely uncompressed pixel data.
BMP2 to BMP3 questions people ask#
What's the difference between BMP2 and BMP3?
BMP2 uses the old 12-byte OS/2 1.x header and tops out at 24-bit color with no compression. BMP3 uses the 40-byte BITMAPINFOHEADER that Windows 3.0 introduced, which adds 16-bit and 32-bit pixel formats plus RLE compression, and is the header nearly every modern BMP file actually uses.
Should I use BMP2 for a new project?
No, BMP2 has no advantage on a modern system. Use plain BMP or BMP3 instead, and reach for BMP2 only if a legacy OS/2 or early-1990s Windows application specifically requires that header.
What is BMP2?
BMP2 is ImageMagick's name for a Windows bitmap written with the original 12-byte BITMAPCOREHEADER from OS/2 1.x, not a separate image format. The file is still a plain, uncompressed .bmp and opens anywhere BMP does.
What is BMP3?
BMP3 is ImageMagick's name for a standard Windows bitmap written with the 40-byte BITMAPINFOHEADER, not a separate format. It's the same header structure that almost every ordinary .bmp file already uses.