ENFF File Format (.enff)
An ENFF file is plain text written to the Extensions of the Neutral File Format document dated April 16, 1993, which adds positional lights with intensity and colour, an ambient shading term, and Bezier and NURBS surface patches on top of the base NFF primitives.
ENFF at a glance#
| Full name | Extended Neutral File Format |
|---|---|
| File extension | .enff |
| Category | 3D Models |
| First released | 1993 |
| Compression | Uncompressed |
| Specification | Extensions of the Neutral File Format |
| FileFlip support | FileFlip reads this format but does not write it |
What a .enff file can hold#
These are the things a ENFF file either supports or does not, and they are what decides whether a conversion keeps everything or quietly drops something.
| Human readable | Yes |
|---|
Strengths and limitations of ENFF#
What ENFF does well
- Adds curved Bezier and NURBS patches, which the base NFF format has no way to describe at all
- Keeps NFF's plain-text, one-letter-per-line syntax rather than introducing a new structure
- Positional lights carry proper intensity and colour instead of NFF's simpler light definition
Where ENFF falls short
- Even more niche than plain NFF, since only tools that specifically added the extended primitives read it
- No skeleton, animation or texture mapping support, the same gap NFF itself has
- No governing body ever adopted it beyond the original document; it never became a formal standard
Use ENFF only alongside an existing renderer or scene archive that already relies on its Bezier or NURBS extensions to NFF.
Convert ENFF to OBJ or another mesh format once its patches have been tessellated into polygons a modern application can open.
How to open a .enff file#
A .enff file opens in the programs below, grouped by the platform you are on. If you would rather not install anything, FileFlip converts ENFF into a format your machine already opens, and it does it in the browser tab rather than on a server.
| Platform | Programs that open it |
|---|---|
| Web | FileFlip |
ENFF questions people ask#
What is an ENFF file?
An ENFF file is a Neutral File Format scene extended with positional lights, an ambient shading term, and Bezier and NURBS surface patches, on top of the spheres, cones and polygons the base NFF format supports. The extensions were documented on April 16, 1993.
How is ENFF different from NFF?
NFF describes a scene with simple primitives like spheres and flat polygons, while ENFF adds curved surfaces, Bezier and NURBS patches, along with richer positional lighting, on top of that same base syntax. An ENFF file with none of the extended features used is effectively an NFF file.
What software reads ENFF files?
Support is limited to the same small set of renderers and libraries that already handle plain NFF, with Assimp's importer being one of the few still maintained. There is no mainstream 3D application that opens ENFF directly.
Converting ENFF files#
Convert ENFF to another format
FileFlip does not write .enff files, so nothing on the site converts into this format. It works as a source only.
Every conversion runs inside your browser. The file is read from your disk, the work happens on your own machine, and nothing is uploaded. How FileFlip works names the engine behind each family and how to verify that for yourself.