OpenRaster

OpenRaster
Filename extension	.ora
Internet media type	image/openraster
Latest release	0.0.6 (draft)
Type of format	Layered raster graphics
Extended from	OpenDocument
Open format?	Yes
Website	OpenRaster Specification at openraster.org

OpenRaster is a file format proposed for the common exchange of layered images between raster graphics editors. It is meant as a replacement for later versions of the Adobe PSD format. OpenRaster is still in development and so far is supported by a few programs.^[3] The default file extension for OpenRaster files is ".ora".

Background

The Adobe Photoshop PSD file format was widely used as a cross-application file format for layered images. Adobe allowed this by releasing the format's specifications publicly. In 2006 Adobe changed this license to only grant access to and use of the specifications and documentation "for the purposes of internally developing Developer Programs in connection with Adobe Software products and incorporating portions or all of the Sample Code into Developer Programs."^[4] In response to these restrictions, the OpenRaster format was proposed by KDE and Krita developers Boudewijn Rempt^[5] and Cyrille Berger^[6] at the first Libre Graphics Meeting at Lyon, France in the spring of 2006 and is drawn from the Open Document Format.^[7]

Requirements

Following features should be present:

General

full freely available documentation
OpenDocument type of file format (archive with multiple files inside)
extensible, but private undocumented extensions should be excluded, any extension should be added to the spec and documentation of the file format
applications are not expected to support all features of the file format, but when manipulating the file they should not lose any information they cannot handle

Metadata

storage of metadata using {XMP – Dublin Core – IPTC} tags
possibility of storing metadata tags per layer
storage of Exif tags
all text data in Unicode (UTF-8 or UTF-16)

Layers

storage of multiple layers
storage of each layer's coordinates
storage of blending (compositing) options for each layer
storage of adjustment layers
storage of layer effects
groups of layers
color information – profile, colorspace

Other

See^[8]

storage of paths, clipping paths and text on path
selections and masks
embedding documents within OpenDocument frameworks
support undo, history of commands and actions (like PSD)

Proposals and extensions

palette
embedded fonts (proposal to extension)
multiple pages
animation support using multiple pages and a timer (like PSD)

Challenges

According to the draft specification (as of October 2010), a major challenge for a cross-application format is that because not all of the features are available in all the programs, an image won't be displayed the same way in different applications, especially for adjustment/filters layers.

A likely work-around is the optional storage of a redundant extra layer containing the fully rendered pixel data as seen after all image processing, or possibly a lower-resolution snapshot of it suitable for previewing and thumbnailing.

Different implementations levels might be defined, like, tiny, simple, small, normal, full and custom.

Application support

OpenRaster has limited support in a few graphics programs and among these its cross-application use is not seamless.^{[citation needed]}

Application	Baseline	SVG
DrawPile	Supported^[9]	Yes
Chasys Draw IES	Supported^[10]	Yes
GIMP	Basic support since version 2.8^[11]	No
Inkscape	Unsupported
Krita	Supported^[12]^[13]	No
LazPaint	Reading since version 5.0 and writing since 5.2^[14]	Yes
MyPaint	Default working file format^[15]	Yes
Nathive	Default format since 0.908^[16]
Pinta	Supported starting with version 0.4^[17]	No
XnView	Supported through a user-made plugin^[18]
Scribus	Supported starting with version 1.5^[19]	No
ImageMagick	Supported starting with version 7.0.10-26^[20]	Yes
Paint.net	Supported through a user-made plugin^[21]	No

References

^ "OpenRaster Desktop Integration". openraster.org. Retrieved 2016-12-19.
^ "OpenRaster Specification (Draft)". openraster.org. Retrieved 2016-12-19.
^ "OpenRaster Specification". openraster.org. Retrieved 2016-12-19.
^ "Adobe Photoshop CS4 SDK License Agreement" Adobe.com. Developer Connection - Developer Resources. Retrieved 2009-10-12.
^ Rempt, Boudewijn (2006-06-20). "OpenRaster". valdyas.org. Fading Memories. Archived from the original on 2013-04-16. Retrieved 2016-12-19.
^ Berger, Cyrille (June 20, 2006). "Why OpenRaster is needed ?". blog.cberger.net. Retrieved 2016-12-19.
^ "Debate arises over an open raster graphics format" Nathan Willis, Linux.com Archive. July 07, 2006. Retrieved 2010-03-26.
^ "Proposals and Application Specific Extensions — Open Raster Specification version 0.05". www.openraster.org.
^ Drawpile Drawpile project. Sept 3, 2018. Accessed 2018-09-03.
^ [1] Chasys Draw IES Help - File Formats - Other Image Files. Dec 12, 2018. Accessed 2018-12-12.
^ GIMP - Release Notes for GIMP 2.8 Accessed 2012-05-03.
^ "Krita/OpenRaster status". community.kde.org. Retrieved 2016-12-19.
^ "*.ora - Krita Documentation". docs.krita.org. Retrieved 2016-12-19.
^ LazPaint thread, 2013-02-27
^ "MyPaint/OpenRaster News" Archived 2016-03-08 at the Wayback Machine Alexandre Prokoudine, Prokoudine.info - blog. June 8th, 2009.
^ "Nathive 0.908 release notes" Nathive website documentation
^ "Pinta - Version 0.4 Release Notes". 2010-07-06. Archived from the original on 2010-07-08.
^ XnView Plugins
^ "Scribus mailing list" Scribus mailing list announcement
^ ImageMagick Changelog
^ "OpenRaster Filetype" by user Zagna