Why won't my PFM file display in the browser?

No browser supports it — browsers render PNG, JPEG, GIF, WebP, AVIF, SVG and BMP, and nothing else. The file downloads instead and needs an image editor.

What is a PFM used for?

Storing per-pixel floating-point values — depth maps, disparity maps and optical flow — where the numbers are measurements rather than colours.

Normalise the values to a displayable range and save as PNG. OpenCV or NumPy will do it in a couple of lines.

Host a PFM file and share it as a link

Put a floating-point image online at its own address — used for depth maps and HDR research data.

You can host:

Drop your PFM file here

Any other file works too — up to 25.0 MB, or 100.0 MB for a whole site

Free to use. Your PFM file is live at your-name.99helpers.site in about ten seconds.

What is a .pfm file?

PFM extends the Netpbm family to floating-point values, storing each pixel as a 32-bit float rather than an integer. That makes it the natural format for depth maps, disparity maps and HDR data in computer vision research, where values are measurements rather than colours.

What people use PFM files for

Depth and disparity maps in computer vision
HDR data in research pipelines
Optical flow fields
Stereo vision benchmark data

What opens a PFM file

OpenCV and image processing libraries
MATLAB and NumPy
ImageMagick
No browser displays PFM

How to host a PFM file

1
Drop your PFM file in
Drag it onto the box at the top of this page, or click to choose it. Files up to 25 MB are supported, and nothing is uploaded until you publish.
2
Pick an address
Type a name and we'll tell you straight away whether it's free. That becomes the link: depth-map.99helpers.site
3
Publish and share
Create a free account — that step exists so the file is yours to update, replace or delete — and the link is live within seconds.

The same three steps work for any file — see how file hosting works on 99helpers.com.

What happens when someone opens the link

The file downloads. Floating-point data has no meaningful screen representation without normalisation first.

Why host a PFM file instead of emailing it?

Research datasets and benchmark results get shared between groups, and a link handles files that email won't.

Worth knowing before you publish

Host a normalised PNG visualisation alongside so people can see what the data looks like.
Note the byte order — PFM files can be little or big endian, and the header says which.
Uncompressed, so files are large for their dimensions.

PFM hosting questions

Why won't my PFM file display in the browser?: No browser supports it — browsers render PNG, JPEG, GIF, WebP, AVIF, SVG and BMP, and nothing else. The file downloads instead and needs an image editor.
What is a PFM used for?: Storing per-pixel floating-point values — depth maps, disparity maps and optical flow — where the numbers are measurements rather than colours.
How do I view one?: Normalise the values to a displayable range and save as PNG. OpenCV or NumPy will do it in a couple of lines.

Put your PFM file online now

It takes about ten seconds, and you only make an account once the file is ready to go live.

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Hosting guides for related formats

Host an OpenEXR image Host a Netpbm image (PNM)Host a PNG image Host a TIFF image Host an HDR environment map

PFM is one of over 211 formats you can host — see free file hosting for any file type for the full list, or read the hosting guides for other file types.