Metafiles are used to describe or specify a type of data or action file. Windows Metafile (WMF) and Computer Graphics Metafile (CGM) are common examples. Conversion tools exist to convert between metafile formats.
The metafile can be viewed as the identifying tag used to describe or specify a type of data or action file. In this sense, the metafile is understood as a preview of what another file is about. Different types of metafiles are in common use today, with configurations and actual relationship to other files varying slightly.
One of the most common examples of metafiles is Windows Metafile or WMF. Used in Microsoft applications, the WMF is structured with the inclusion of a graphical device interface protocol that allows a graphical image to be presented. By issuing the command to retrieve the information, the metafile initiates a search and retrieval function and generates the display. Some of the commands involved are very similar to vector graphics instructions.
In other cases, the commands may involve locating and retrieving archived bitmaps from a location on your hard drive. While you can obtain the information using bitmaps that have already been created and installed, choosing to use a metafile such as WMF will save space and time. This is especially true when the bitmap in question is used by multiple components within the operating system or by one of the open and running applications.
A second example of a metafile is known as a computer graphics metafile or CGM. Using standards developed and maintained by the American National Standards Institute, the CGM will run on any type of operating system. This is an advantage over WMF, which will only work in a Windows environment. The Computer Graphics Metafile will provide all the functionality of the Windows Metafile, which gives users who choose to use an operating system other than a Microsoft-based application the same options and ability to access graphics.
Due to the variation in the type of metafile in use today, several conversion tools have been developed that make it easy to convert one metafile format to a different type of metafile configuration. These tools can be installed on your hard drive and programmed to do the conversions automatically, or used on a case-by-case basis within a larger network.
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