.INK File Extension
Inker Image
| Developer | Inker |
| Popularity |
3.0 | 3 Votes |
An INK file may also be an image created using Inker, a vector art application available online and for Chrome, Android, and macOS devices. It contains JSON-formatted text used to show a vector graphic in Inker. INK files can be used to export images from Inker as .PNG, .SVG, or .EPS files.
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Artists and graphic designers use Inker to create logos, mockups, drawings, and other images. If an artist wants to save a copy of an in-process Inker image to their desktop, so they can open and edit the image again later, they can click Inker's button. This saves the artist's image as an INK file.
When opened in Inker, INK files show the vector graphic an artist has created. The graphic may include lines, shapes, text, and ruler guidelines. When opened in a text editor, such as Microsoft Notepad or Apple TextEdit, INK files show the JSON-formatted text Inker "reads" to determine how an image should appear. For example, the "width and "height" settings listed in an INK file control how large an Inker image is. The remainder of the file's text specifies what layers, lines, shapes, text, and guidelines appear in the image.
After an artist finishes creating an image in Inker, they can export the image as a PNG, SVG, or EPS file. To do so, they must click the application's hamburger menu and then select the applicable button. All users can export Inker images as PNG files, but only paid users can export Inker images as SVG or EPS files.
How to open an INK file
You can open an INK file (Inker Image) in Inker, which is available as a web application and for Chrome, Android, and macOS devices. To open an INK file in Inker, select from the program's menu bar. Then, navigate to and open your INK file.
Because INK files are plain text files, you can also open them in any text editor. This will show you the JSON-formatted text that Inker translates into a vector graphic. This may be useful if you do not have access to Inker but want to learn more about the image an INK file describes.
Programs that open INK files
Microsoft Journal Document
| Developer | Microsoft |
| Popularity |
3.5 | 2 Votes |
A INK file is a document created by Microsoft Journal, a note-taking application designed for stylus and touch input. It contains one or more pages of a journal in the Ink Serialized Format (ISF), which includes handwriting and drawings saved as a series of vector-based strokes, with each stroke defined by X and Y coordinates, pressure sensitivity, stroke width, and pen attributes (e.g., color, opacity). INK files also store time-based data for the order and timing of strokes (allows for playback or reordering of handwritten input) and metadata, such as page structure and background templates.
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Microsoft developed the INK format to store handwritten notes, sketches, and annotations made using digital ink technology. It initially introduced the format with Microsoft Windows XP Tablet PC Edition in 2002, alongside the built-in Microsoft Journal application for tablet users.
Users, particularly students, professionals, and designers, used INK files to write or draw directly on their devices, often with a stylus. The format allowed for pressure-sensitive handwriting and annotations, making it useful for note-taking, brainstorming, and reviewing documents. Microsoft eventually discontinued Journal and its Ink format but reintroduced Journal as a modern Windows app in 2021 with the updated ISF file format.
Journal saves INK files in the following directory by default:
C:\Users\[username]\Documents\Journals
How to open an INK file
You can open INK files with Microsoft Journal in Windows. To open an INK file with Journal, place the file in the following directory:
C:\Users\[username]\Documents\Journals
Journal will then display the INK file in its home screen for you to open.