Here's How to Open TGA Files in Windows 10

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Key notes

  • TGA files are in a raster graphic format created by Truevision, so we will show you how to open them.
  • Below are several programs that can open TGA files and even TGA online viewers.
  • You can open and edit them with Adobe Photoshop and Universal File Viewers.
  • You don’t necessarily need a TGA file viewer; you can convert the TGA file toย other formats.
How to open TGA Files

TGA is an image file in the Truevision Graphics Adapter format, which Truevision established in the ’80s.

With its lossless compression, the TGA format is ideal for images such as line drawings and icons. Game publishers also use it for texture files.

So, if you’re wondering how to open .tga files, our guide below will clear the question.

What are the best tools to open TGA files on Windows 10?

1. Open TGA files with an image editor

TGA is an image format, so you can open it much the same as a JPG, GIF, or PNG photo. However, TGA is not as widely supported as the JPG or GIF formats, and Windows’ Paint editor doesn’t open TGA files.

Nevertheless, you can still open TGA images with a solid image editor like Adobe Photoshop.

This product is specially designed to open all manner of image file formats (including TGA) and edit them in whatever way you want.

Adobe Photoshop

Adobe Photoshop can open and edit almost all image formats, and the TGA format is no exception.
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2. Open TGA Images with TGA Viewer

Check out the TGA Viewer software if you don’t need to edit a TGA image. That’s freeware software specifically designed to open TGA files.

You can add that program to Windows by clicking the Download TGA Viewer Setup link on the link below and then run through its setup wizard.

TGA Viewer doesn’t include many options, but its users can open TGAs, zoom in and out of pictures, adjust image dimensions, and save the TGA files to alternative formats with the software.

โ‡’ Download TGA Viewer

3. Open TGA Pictures with universal file viewer software

3.1 Use File Viewer Plus

Alternatively, you can open TGA pictures with universal file viewer software. Universal file openers are programs that open lots of alternative file types.

File Viewer Plusย is a universal file viewer for Windows that can open and display over 300 different file types. You can also edit files, save your changes, and batch-convert files to several other file formats.

Open TGA files, view, edit, and convert to JPEG, PNG, TIFF, GIF, BMP, and JPEG2000 as easily as drag-and-drop. We recommend this program; you can test it immediately by downloading the fully functional trial.

โ‡’ Download FileViewer Plus

3.2 Use Universal Viewer

Universal Viewer is one freeware file opener you can utilize to open TGA images.

Click Zip package on the link below to save the freeware Universal Viewer’s ZIP file to Windows. Then, you must decompress the ZIP by opening it in File Explorer and selecting the Extract all option.

Press the Browse button to select a path to the ZIP file, then click the Extract button. Then, Open Universal Viewer from the extracted folder.

โ‡’ Download Universal Viewer

4. Convert TGA images to JPG format

  1. First, open the Convertio web app page in your browser.
  2. Press the From Computer to select a TGA file to convert to JPG.
  3. Click the Convert button to initiate the conversion.
  4. Press the Download button to save the new JPG file to a folder.
  5. Then, you can open the JPG image using your first-choice editing software.

If you need to open a TGA image in software that doesn’t support the format, you can convert the file to JPG format.

Then you’re not opening a TGA file, but you can still open the same image as a JPG with the necessary software.

You can always convert the picture back to the TGA format after editing it. This is how you can convert TGA files to JPGs with the Convertio web tool.

You can open TGA images in Windows 10 with Paint.NET, TGA Viewer, and Universal Viewer. However, quite a few more programs still support that file format.

You can also learn how to effortlessly open TG files in Windows and Mac with our dedicated guide.

Some of the photo viewers included in our list with the best photo viewers also open TGA files.

  • What is a TGA file?

A TGA file is a file saved in the raster graphic format created by Truevision, which allows any raster-based image editor to open it easily.

  • What can open TGA files?

TGA files can be opened with programs like Adobe Photoshop, GIMP, Paint.NET, Corel PaintShop Pro, TGA Viewer, and other popular image editors.

  • How do I edit a TGA file?

Simply use a good image editor that supports the TGA file format.

More about the topics: Adobe Photoshop, File Explorer