heif-gdk-pixbuf
and heif-thumbnailer
are two different tools that can be used to work with HEIF images on Linux.
heif-gdk-pixbuf
is a GDK-Pixbuf plugin that allows applications that use GDK-Pixbuf to display and manipulate HEIF images. GDK-Pixbuf is a library that is used by many applications to display images, so heif-gdk-pixbuf can be used to make a wide variety of applications able to display HEIF images.
Install heif-gdk-pixbuf
:
sudo apt install heif-gdk-pixbuf
heif-thumbnailer
is a command-line tool that can be used to create thumbnails for HEIF images. Thumbnails are small images that are used to represent larger images in file browsers and other applications. heif-thumbnailer
can be used to create thumbnails for HEIF images that are compatible with a variety of file browsers.
Install heif-thumbnailer
:
sudo apt install heif-thumbnailer
Both heif-gdk-pixbuf and heif-thumbnailer are open source tools that are available for free. They can be installed using the package manager for your Linux distribution.
Step-by-Step Guide
- Find an HEIC file in the file manager.
- Right-click on the file and select Properties.
- Click the Open With tab.
- Select Image Viewer from the list of applications.
- If there are two Image Viewer applications listed, select the one with the more colorful icon.
- Click Set as default (or Add if that's the only option).
- Close the Properties window.
- You can now double-click HEIF files to view them.
Additional Notes:
- The Image Viewer application may be called something different on your system.
- If you don't have an Image Viewer application installed, you can install one from your distribution's software repository.
- Once you have set Image Viewer as the default application for HEIC files, you will be able to double-click them to view them in Image Viewer.
The distinctions between heif-gdk-pixbuf and heif-thumbnailer are listed in the following table:
Feature | heif-gdk-pixbuf | heif-thumbnailer |
---|---|---|
What it does | Allows applications to display and manipulate HEIF images. | Creates thumbnails for HEIF images. |
Supported applications | Applications that use GDK-Pixbuf. | File browsers and other applications. |
How to install | Package manager. | Package manager. |
Open source | Yes. | Yes. |
Free | Yes. | Yes. |
The minimum Ubuntu versions needed for heif-gdk-pixbuf
and heif-thumbnailer
are listed in the following table:
Package | Minimum Ubuntu version |
---|---|
heif-gdk-pixbuf | Ubuntu 14.04 LTS |
heif-thumbnailer | Ubuntu 14.04 LTS |
I sincerely hope this documentation is useful. Please let me know if you have any other questions.