.WMF file signature
A Windows metafile file begins with the bytes D7 CD C6 9A at the start of the file. The signature is the same whatever the file is named, which is why a renamed or extensionless WMF file is still recognisable.
Known signatures
| Offset | Hex | ASCII |
|---|---|---|
| 0 | D7 CD C6 9APlaceable WMF (Aldus header). | |
| 0 | 01 00 09 00Standard WMF without the placeable header. |
MIME type: image/wmf · usual extensions: .wmf
How to check a file's signature
Without installing anything: drop the file on our detector. It reads the bytes in your browser and shows the hex dump alongside the verdict; nothing is uploaded.
macOS and Linux (Terminal):
xxd -l 32 file.wmf
file file.wmfWindows (PowerShell):
Format-Hex -Path file.wmf -Count 32If the bytes do not match
A file named .wmf whose first bytes are something else is not a WMF file. The common explanations are a wrong or deliberately misleading extension, a download that saved an HTML error page instead of the file, or a container such as ZIP wrapping the real content. The detector reports what the bytes say; the WMF guide explains what a genuine file should contain.