How to Open TGA File

TGA Format Description
TGA Format, commonly referred to as TARGA, is a file format used primarily in the video and animation industry. It was initially developed to meet the specific requirements of this industry. The format offers flexibility as it supports a wide range of color depths, varying from 8-bit to 32-bit, along with an alpha channel to enable transparency.

The TGA format is highly effective in managing large, high-resolution images while minimizing any degradation in quality. It offers support for both lossless and lossy compression techniques, resulting in a final output that closely resembles the original image. Additionally, TGA files are widely compatible with various image editing software applications.


The TGA format gained popularity mainly because it was the first bitmap format with 24-bit color depth that was widely accessible to PC users, even before TIFF introduced support for 24-bit color. Truevision also offered developers the file format specifications and assistance when needed, including sample code and images.

The TGA format is tailored to specific display hardware produced by Truevision, making it device-dependent. However, it is not excessively restrictive, except for one small drawback: TGA cannot store image data as color information planes.

TGA is available in various versions, with the most commonly used being Targa 16, Targa 24, and Targa 32 formats. These designations indicate the specific Truevision hardware used to generate the file, and the numbers represent the depth or the number of bits per pixel that the image data in the files possess. There are also less frequently encountered variations such as VDA, ICB, and Targa M8.


How to Open TGA File
With Handy Viewer software you can open TGA file with ease.
In addition to TGA format Handy Viewer allows you to view 150+ image and video formats.

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The software is completely free for personal and commercial use.