Open TIFF files and multi-page faxes, in your browser

Many faxes and scans arrive as TIFF files (.tif or .tiff), often with several pages in the same file. Most browsers do not display them. C-A-R-T-A opens them: it turns the TIFF into a PDF, one page per image, right on your device, and from there you have all the PDF features.

Open C-A-R-T-A

How to open it

Open C-A-R-T-A and press "Open" (or Ctrl+O), or drag the .tif or .tiff file onto the page. With C-A-R-T-A installed as an app, you can also use "Open with…" from your system.
The TIFF becomes a PDF with the same name: each page of the fax or scan is a page of the PDF.
From here you work as on any PDF. If you want to keep the PDF version, save it with "Save".

What you can do with it

Once turned into a PDF, the fax has the same features as any other document:

Read its text with OCR, on your device, and make it a searchable PDF.
Clean up the scan and straighten a crooked sheet.
Annotate and sign with the graphic signature, add stamps and page numbers.
Print, save and share the PDF.
Use the AI features (summarise, ask questions, find deadlines), if you have one connected.

The kinds of TIFF that open

Black-and-white faxes, compressed with CCITT Group 3 or Group 4: the most common in faxes and office scans.
TIFFs compressed with LZW or PackBits, or uncompressed.
TIFFs with JPEG images, typical of colour scans.
Multi-page files: every page ends up in the same PDF, in the file's order.

The PDF page has the size given by the file's resolution (if the file does not state one, the usual fax resolution of 200 dots per inch is used). Black-and-white pages stay sharp and light; colour ones are stored as JPEG. Very large images are reduced just enough for a tablet to display them too.

The limit to know

TIFFs compressed with Adobe's "Deflate" method (also called ZIP) are not supported yet. They are rare in faxes, but some scanning programs produce them. In that case C-A-R-T-A says so with a clear message: the remedy is to save the scan as a PDF from the program that created it, or as a TIFF with a different compression.

Your files stay on your device

The conversion to PDF happens in the browser: the fax is not uploaded to any server. The text leaves your device only if you use an AI feature or the "On the server" OCR yourself. Details on the privacy page.

Quick questions

Does it work on iPhone and iPad?

Yes: the TIFF opens in the browser just as on a computer, and becomes a PDF with the same features.

Does it work without internet?

Yes. After the first visit, C-A-R-T-A keeps the TIFF reader on your device too.

What if the fax is inside a .zip archive?

Open the archive: in the list of files, tap the TIFF and it opens in a new tab, already turned into a PDF. See open a ZIP file.