RAW graphics file
File type: Graphics file
Files with r8 extension are known as graphics files created by RAW.
Found 3 different file type records with the same r8 filename suffix.
File type category:
Graphics file
Date updated: October 10, 2017
The r8 file extension is typically used for a file that contains data that have not been compressed, encrypted or processed in any manner. It often refers to digital camera files, but can refer to any type of data file. R8 is RAW graphics file (one byte per pixel) plane one (PicLab).
File type category:
Game file
Date updated: September 27, 2026
R8 files belong to Microsoft Flight Simulator 2004, the Windows flight simulator developed by Microsoft. They store textures used to display visual details in the simulator.
This is a proprietary game texture format intended to work with the simulator rather than as a general-purpose image format. Microsoft Flight Simulator 2004 is legacy Windows software, so the format is mainly encountered in older simulator installations and add-ons.
Microsoft Flight Simulator 2004 loads .r8 files automatically when they are placed in the appropriate simulator or add-on texture folder. The files are not normally opened directly in a standard image viewer.
Use Microsoft Flight Simulator 2004 on Windows to view the texture in context.
.r8 files are intended for use by Microsoft Flight Simulator 2004 and cannot generally be converted with ordinary image-conversion software.
Conversion requires a tool that specifically supports Flight Simulator 2004 texture files. If no compatible tool is available, the practical option is to keep the file in its original format so the simulator can use it.
Software applications that handle other tasks involving r8 files:
Microsoft Windows
File type category:
Bitmap image file
Date updated: October 14, 2024
File extension r8 is used for a special type of heightmap tile files, which are graphics representations of terrain maps saved in a specific raster format, 8 in the R8 describes 8-bit color. In 3D modeling, a heightmap is a grayscale image where the black regions represent low locations and the white areas represent high areas.
It's a raw data format (often greyscale), if you want to open it in Photoshop, you have to specify where the data is located and enter correct dimension, for pictures that are no squares.
Terrain tools save the raw data as 1 channel, 8bit, PC ordering, with 0 bytes header.
Any graphics editor that can read raw data should be able to access the image.
Export to standard graphics formats should be doable.
Software apps that import r8 files:
Microsoft Windows
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