What Is an RAF File?

Some RAF files are RAW images captured by a Fujifilm camera; others are archive files used by some video games

By
Tim Fisher
Photo of Tim Fisher, Lifewire GM and Writer
Tim Fisher
Senior Vice President & Group General Manager, Tech & Sustainability
  • Emporia State University
Tim Fisher has more than 30 years' of professional technology experience. He's been writing about tech for more than two decades and serves as the SVP and General Manager of Lifewire.
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Updated on June 13, 2023

What to Know

  • Open a RAW Fujifilm (RAF) image with Able RAWer or Photoshop.
  • Convert to DNG, JPG, etc., with those same programs or DNG Converter.
  • RAF files that are Riot archives can be opened with Total Commander or RAFExtractor.

This article covers what an RAF file is and which programs are able to open or convert the file.

What Is an RAF File?

A file with the RAF file extension is an uncompressed, RAW image taken from a Fujifilm digital camera. A JPG of the same image captured by the camera may be included in an RAF file.

RAF files in Windows 11

This file extension is also used for Riot archive files with the League of Legends video game, and are seen alongside RAF.DAT files. The DAT file stores the actual data, but the RAF file describes where to unpack the contents.

RAF is also short for random access file, record address file, and resource allocation frame, but those terms have nothing to do with the file formats described on this page.

How to Open an RAF File

Fujifilm images can be opened with Able RAWer, Fujifilm X Raw Studio, FastStone Image Viewer, Adobe Photoshop, XnView, and probably some other popular photo and graphics tools as well. The free RAF Viewer can open and resize it, too.

Mac users should be able to open RAF files by default with Apple Photos, without installing a third-party program.

RAF files that are used with Riot Games' League of Legends can be opened using Total Commander, as long as you also install the RAF Packer plugin. You might also have luck using RAFExtractor.

If you find that an application on your PC does try to open the file, but it's the wrong application, or you'd rather have another installed program open it, learn how to change the default program for a specific file extension in Windows.

How to Convert an RAF File

The RAF Viewer program mentioned above can convert this format to JPG, GIF, TIFF, BMP, and PNG. You might also be able to convert one if you open it in Photoshop or Able RAWer and then use the program's menu options to save as a different format.

Adobe DNG Converter is a free file converter for Windows and macOS that can save an RAF file (from some Fujifilm cameras) to the DNG format.

Zamzar is another RAF file converter that can save the file to a number of different image formats. Since Zamar is a website, you don't have to download the converter to use it, so it works equally well on all operating systems.

There's most likely no need to convert a Riot archive file to any other archive format.

Still Can't Open It?

Other file formats have file extensions that look awfully similar to RAF, but that doesn't mean they can open with the same programs. If your file doesn't work with the above suggestions, there's a good chance you're misreading the file extension, confusing unrelated formats with each other.

Some examples of lookalike file extensions include RAR, RAM (Real Audio Metadata), RAS (Remedy Archive System), and ARF.

If you have one of those files or something else entirely different, research that specific file extension for information on opening/converting that format.

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