MDI file, which stands for Microsoft Document Imaging, is a proprietary Microsoft imaging format used to store images of scanned documents created by Microsoft Office Document Imaging (MODI). The program was included in Office XP, Office 2003, and Office 2007. It was discontinued in Office 2010 and later. In fact, it has been superseded by the Windows Fax and Scan Service.
Although MODI was not included in Office 2010, it can still be installed with Office 2010 in several ways, which I will explain later in this article.
If you have any version of Office that includes MODI installed, the easiest way to view the MDI file is to simply install MODI and open the file. If you have Office 2010 installed, you can install MODI or use third-party tools to view or convert the MDI file.
It’s also worth noting that if you have Microsoft OneNote installed on your computer, you can use it to open MDI files without installing MODI. OneNote can do OCR too, so if you’ve used MODI for OCR, you can now use OneNote.
Install MODI in Office XP, 2003, 2007
To install MODI, go to Control Panel and click Add or Remove Programs or Remove Programs if you are using Vista. If you are using Windows 7 or later, you will need to click Programs and Features.
Then scroll down to Microsoft Office (Professional, Standard, etc.) and click on it. Now go ahead and hit the “Change” button.
Make sure Add / Remove Features is selected and then click Continue.
Now expand Office Tools, click the dropdown menu next to Microsoft Office Document Imaging and select Run everything from my computer.
This will install MODI and you can now use it to scan, view, annotate and recognize documents. You can open the BMP file and then save it in another format like TIFF using MODI.
Install MODI with Office 2010
If you have Office 2010 installed, you can still install MODI, but you will have to use older media to install it. The first method is to simply download a free download from Microsoft’s site called SharePoint Designer 2007 This is a free download bundled with MODI. However, when you are about to install it, you deselect everything except Microsoft Office Document Imaging, as shown below.
Another way to install MODI with Office 2010 is to use older Office 2007 media. If you have an Office 2007 DVD, you can start the installation, select Customize, and do the same as shown above.
Convert MDI to TIFF or PDF
If you want to convert your MDI file to another format such as TIFF or PDF, you do not need to use MODI. Microsoft has a free tool called MDI to TIFF File Converter which is a simple command line tool.
After downloading and installing, open a command prompt and change to the installation directory by typing the following command:
cd% ProgramFiles (x86)% modiconv
Once there, you can type mdi2tif – help me learn how to use the program. I would suggest just taking your MDI files and copying them to C: Program Files (x86) modiconv before using the tool. If you do this, it will simplify the command to enter.
mdi2tif.exe -source filename.mdi
The above command takes the source parameter and gives the filename. If you don’t add any other parameters, it will look for filename.mdi in the modiconv folder, convert it and output the file in the same directory. There are other options you can use, but only dest and subfolders are of interest.
If you have multiple MDI files to convert, you can use a longer command like this one:
mdi2tif.exe -source c: mdifiles -dest c: output -subfolders
If you don’t like the command line, you can use a third-party MDI to TIFF converter for you. Free MDI Image Viewer is a small free program that allows you to view MDI files and save them in other image formats. Download, install and run the program. Open the MDI file and click File – Save As. Choose TIFF from options.
If you don’t want to install any software on your computer at all, you can use the free online service Zamzar to convert MDI to PDF, TIFF, and many other formats. Zamzar is a great online tool for converting files from many different formats.
So these are basically all your options for opening, viewing, and converting MDI files. Unfortunately, there is no online tool that allows you to simply view MDI files right in your browser. You need to either download a viewer or convert the MDI file to a different format first. If you have any questions, do not hesitate to leave comments. Enjoy!
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