Add support images in the .webp format?

Feature Proposal
1

Can the system be updated to support images in the .webp format? Or would it be possible to extend support to include a wider range of image formats altogether?

image

When I drag a .webp file into the chat window, it displays normally, but I am unable to add it through manual selection. Perhaps the filtering conditions for image files in the window could be adjusted.

2

we are careful in encouraging users to use “new” file formats as it is not sufficient to support these formats on one platform, eg. desktop:

  • UX wise, if you send an image, you expect that to be shown as such for all recipients. and there things become tricky as we also support older androids and iOS. iOS in general is different wrt standards. and there is ubuntu touch.

surely, one can add libraries to deal with that, but that is quite some work and effort - during that time, we cannot do other things with our limited resources :slight_smile:

so, first step when introducing a new format is to check how good the system support is on all platforms, esp. regarding the oldest ones - this is already quite some research for androids/iOS/unbuntu-touch - desktop as being a “web browser” is usually no problem.
then, for the missing platforms, look for alternatives.

all that weight that to the usecases - eg. where do the images usually come from? how often is the “normal” user confronted with it? eg. if there are apps/os at scale that use them as screenshot formats or produce them from the camera, that’s a big argument.

i am not expecting you to do so here, just saying that to better understand the reasonings :slight_smile:

3

I completely comprehend your perspective. We have a traditional idiom that says, “Good steel should be used on the cutting edge of the blade!” This matter doesn’t hinder the functionality; it can be revisited when resources are exceedingly plentiful.

4

we already support sending webp as images in Android, and I think it is widely supported by now (since android 4) and it is a common format used for stickers

IMHO a client is the one that should decide how to display images and if they support it or not, and if they don’t support a format, then fallback to a file display or some nice image placeholder

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5

Delta Chat core already treats webp as image:

So the only problem seems to be desktop open dialog configuration.
I opened desktop issue: Allow webp in image selector · Issue #3969 · deltachat/deltachat-desktop · GitHub

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6

It works great now! :+1:
image

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