What is HEIC?
HEIC is a file format used by Apple for storing images on your iPhones and Macs. Earlier, Apple used the widely popular JPEG format to let you capture and store photos on your machines. Starting in 2017, the company has made HEIC as the default file format for all the images that you capture on your Apple devices.
The most common scenario is that students upload HEIC files to D2L from their iPhones and Macs.
How to Upload a Photo from an iPhone to D2L
- When submitting a photo to an assignment folder in D2L, using an image taken with your iPhone often means it will be in HEIC format (High Efficiency Image Format). This file format is not viewable in D2L, so a way to fix this is to change the format your phone uses when taking photos:
- Go to Settings > Camera > Formats > Choose "Most Compatible" instead of "High Efficiency" (JPG file vs. HEIC file)
- Another way to bypass this is to insert your original image into a Word document, and then upload the Word document to D2L.
How to open an HEIC file on Windows
There are several sites and applications that will convert an HEIC file to JPEG. The recommendation below is not an official recommendation, but a suggestion to be used at your own risk.
- Open the Microsoft Store
Click on Start and enter Microsoft Store. Select the Microsoft Store to open the app.
- Search for HEIC
- This will bring up a list of apps you can use to convert HEIC to JPEG. Not all of them are free and not all of them are good.
- At this time, the best candidate is the app called HEIC to JPEG (FREE) by Duckhead Software.
- Click Install on the app you selected to install it on your Windows computer. You do not need admin credentials.
How to take a photo that does not need to be converted
- Using the OneDrive app on a smartphone is the best way to ensure compatibility of photos in D2L
- View this video, which shows how to install the app, take photos or scan documents, and upload them to D2L: https://youtu.be/5txej6pPnIg