Allow HEIF/HEIC image format

[alyblenkin]

Description

No browser, except for Safari, supports HEIC or HEIF format. This means we won't be able to use HEIC anywhere in Web Forms. However, they should be able to still upload the file, but we don't show a preview.

---

Checklist

• Does it need UI/UX design?
  • Yes. Describe the UI/UX requirements or attach a Figma link in the "Design" section.
  • No
• Does it need API design?
  • Yes. Specify the endpoints, methods, or data structures needed.
  • No
• Does it need design around state flow?
  • Yes. Outline the state flow requirements.
  • No
• Does it need a test plan?
  • Yes. Add the test plan as a comment in this task or attach the document.
  • No

---

User Stories

• As a [user type],
  I want [functionality],
  so that [benefit].

---

Design

• Figma: [Insert URL]
• Design Docs: [Insert URL]

---

Dependencies

---

Additional Notes

---

Related Issues

[lognaturel]

We could also consider converting to jpg before uploading. I think that would generally be more useful for folks but we should see how much a conversion implementation would add to the app size.

[alyblenkin]

Good point, @lognaturel!

[lognaturel]

HEIC is the format iOS uses for pictures. It looks like something in the iOS stack already converts HEIC to jpg when interacting with upload controls. I was able to take pictures and attach existing ones to Web Forms from Chrome and Safari in iOS. The previews showed correctly and on the server side I saw jpgs.

@alyblenkin is the thing you noticed that you can't drag HEIC files or select them from a desktop? I think that's ok. My experience is that almost nothing accepts HEIC files and they need to be converted for most usages. As long as folks can successfully use native pictures from their iOS devices, I think that's enough.

It looks like macOS now has a built in "Quick action" for converting -- if you right click on a HEIC file and go down to "Quick actions", you should be able to select "Convert to JPG".

I vote for closing.

Here's a HEIC image (zipped because Github doesn't support HEIC 😆 ) :

IMG_3115.HEIC.zip

[alyblenkin]

The use case I was thinking about was airdropping your images from my iphone and then dragging them from my desktop. I don't know how common this is but I do it all the time. Happy to close it.