Patent ID: 8271544

Claim:
A data file having more than one mode of operation, the data file comprising: an image component for storing an image as a representation of the data file, the image component being associable with an image file format readily readable by an image viewer; and one or more data components unreadable by the image viewer being appended to the image component in a manner such that the one or more data components and the image component are readable by a file reader, the image component comprising metadata associated with the one or more data components, syntax of the data file being based on at least the image component and the one or more data components appended thereto, the file reader capable of discerning syntax of the data file wherein in a first mode of operation, the image component of the data file is readable for viewing the image by the image viewer while the image component is part of the data file, and in a second mode of operation, the image component and the one or more appended data components are readable by the file reader.