JPEG world file used by geographic information system (GIS) applications; stores the location, scale, and rotation of a map that is saved as a JPEG image; used for associating raster map images with world locations, such as for aerial satellite photographs.

JPW files are saved in a plain text format. They contain a series of lines that define the X and Y pixel size, rotational/shear coefficients, and the X and Y world coordinates that correspond to the center of top-left image pixel. NOTE: JPW files do not contain actual image data. They are typically saved as a separate data file alongside a .JPG file.