You might already know that OpenDocument is shaping up to a widely accepted set of standards.
It looks like we are about to start working on another OpenDocument format for multilayered raster graphics. This is actually all about filling the gap. We have OMF and AES when it comes to exchanging audio projects, we have AAF when it comes to video. But there is no one uniform standard to store multiply layers, their compositing options, clipping paths, text on path etc.
When I say “we”, I mean developers from different projects. Several people independantly from each other were talking about very much the same at the same time. However, Boudewijn Rempt and Simon Budig were the guys pushed the magic button in this case 
What is the point behind creating such a file format?
Imagine you have created a panorama project in Hugin. It’s fine except sun shone and hid again while you were shooting. Thus created panorama image will have lighter and darker vertical stripes then. Sure you would want to fix it. Logical would be exporting to some multilayered file format. Each of the layers would represent part or original image that went into the whole panorama and it would have an adjustment layers with curves over it. Then you would open it in some graphics editor and tweak adjustment layers. Which file format would you pick? The one that is supported by your favourite graphics editor, be it GIMP, Krita or Photoshop. A couple of years later when you might have switched to other editor you would probably like to be able to stll open that project file and tweak layers or something. You would like to be able to do it on just any OS and any graphics editor out there.
Or you are working on some design and you want to share it with other guys in the team who use other software than you.
The plan is to introduce a new OpenDocument file format. It ain’t easy thing. What you would await from such a file format, needs time to be implemented. Here is a basic list of features:
- full freely available documentation
- OpenDocument type of file format (archive with multiply files inside)
- storage of multiply layers
- storage of each layer’s coordinates
- storage of blending options for each layer
- storage of adjustment layers
- storage of layer effects
- storage of metadata using {XMP – Dublin Core – IPTC} tags
- possibility to store metadata tags per layer
- storage of EXIF tags
- all text data in Unicode (UTF-8 or UTF-16)
- storage of paths, clipping paths, text on path
- storage of raster data in different colorspaces (RGB, RGBA, CMYK, CIE L*a*b)
- storage of image data in both 8/16bit data modes
I hope that more developers take part in this project. Temporary working page is organised. However, we can have success only if developers of major applications (Krita, GIMP, Pixel, mtPaint and others) agree to collaborate. Currently Krita, Scribus and Pixel ones are known to wish to work together.
In the mean time �yvind Kolås has come up with a lite proposal for revised XCF file format.