John, 
This is the only page I can find that sort of explains the "file offset"
http://www.ee.cooper.edu/courses/course_pages/past_courses/EE458/TIFF/
It takes forever to load.

Here are some of the places it is mentioned in the page.

" If value can fit into Value Offset field, it will be placed there.
It value cannot fit, Value Offset will contain a pointer (file offset
from file beginning) to where value is located."

"The DE "length" (sometimes called the "count") field contains the
number of items of the specified data type provided. It is specified
in terms of the data type, not the total number of bytes required for
storage. A single SHORT tag (data type 3) has a length of one and not
two, for example.
The final field in a DE is the "value offset" field. This field
usually contains the file offset to the actual data associated with
the tag. In other words, the data associated with a DE does not have
to be physically stored with the DE but can reside anywhere in the
TIFF file. Again, data pointers must be followed to find the actual
data. If the data associated with a DE is four bytes or less in
length, it can be stored in the "value offset" field directly instead
of at a location pointed to by the this field. This was done to
increase TIFF performance when retrieving small data items. Any data
stored in "value offset" must be left justified (stored toward the
lower-numbered bytes). The "type" and "length" fields must be
consulted to determine if the total amount of storage required by a
data item is four or fewer bytes and therefore whether it can be
stored directly in the "value offset" field."

I had a few moments to spare and figured I'd try to help with
something I have no clue about.
If this is of no help at all, just ignore this email. 

On Thu, 22 Jul 2004 08:29:07 -0700 (PDT), John Hebert
<[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
> Howdy,
> 
> I am trying to understand the TIFF file format and I
> came across a term: "file off-set". I kinda have an
> idea what this is, but I am not sure.
> 
> I think it referring to a position in the file where
> actual image data starts, so that a header section can
> exist to provide meta-data about the image. (?)
> 
> Can anyone define what a file off-set is or point me
> to a good explanation?
> 
> Thanks,
> John
> 
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-- 
Adam Melancon
Work: http://www.vermilion.lib.la.us
Personal: http://www.melancon.org

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