On your computer, files with a .dat extension hold data for a document or application. As DAT files are associated with particular computer programs, they cannot be opened or information extracted like other file types. Microsoft Word can be used to extract data from DAT files, and then you can try to determine which program the DAT file is related to. You must first ascertain what kind of information a file with the .dat extension contains before you can open it. Since most DAT files are text-based, text editors such as Notepad, Notepad++, VS Code, and others can be used to open them. If you open the DAT file with a text editor and the information inside is not in plain text, you will see some illegible, erratic text. Your media player can open the DAT file if you are certain that the content is audio or video. Likewise, Adobe Reader can open it if it’s a PDF. If you want to open a DAT file whose contents you are unsure of, you might be able to find out by closely examining the folder name that contains it. You can use conversion apps or just changing the file extension to the appropriate one to convert a file if you know exactly what it contains and what the extension is.
Opening a DAT Zip File
A DAT file is a type of data file that holds particular details about the application that created it. This file is always in the .dat file extension format, which is capable of holding any kind of information, including PDFs, audio files, video files, and almost any other kind of file. You must use appropriate programs to open files of all kinds, including media players, Adobe Reader, and others, if they are audio, video, or PDF files. You must first ascertain what kind of information a file with the .dat extension contains before you can open it. Since most DAT files are text-based, text editors such as Notepad, Notepad++, VS Code, and others can be used to open them. However, it doesn’t happen instantly, so you must right-click on the file and drag your cursor over the "Open with" menu. When you open a DAT file with a text editor and the information inside is not in plain text, you will see illegible, irregular text like this:
Illegible TextConverting a DAT File
With a text editor, certain DAT files can be easily read as they are text-based. Although Windows comes with a basic text editor called Windows Notepad, you can use more sophisticated text editors instead. Your computer’s program directories contain DAT files, most of which are useless because they contain computer code that is essentially meaningless. Certain video editing programs can open DAT files, which are actually video files. When you save DAT files as email attachments, you can open them with specialized software or upload them to a file extraction tool. Whether or not to convert a DAT file depends on the kind of file you’re dealing with; if a DAT file is being used for configuration by a particular program, it’s not advised to do so. You can try renaming the file extension to the correct one and see if it opens if you received a DAT file via email and you know it should be a different file type.
Unzipping a DAT File on a Mac
The fastest way to open DAT files on a Mac is to use a quality file compression and zipping program such as BetterZip. With just a few clicks, BetterZip is an app that can help you create and encrypt archives in addition to opening and extracting DAT files. Here’s how to use BetterZip to open a .dat file on a Mac:
- Open the app.
- Your file will drop into the application.
- If necessary, use Space to preview and Quick Look will open.
- Select Extract from the main menu.
Opening a DAT File in Windows 10
Generally speaking, a .dat file is a generic data file that can hold any kind of information, including PDFs, audio, video, and many other file formats. Identifying whether a DAT file is text-based or video-based is necessary before learning how to open it. Text-based DAT files predominate. For this reason, you can open them with text editors such as Notepad, Notepad++, VS Code, and others. Because the DAT files are text-based, you can view them with a code-editing program on a computer. Right-click on the DAT file and choose "Open with" from the context menu to open it on a PC. Lastly, click Open after selecting Notepad. Video-based DAT files are usually accessed with video editing software, as that’s where they come from. To play DAT files, you can download a third-party program such as EaseUS Video Editor or VLC Media Player. By opening the DAT file in programs like Microsoft Photos, IrfanView, etc., you can view the file. Depending on the type of DAT file you have, you can try opening it with one of the programs listed below if your file won’t open. Once you’ve chosen the appropriate application, you can open the .dat file. If any of these programs are already installed on your computer and are able to open .dat files, but you are still unable to do so, you may be able to open the .dat file by searching for updates for the related program and installing them. In a similar vein, you can also fix or reinstall the related software that opens .dat files. You have now learned how to open a .dat file from this article. It is a trial-and-error procedure because it is unknown what the original contents of the .dat file were. If you need to open a .dat file, you can use any of the techniques listed in this article. Thus, these are a few of the best methods for opening the .dat file on your computer.