Than to open a DBF-file: the elementary decisions

Today, probably, no one needs to say that many users often encounter files with the extension .dbf. What is most sad, in Windows, even with the installed Microsoft Office package, this type of files is not associated with any program. We have a DBF file. Than to open it, we now also will try to understand. At the same time, let's see how you can install the extension association for the subsequent automatic recognition of data and opening the search file.

DBF Format: Description

Actually, from the very reduction applied to the extension of a file of this type, we can already conclude that this is a database. It is somewhat specific, since usually such files have a .db (Data Base) extension.

In this case, we have a different type of data, which, although true for its specificity, is recognized by many programs that support the work with information of this type. It can be the same Excel or Access that is part of the main Microsoft Office suite, or any other office application from third-party developers.

How to open DBF in the standard version

In fact, if you suddenly encounter a file of this type (the icon is not even used on the Explorer), do not panic. Quite simply it can be opened with the help of Excel, because it preserves the entire logical structure and formatting of the text , taking into account the same cross-references and the possibility of using a standard search system.

Since the file itself is not associated with any program in the standard version, you can do it in two ways. It is recommended, for example, simply run Excel or Access, and then use the standard file open menu or the Ctrl + O keyboard shortcut. However, in the appeared menu in the file type field, specify "All files" (rather than "native" format), after Then select the desired file. Be sure: any table program recognizes this type of data without any problems.

As you can see, the problem, than opening a DBF-file, in our case is reduced only to the use of a standard office application in manual mode. As already understood, such a method is not always convenient and requires certain expenses over time.

Related Programs

Now look at the DBF file itself. How to open it without using a standard office suite? Yes, the same utilities that are part of similar software products.

For example, it could be the same Open Office, Lotus, etc. In principle, there is not much difference here, because only the fact that the program used is capable of working with tabular electronic data plays a role. Reading the DBF format is the same in all cases. By the way, it does not depend on the developer of the office suite, because all have support for this type of data, including even platforms like Oracle.

Change the default open options

And now let's see how to open DBF-files so that automatic mode is used. In the simplest case, this is done from the submenu called by the right click on the file in the usual Explorer, where the command "Open with ..." is selected.

For a single case, one of the applications listed in the list is used. In order not to rack yourself up again about how to open DBF-files, you can simply specify the selected application, and then from the bottom put the "bird" opposite the line "Use for all files of this type." The same Excel later (if it is selected as the default program) will open a file of this type with the usual double click.

It goes without saying that instead of Excel, you can choose the same Access or other programs that can recognize and open data of this type. This is not the point. The main thing is to configure the automatic opening of the database. Well and with what to work in the plan of the software, it already business of each concrete user of computer system.

What in the end?

To summarize, it is worth saying that the optimal option when opening files of this type is, of course, an office package from Microsoft, because it is the most common in the whole world. However, there is nothing to worry about that a user who does not use Microsoft products will open this type of data in any other application.

As is already clear from all of the above, table editors are present in almost all of today's known packages. They can differ among themselves only by naming, and certainly not by a functional set, which, as a rule, is the same everywhere, with rare exceptions.

Among other things, accordingly, you can use many development tools with a fairly large number of programming languages. On the same platform that supports the creation and optimization of SQL-servers, such files are opened, as they say, in a moment. When opened, they will have a fairly specific look, which is somewhat unusual for a regular user. However, most users are unlikely to use such professional development tools, and will limit themselves only to the standard software suite.