If you find a file with a .dat extension on your computer, it'southward simply a generic data file that contains important information almost the plan used to create the particular file.

Information technology tin exist anything similar an email attachment (as winmail.dat files), epitome or video, a certificate or fifty-fifty information, which stores information for software to handle. The information contained within the .dat file tin can exist binary or plain text but is related to the program that created the file.

In club to read or open up a .dat file, you need to know what kind of file information technology is, and and so catechumen it to brand it easier to open.

Such files aren't associated with a particular program though, and so if information technology'south in plainly text, you tin can attempt to open up information technology with different programs like MS Document or Notepad among others, and information technology'll display the content.  Otherwise yous'll only run into some crude data that you tin can't empathise unless you're a programmer.

In rare cases though, y'all can find .dat files having the actual data for video files that open with programs like CyberLink Powerdirector or VCDGear.

How To Read & Open DAT Files

Most files have default programs that read and open the files, for example MP3 opens audio files, while plain text files are opened using TXT files, only with .dat files, there'south no obvious program to open up it.

If you feel stuck with a .dat file and aren't sure how to open it, what to do with information technology, or even think information technology should be used or opened in a particular way, y'all need to figure out whether information technology's video or text-based, an email attachment or other kind of .dat file.

The easiest way to figure this out is by going dorsum to how and where you got the .dat file from, as this ordinarily gives yous the information y'all need to know how to read .dat files.

Using a Text Editor To Open DAT Files

For text-based .dat files, y'all can easily read and/or open it using a text editor. It'south the get-go tool to try when y'all're non certain how to open a DAT file.

In Windows, the native and basic Notepad text editor volition help you, though there are other alternative programs that can replace Notepad.

Non all .dat files are text files though, and so you may non be able to open them using a text editor. The .dat files may non exist easy to edit, delete or even move, because they may be locked, or they may be part of the program's configuration files, in which instance you may never need to open it manually, or manipulate information technology.

To open up the .dat file in Windows using a text editor, correct-click on the file y'all want to open up, and select Open With.

Select the text editor y'all desire to use, and click OK.

Yous'll be able to read the file'southward contents if it's a text-based .dat file. If not, you'll run across many NUL references and incomprehensible characters.

If you received an electronic mail attachment in the form of a winmail.dat file, you lot can easily open it using Winmaildat.com without the sender having to resend it to you lot in the mail service. In one case you download the .dat file attachment, go to Winmaildat.com and click Browse next to Upload a File.

Find the .dat file and click Open up. Once uploaded, click Start, let the file to exist analyzed.

Bank check for the results in the Result folio and then y'all tin can see the contents of the .dat file. You can as well click on it to download it to your computer and view everything the .dat file contains.

For video .dat files, you can check the plan it was saved from and try to open using that program. If information technology'due south in a program binder linked to a specific video file program, you tin utilize it to play the file, or try using VLC on your computer.

How To Convert DAT Files

You lot tin also catechumen the .dat file using a free or paid file converter. The steps you'll take to convert .dat files depend on the kind of file you have, but you actually don't accept to convert information technology to another format particularly if it'south used to store configuration data as we mentioned above.

Similarly, converting the .dat file could also render information technology unusable. For example, you lot tin open up a .dat video file in the program that was used to create it, and then salvage information technology or export to another format like the popular MP4, WMV, AVI or FLV.

Another mode of reading and opening .dat files that came as email attachments is by renaming it to the correct extension that your computer recognizes, especially if you lot know information technology's supposed to exist a particular file type but is a DAT file instead.

For instance, if yous know it's meant to be an image file, you tin rename it to JPG or PNG, or for Microsoft Word documents, you lot can rename the DAT file extension to .doc or .docx. Make sure to read out commodity on how to open a file with no extension as it explains the process in more particular.

Before renaming the DAT file though, configure Windows to show file extensions properly.

We hope you now know how to read and open DAT files in Windows. Allow us know which of the three methods worked for you past sharing your annotate in the section below.