Have you ever stumbled upon a file with a DAT extension? If you have and have no idea what they actually are, then you are in the right place. In this article, we’ll talk all about the DAT file. What is a DAT file? How to open a DAT file? Where are DAT files used? Why are DAT files used? What is the purpose of the DAT file? You will be enlightened with all the answers right here and right now.
WHAT IS A DAT FILE?
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Initially, let’s know what exactly is a DAT file. DAT is actually an extension to the data file that you might see on your desktop. It is a type pf file that supports or works in support of a certain application or software. It mostly consists of two types of files, namely, text files and binary files. These type of files are not independent or do not work independently. They are usually found with a bundle of DLL files. DLL is an abbreviation for Dynamic Link Library. These files only work in the Windows operating system and comprise of functions and procedures to run a particular program on the computer. These files mainly help the OS to run smoothly with the existing applications that you have installed on the same. These files are very sensitive and deleting these files may harm the functionality of the application based on these files.
Exactly like the DLL files DAT files are sensitive and must not be deleted. There is no particular program that is responsible for its creation. As these files are stored somewhere in the folders of an application, usually you’ll find videos stored in such format. At times there are also found when you receive a malformed email attachment with the extension.
Unlike other files, the DAT files aren’t very obvious. This means that when you see an MP3 file, you immediately know that it is an audio file, for DOCX extension you know it’s a document, TXT means it’s a text, PPTX means it’s a PowerPoint presentation. But when its DAT file you’ll have to do some digging in order to open or read that file.
HOW TO OPEN A DAT FILE?
As mentioned above, DAT files are not so obvious and do not require only a specific program to open. If you think it necessary to open or read a DAT file, see what kind of it is. Is it a video-based, an attachment, a text file, or some other kind of DAT file?
Depending on what type of DAT file it is, you must take the next step.
TEXT BASED DAT FILE
It is very easy to open a text DAT file. It can be opened and read with a simple text editor. It is usually located where the program files of the computer are located at. Most of the time, it is in the C drive in the program folder, and so on. In windows, we have an inbuilt text editor that is called Notepad. This application can be used to open the text DAT files.
However, some are not text files and need to be read or opened with some other application. This is all dependent on what kind of file these DAT files are used for. Other DAT files apart from the text are most certainly the ones that cannot be deleted, altered, or edited.
VIDEO BASED DAT FILE
Other video-based DAT files are saved from programs like VCDGear or PowerDirector, among others, and can, therefore, be opened with one of those programs.
These files are that are located in the program directories and are nothing but a whole set of computer codes that will not give you any meaningful output if opened.
DAT FILES FROM EMAIL ATTACHMENTS
The DAT files that you find in your emails as attachments, mostly are in the form of ATT0001.dat or winmail.dat file. Such DAT files have the possibility to be malformed attachments that can be from Outlook Express, Windows Live Mail, Outlook, or Mircosoft Exchange. These applications are Microsoft email clients.
Such attachment will eventually end up being a document, image, pdf, or video file.
So this all one can know about DAT files. It is certainly recommended that you don’t edit such files as it may cause future troubles that might be difficult to solve.