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UPDATED ✅ Do you want to know which are the best programs and applications to open .DAT files on your computer and smartphone? ⭐ ENTER HERE ⭐ and discover how to do it ✅ EASY and FAST ✅
When we share information on our computers either by email, flash drive, or downloaded information, It is common to find files and documents whose origin we do not know.
Although we know from the name that it is something important, no matter how hard we try, it is completely difficult for us to access the data. This is the case with DAT extension files.
It is for this reason that in this article We have prepared for you a complete guide on these What are they? What is the function they fulfill? And how can we open them to be able to access their content with different programs depending on the case and from different operating systems.
What is it and what are files with the .DAT extension used for?
To open and read files with a DAT extension all we have to do is know what type of file it is How do we know this? One would think that since it is a file with a DAT extension, that is simply what it is and there is no need to look any further.
But the reality is different since a DAT file could have been created with any program and in any formatso it was possibly later changed to DAT.
Then a file with .DAT extension is a data storage file arbitrarily, binary or not, and unless we know what program it was created with there is no way it can be opened.
But don’t worry that here below we have left you some steps that can help you identify and later open files with the DAT extension.
How to open and read .DAT files on smartphones or computers?
To discover the way to see the content that this type of files brings, we suggest some steps that may be functional to read them from a mobile device or a computer, whatever it is, here you can find out. Not without first recommending you use an antivirus to analyze these files, even more so if we do not know their recipient.
On Windows PCs
With a Windows computer and facing an unknown DAT file, the first thing is to try to find out in which program this file works correctly. For this we can try universal programs that support a large number of formats, the first of them will be the VLC Media Playersince it is capable of supporting almost all video and audio formats.
- To do this we will open VLC and in menu “Media” we will choose the option “Open file”, which we can also access by pressing “CTRL + O”.
- Then we locate our DAT file and open it to see what the player shows us. It is important that in order for us to find our DAT file, we change the bottom right option of the browsing screen, from “Media Files” to the option of being able to open “All the files”.
- For this we open the editor and also in the menu of “File, Archive”, we select “Open” or press “CTRL + A”.
- We locate the DAT file, in case this has been created with an editor like this, then it should show us on the screen all the data and the information in the code that it is.
- In case it was not created with a text editor, at least it should show some code fractions that can give us an idea of what program we can use.
This example is about some Windows user data, which should not change any parameter.
We must also take into account the environment in which the file is located and the person who sent it to us, because they may be able to clarify that doubt. Once we manage to decipher what program our DAT file works with then we can open it from the respective menu “File, Archive” and then in “Open”.
On Mac computers
In MAC computers the process is similar and only varies in the TextEdit text editor, which we are going to use to try to identify with which program our file works correctly, so that after we have the idea, carry out the test to see if it works.
- The first thing will be to open the program that we have chosen to later locate our DAT file, we drag it to the main screen of the program and wait for it to execute the file.
- It is likely that we a confirmation message appears about whether we really want to perform that action and we just accept.
If the file execution is successful we may want to change the format of the DAT file to the newly discovered format, to avoid having to drag it into the program every time we want to open it. But remember that it must be the exact extension to avoid damaging the file.
On Android mobile phones
Sometimes a phenomenon occurs in our emails that converts the information to the DAT format, this usually happens more than anything in Microsoft Outlook. But it also happens in other post office boxes.
In order not to complicate things with this type of situation and to be able to access the information contained in these emails, there is an excellent application that can help you on your Android devices, this is Winmail.dat Opener which was created specifically for this task.
So, how it works once inside your mail client in the attachment menu of the mail that is in DAT format, we are going to select the option to open it with Winmail.dat Opener. You can also save the file to your device and then once inside the app open your file from there.
On iPhone devices with iOS
On iOS devices the same thing usually happens with some emails and the solution is perfect. You just have to download a Winmail.dat viewer that you can easily find in the App Store and perform the same procedure as above.
In the same way you can opt for a text editor and in this case the most optimal for this is the File App.
List of the best applications and alternative programs to open a document with a .Dat extension
You should know that these types of files can only be opened with programs that have been created for that. If you do not know which one was used, you should try some that we will name below.
Edit Plus
It is a very complete text editor made for Windows, which contains the best tools for programmers and it is excellent for opening files in DAT format. If only to find out where it came from.
FreeDAT to AVI Converter
As its name indicates, it is an excellent DAT file converter that helps us to convert these files to almost all possible media formats, in order to have a better reading of these and avoid damaging it in the act of conversion.
VLC Media Player
VLC is a universally known media player, it is open source and therefore available for all major operating systems. It is capable of playing virtually all highest definition video formats and many audio-only formats as well.
We apply it in this tutorial for its ability to play files in DAT format that were originally created as audio or video files.
Notepad++
This is the most common and recommended by most programmers and the most similar to notepad, but with many more tools and a greater capacity to support hundreds of formats, including DAT.
Winmail.Dat Opener
This is a simple application designed so that we can open email attachments of the Winmail.dat type. It is a free app but a bit limited, since it only works with this type of files. However, it is still an excellent solution.
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