Have you ever encountered a DAT file in an application file folder while freeing up RAM on your computer? Are you hesitating to delete it or not? Given that a DAT file cannot be opened by double-clicking like many other type of files, you may wonder what information it contains and how to open it. This post will give you a full introduction.
What Is a DAT File
A DAT file is a generic data file created by a specific application with the .dat file extension. You might find a DAT file in a program folder or as an attachment from an email server like Outlook. DAT files can store any type of data including text, media, and binary data. In most cases, these files are found among the DLL (Dynamic-link library) files or other shared libraries of folders. DAT files may contain configuration settings and other necessary information to run a program.
Never delete or rename a DAT file without careful consideration. Otherwise, your PC will be unbootable because the OS or application cannot find its expected files.
How to Open DAT File
Different from files like PDF or MP4, a .dat file cannot be opened by a specific application. DAT files that contain only plain text can be read in a text editor like Notepad, TextEditor, or Notepad++. If you find your DAT file in a media folder, you can open it in a video or audio player. And generally, you can use the original software that creates it to open a DAT file. To determine which program to use, you should go back to the file folder where you find the DAT file to get some clues.
As for email attachments in the form of winmail.dat or ATT0001.dat, you can easily open them using the Winmaildat website.
Convert DAT to PDF
Sometimes a PDF file sent via an email will arrive at its destination as a DAT file. If you are the recipient, you may want to convert the file from DAT back to PDF. To achieve it, you should first find a free DAT file converter online, upload your DAT file and select the file format you want to convert to, finally hit “Convert”. Then your DAT file will be turned into PDF in a few seconds. You can compress the PDF file with SwifDoo PDF if the converted file too large
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