How to Open the File Extension DAT in Windows XP
The DAT file is a generic data file, often used by developers to store various information. Due to this, the DAT file has no specific associated program. In order to open the file, you must do a little detective work to determine which particular application is storing their data in the DAT file. Using Windows XP's built-in Notepad, you can view the file as a plain text document which will help find the correct application.
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Instructions
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Open the folder containing the DAT file.
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Right-click the DAT file and select "Open with..." Browse to the "Notepad" application and select "Open." Alternatively, you right-click the file and select "Send To > Notepad." The DAT file will open in a text document; most of the document with be garbled text.
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Scroll through the text document. This is the hard part. You must decipher any legible text from the document. There is typically a reference to the host application that created (or used) the DAT file when viewed as a text document. When you have found the application reference, move on to the next step.
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Right-click the DAT file and select "Open With..." This time select the application referenced in the DAT file. The DAT database file should open properly.
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Tips & Warnings
If the file was sent to you, the easier thing to do is ask the sender what application to use.
If the DAT file was sent to you as an email attachment, often the email application changes the file to DAT. If you know what type of file your friend was sending, you can change the extension to the correct one. To do this, open "Folder Options" from the Tools menu in Windows Explorer and turn off "Hid extensions for known file types." Double-click the DAT file and delete ".DAT" and replace it with the proper extension.
References
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