DAT File Viewer – Open and Read .DAT File Online

You might have come across a .DAT file on your PC and you might be wondering what it is and how to access it. This guide explains it all!

What are .DAT Extension Files?

DAT is a file extension that is created by programs for certain reasons. A DAT file contains general data that is essential for the program that created this file in the first place. This data can be binary or in the form of text.

DAT File Extension

DAT files are also used by Minecraft for storing information about the levels. Similarly, programs like CyberLink or PowerDirector use DAT files for storing date in the form of videos.

A DAT file is not specifically meant for the user. Also, the user cannot get to know first-hand about the content that the DAT file is storing. It can either be in the form of text, videos or pictures or it can also be configuration files.

Related File Extensions:

Opening DAT files with a Text Editor

So, first of all, we will use a text editor to open a DAT file. Here’s how you can open a DAT file using a text editor like Notepad++ (You can use any text editor):

  1. Locate the .DAT file. Right-click it and select the ‘Open with’ option.
  2. In the next window that appears, select the ‘Notepad++’.
  3. Now, if the DAT file contains data in the form of text, you can easily access the contents.
  4. Otherwise, you will see text in the form of ‘NUL’.

Opening DAT Files via VLC

Sometimes, the DAT files could have been created by programs like CyberLink and PowerDirector. In this case the DAT file may contain data in the form of videos. This means that you can use a video player like VLC to access DAT files of such nature. Here’s how:

  1. Locate the DAT file and right-click it. Now select the ‘Open with’ option.
  2. From the menu, select ‘VLC’.
  3. You also need to note that not all files of such nature store meaningful data.

Converting .DAT files to .MPG

If the above methods don’t work out for you, then you can try out this method. In this method, we will try converting a DAT file to other file formats like audio, text or video. Here’s how you can do that:

  1. Make sure to make a backup of this file before proceeding.
  2. Locate the DAT file that you want to convert.
  3. Right-click and go to its ‘properties’. Under the ‘General’ tab, you will see the file’s name.
  4. Type ‘mpg’ in the place of ‘dat’.

Opening a Winmail.dat File

Winmail.dat is sometimes created by Microsoft Outlook. MS Outlook converts an email into this format. If the sender has used Outlook for sending an email to the recipient that isn’t using Outlook, the receiver is likely going to get the file in the ‘winmail.dat’ format, which he won’t be able to access properly. In this case, follow the steps given below:

  1. Download winmail.dat file from the email.
  2. Head over to the website ‘Winmaildat.com’.
  3. Select ‘Choose File’ next to the ‘Upload a file’ option.
  4. Locate the DAT file select it.
  5. Next, click on the start button.
  6. Once the process is complete, you will be able to access the contents of the DAT file.

Using these methods, you can access DAT files. Hopefully, these methods are useful to you.

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