What is a .dat file?

Question

In my work I sometimes need to send PDFs, Excel spread sheets and other files by email.

Two people in particular always need them resent, sometimes two or three times, because somehow in transmission they become ".dat" files, and cannot be opened.

One of the people is based in Italy, the other in Vietnam. I am in Australia.

Does anyone know why this might happen or what a .dat file is?

Thanks :-)

Answer 1

.dat is a data file. It holds data about folders and/or files. SHOULD NOT BE DELETED unlees you know what that file is for.

A list of all files used in computing can be found here: http://www.fileinfo.net/

Answer 2

A Data File. This can be corrected by remaining the file, sometimes ( I find). For example, if you have a song, but it is appearing as a .dat file, you can delete the '.dat', writing instead '.mp3'. In your case, youll be wanted to renaim it .pdf or .xls.

This can happen as the files are saved in ASCII format. They can be opened without being renamed in a variety of programmes, for example, MS word and notepad, though may be defective.

Answer 3

Generic data file created by a specific application and typically accessed only by that application; may contain data in text or binary format; text-based DAT files can be viewed in a text editor.

Many programs create, open, or reference DAT files; some examples include:

Microsoft Visual Studio, Corel WordPerfect, Nero ShowTime, Nullsoft Winamp, SoftVelocity Clarion, Ontrack EasyRecovery, Runtime GetDataBack, and MapInfo software.

Answer 4

You can look up any file extension at http://www.sharpened.net/helpcenter/exte... (Bookmark it-I find it often comes in handy!)

That is where I found this definition-

A dat file is most commonly video stream from a Video CD (VCD) disc; typically saved in MPEG-1 or MPEG-2 format; contains the actual video data that is played from the VCD.

As to why your files are changing to this format when sent I do not know

Answer 5

.dat files r for videos. some softwares r only capable of sending selective formats only, dats why u get only .dat format files