gtomasson
asked on
How to open .PRG and .BAK files
Dear Experts.
I have several database files from 1996 that I need to open. These files have the extension PRG and BAK. I do not know the origninal program that was used to create these files but it might have been foxpro??? as on the same CD where these old files are, there are dbf files that I can easily open (after importing to SAS).
I do not have Foxpro installed on my computer. How can I open those PRG and BAK files?? My OS is Windows XP pro.
I have several database files from 1996 that I need to open. These files have the extension PRG and BAK. I do not know the origninal program that was used to create these files but it might have been foxpro??? as on the same CD where these old files are, there are dbf files that I can easily open (after importing to SAS).
I do not have Foxpro installed on my computer. How can I open those PRG and BAK files?? My OS is Windows XP pro.
If you see any other odd file extensions, here is a link to what they may be if indeed they are all under the FoxPro file umbrella:
File Extensions and File Types
http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/h9yfa0t1(VS.80).aspx
File Extensions and File Types
http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/h9yfa0t1(VS.80).aspx
ASKER
Thank you. When I look at these files in notepad I only see irregular symbols/letter (nothing meaningful). I take it therefore that these are not Foxpro files?
Is there any way of finding out what these files are.
Is there any way of finding out what these files are.
A .prg is an ASCII program file under dBASE/Clipper/FoxPro. So, if you see odd characters, it was either encrypted or belongs to another program environment. Surely if you have these files you know their source. ???
ASKER
I should know but I got those files on a CD from a person that has now Idea where those files originally came from.
What other file extensions (suffixes) are on that CD? That may give us more clues.
BAK files may be, as Carl says above, a Backup version of a PRG file.
But it may also be a backup version of a DBF file which would have been created when the DBF file had its structure changed. If this were the case, if you tried to open these files in Notepad, you would indeed see irregular characters within it.
Regardless, as Carl says above, if there is a file with the same name, then the BAK file is most likely not important.
Example: MyCode.PRG & MyCode.BAK
or
MyTable.DBF & MyTable.BAK
Have you done as Carl suggests and look at the other file extensions and compare them to those on the reference webpage he gave you above to confirm if the files are most likely Foxpro or not?
Good Luck,
JRB-Bldr
But it may also be a backup version of a DBF file which would have been created when the DBF file had its structure changed. If this were the case, if you tried to open these files in Notepad, you would indeed see irregular characters within it.
Regardless, as Carl says above, if there is a file with the same name, then the BAK file is most likely not important.
Example: MyCode.PRG & MyCode.BAK
or
MyTable.DBF & MyTable.BAK
Have you done as Carl suggests and look at the other file extensions and compare them to those on the reference webpage he gave you above to confirm if the files are most likely Foxpro or not?
Good Luck,
JRB-Bldr
ASKER
Thanks a lot for your help. The BAK files have unique filenames, that is there are none of the other files that have the same name but of another type.
The other files that were on the CD have the endings .dat .eng .sdr .dia and .itr
Most of those files are very small and I doubt there are large databases in those files.
Regards.
gt.
The other files that were on the CD have the endings .dat .eng .sdr .dia and .itr
Most of those files are very small and I doubt there are large databases in those files.
Regards.
gt.
The .dat files could be so many programs that it's ridiculous.
However, the one I ran across recently was for Clarion, a DOS database application a customer was running.
However, the one I ran across recently was for Clarion, a DOS database application a customer was running.
If you look for DBF file extensions on
http://filext.com/alphalist.php?extstart=^D
you will see a number of programs associated with that file extension.
You might want to look around that reference for the variety of file extensions that you see to determine if there is a common program associated with most of them.
Alternatively the application developers can optionally use different (non-standard) file extensions for data tables within a Foxpro application. These other extensions might be used to organize data table content type, to confuse people attempting to steal their software or other reasons.
Good Luck,
JRB-Bldr
http://filext.com/alphalist.php?extstart=^D
you will see a number of programs associated with that file extension.
You might want to look around that reference for the variety of file extensions that you see to determine if there is a common program associated with most of them.
Alternatively the application developers can optionally use different (non-standard) file extensions for data tables within a Foxpro application. These other extensions might be used to organize data table content type, to confuse people attempting to steal their software or other reasons.
Good Luck,
JRB-Bldr
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it may be a database file and if you have not tampered any charater in that file and you said you dont have foxpro installed in your pc it is highly recommended to get it installed first then you can open those files in foxpro and see what it is
if at all not possible to install foxpro then rename the ext of the file to .dbf and try to import it into ms acess if it is a database file then it must import in ms access
if at all not possible to install foxpro then rename the ext of the file to .dbf and try to import it into ms acess if it is a database file then it must import in ms access
The .BAK files are simply backup files created when a save was done to an original. Again, use NotePad.exe to see what's in them. You may not need them if a similar file name exists with a .prg extension.