File Extension Search

.ini File Extension

Developer: Microsoft Corporation
File type: Windows Initialization File
You're here because you have a file that has a file extension ending in .ini. Files with the file extension .ini can only be launched by certain applications. It's possible that .ini files are data files rather than documents or media, which means they're not meant to be viewed at all.

what is a .ini file?

Files in the INI format are generated by the Windows OS to serve as settings files that contain configurations of the Windows-based computer. Also called Windows initialization files, these INI files are appended with the .ini extension and are updated whenever the user or the system makes certain changes to the original or default configurations of the Windows OS. These INI files are used by the system to incorporate into the Windows-based computer the settings and configurations found in these .ini files. An INI file can be opened using a text editor, but this is not recommended to be performed by users without the necessary technical knowledge and experience for changing or editing the configurations and settings that are stored in these Windows initialization files. As of this writing, more recent versions of the Windows OS are implemented with the function of deploying XML files to replace some of the functionalities of these .ini files as default settings files that are used to embed global-wide and user-specific configurations across the Windows OS.

how to open a .ini file?

Launch a .ini file, or any other file on your PC, by double-clicking it. If your file associations are set up correctly, the application that's meant to open your .ini file will open it. It's possible you may need to download or purchase the correct application. It's also possible that you have the correct application on your PC, but .ini files aren't yet associated with it. In this case, when you try to open a .ini file, you can tell Windows which application is the correct one for that file. From then on, opening a  .ini file will open the correct application. Click here to fix .ini file association errors

applications that open a .ini file

Microsoft Notepad

Microsoft Notepad

Notepad is a basic text editor used to create plain documents. It is commonly used to view or edit text (.txt) files, and a simple tool for creating Web pages, and supports only the basic formatting in HTML documents. It also has a simple built-in logging function. Each time a file that initializes with .log is opened, the program inserts a text timestamp on the last line of the file. It accepts text from the Windows clipboard. This is helpful in stripping embedded font type and style codes from formatted text, such as when copying text from a Web page and pasting into an email message or other “What You See Is What You Get” text editor. The formatted text is temporarily pasted into Notepad, and then immediately copied again in stripped format to be pasted into the other program. Simple text editors like Notepad may be utilized to change text with markup, such as HTML. Early versions of Notepad offered only the most basic functions, such as finding text. Newer versions of Windows include an updated version of Notepad with a search and replace function (Ctrl + H), as well as Ctrl + F for search and similar keyboard shortcuts. It makes use of a built-in window class named edit. In older versions such as Windows 95, Windows 98, Windows Me and Windows 3.1, there is a 64k limit on the size of the file being edited, an operating system limit of the EDIT class.
Microsoft WordPad

Microsoft WordPad

Files with .rtf, .openbsd, and .readme extensions are some of the files associated or which can be opened with the Microsoft WordPad. RTF files are text documents that can be created, opened, viewed, edited or changed using word processing applications for both Mac and Microsoft Windows-based computers, like Microsoft WordPad for Windows and Microsoft Word 2011 for Mac. It gives the users a wide cross compatibility support, which was the central objective for the improvement of the Rich Text Format technology, and these .rtf files can even be opened, viewed and used with database applications. The OpenBSD Unix platform is frequently utilized in computers running as Web servers of a secure network. OpenBSD files may be saved in directories of the OpenBSD system that were generated upon installation of the software applications. Files with the .openbsd extension can be opened by standard text editors, particularly well-known like Microsoft Notepad, and this text editor may also be utilized to create and edit OPENBSD files. Files with the .readme extension are text documents engaged to give users with beneficial information and specific details about certain applications installed in the system. These files can be opened, viewed and edited with a selection of text editors including Microsoft Notepad and Microsoft WordPad.
Apple TextEdit

Apple TextEdit

Apple TextEdit is a text editor program and an open-source word processor too, which is first used in NeXTSTEP and OPENSTEP, but now integrated in most recent versions of Mac OS X. It is also considered a GNUstep application for other operating systems that are Unix based, like Linux computers. This program is operated by Advanced Typography by Apple so expect several advanced typography related features. The main function of this software is to read and write documents in plain text, HTML formats, Rich Text Format, and Rich Text Format Directory. It can also open Simple Text files but does not have the capability to save documents of that format. Mac OS X version 10.3 supports Microsoft Word documents, while Mac OS X version 10.4 can open and save Word documents in XML file. Mac OS X version 10.5 is able to read and write Office Open XML as well as OpenDocument Text. Features included on TextEdit are formatted text support, addition of graphics, animations and other multi-media contents, automatic adjustment of letter spacing, as well as reading and writing support of character encodings.

a word of warning

Be careful not to rename the extension on .ini files, or any other files. This will not change the file type. Only special conversion software can change a file from one file type to another.

what is a file extension?

A file extension is the set of three or four characters at the end of a filename; in this case, .ini. File extensions tell you what type of file it is, and tell Windows what programs can open it. Windows often associates a default program to each file extension, so that when you double-click the file, the program launches automatically. When that program is no longer on your PC, you can sometimes get an error when you try to open the associated file.
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