ESRI ArcInfo DAT File (External)
Unknowntext
Files which comprise part of an ArcInfo Coverage, which is a data model whose purpose is to store georelational data such as spatial location and descriptive data. Each ArcInfo Coverage resides in an ArcInfo workspace, a directory which contains two or more folders. These packages are generated using ArcGIS software, produced by Esri (https://www.esri.com/en-us/arcgis/about-arcgis/overview.) An ArcInfo coverage dataset typically has two types of .dat file: internal, which store the actual data table, and external, which contains a relative path to the data table. External .dat files follow a unique naming pattern: arcXXXX.dat, where XXXX is incrementally increasing number starting from 0000, e.g. arc0000.dat, arc0001.dat. The .dat files always come in pair with a NIT file and are both stored in an INFO directory at the root.
Identify it
| Extensions | .dat |
|---|---|
| Signatures | 2e2e2f at byte 0 (ESRI ArcInfo .dat File (external)) |
| PRONOM | fmt/1594 |
| Wikidata | Q111512403 |
Not sure your file is this? Identify it from its first bytes, in your browser.
Open it
Convert it
No conversion recorded. One of the tools above may export it; search for a chain.
0Sources
From PRONOM, Wikidata. Updated 2026-10-20.