Opening ACF Files

The ACF file type is primarily associated with Photoshop.

ACF	File extension: ACF
	File type:	custom kernel file

What is an ACF file?

ACF files mostly belong to Photoshop by Adobe. ACF files are popularly known for their use as application files by Steam software developed by the Valve gaming corporation.

Main Use: Valve Steam software application uses files suffixed with the ACF file extension as cache files for its various applications. Running a game required a lot of information to be processed on the go. When a user opens a game on the Steam gaming client, it, in turn, accesses the corresponding ACF data files to subsequently retrieve the relevant in-game features required. The ACF files mainly contain the details of the web address of game installer files and their game profile data as well. The user can generate, open, change the details of these ACF files using the Valve Steam application on their Windows or Mac systems.
Other Uses: ACF files can also refer to Adobe Custom Filter files used by the Adobe Photoshop software. The software uses ACF files to change the pixel data surrounding a particular pixel. X-Plane is a flight simulator application that uses ACF files for storing aircraft properties such as engine power. Microsoft Visual Studio also uses ACF files as an application configuration file. Inmagic DB/Text works also use the ACF files as Access Control files for controlling parallel access to the textbase from multiple users.

How to open an ACF file

You need a suitable software like Photoshop to open an ACF file. Without proper software you will receive a Windows message "How do you want to open this file?" or "Windows cannot open this file" or a similar Mac/iPhone/Android alert. If you cannot open your ACF file correctly, try to right-click or long-press the file. Then click "Open with" and choose an application. You can also display a ACF file directly in the browser:. Just drag the file onto this browser window and drop it.

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Programs that open and convert ACF files:

Photoshop by Adobe
See the previous paragraphs to learn more about the main application. ACF files are often referred to as Photoshop settings because this type of file is primarily created or used by this software.
AdviceCalculator (AdviceCalculator file) by JRK Software
AdviceCalculator is collection of financial calculators and tools that have been combined to assist average home users in making financial decisions. These tools include interest calculators, loan amortization calculator and buy-vs-rent calculator. The ACF file format is used to store data for AdviceCalculator.
Agent (character data file) by Microsoft
Agent is a discontinued interactive animation program by Microsoft. Animation created by this software uses speech-recognition, text-to-speech engines and animated characters to interact with the user. The ACF file format stores character data for the animated characters in Agent. It is used in correspondance with an ACA file that contains animation data for the character. This file format is classified as Data. Related links: Microsoft Agent on Wikipedia, Microsoft Agent Documentation, ACF File Format, Open-Source Alternative to Microsoft Agent
DB/TextWorks (database Access Control File) by Inmagic
DB/TextWorks is a content management system. It uses a database management system along with text retrieval software to allow a wide range of content to be managed, including catalogs, documents, images and multimedia. The ACF file format is used by access control files in DB/TextWorks. These files control simultaneous access to the database by different users or instances of software. This file format is classified as Settings. Related links: DB/Textworks User's Manual
Spectramap (application colors file) by Coloritto BV
Spectramap is a tool for data analysis and interpretation, with focus on visual or graphic representation of data using biplot diagrams. It allows users to create both 2D and 3D diagrams, making the interpretation of information stored in large tables easier. The ACF format is associated with the application colors file for Spectramap This file format is classified as Data. Related links: Chapter on Spectramap in Book
Steam (cache file) by Valve
Steam is a video game distribution software platform by Valve. It also provides digital rights management (DRM), server hosting, video streaming, cloud storage, and chat features. The ACF file format is associated with a cache file that stores information about downloaded games. It is accessed by Steam when the game is downloaded or updated. This file format is classified as Data. Related links: Steam on Wikipedia, ACF Files in Steam, How to Use ACF Files to Share Steam Games Between Windows and Linux
X-Plane (plane description file) by Laminar Research
X-Plane is a series of flight simulation games by Laminar Research. It also allows users to design aircraft using its Plane Maker and Airfoil Maker tools. The ACF file format in X-Plane stores an aircraft model and includes information that describes the plane, such as power, flight physics and mass. This file format is classified as Game. Related links: X-Plane on Wikipedia, Plane Maker Manual with ACF File Reference, X-Plane Manual with ACF File Reference, X-Plane Beginners' Guide with ACF Reference, Switch from Binary to Text-Based ACF Files

ACF file format:

A file format defines how the data in the file is structured. The initial characters of a file are called signature, sometimes also referred to as "magic bytes". The signature can be used to infer the file format. However, different programs can use the same file extension. Furthermore, a file extension can be renamed incorrectly and double-clicking on it will then display an error when it is opened. If there are problems opening a file, you must first determine the file format used. Below is our analysis of the ACF files:

The ACF file extension is rarely used and is used by different programs with different formats. However, the following two file formats are common:

65% of all ACF files start with the magic bytes "App, which are always the first bytes of this file format. If you open these files in a text editor, you can view and read the content yourself. The files are on average 800 bytes in size and range from 580 bytes to 4 KB. This file type is based on cutting-edge technology. Certain words are almost always found in the files, such as "appid", "AppState", "StateFlags", "Universe", "name", "installdir", steam, "LastUpdated", "SizeOnDisk", "LauncherPath" and "UpdateResult". The file name appmanifest_228980.acf is typical for these files. Files like these are sometimes connected to appworkshop.
10% of all ACF files have the same signature @UTF. These files are binary files, so they do not contain text, but only cryptic characters. A typical file size is 6 KB. Certain words are almost always found in the files, such as @UTF. Such files are related to sound.

All the rest of the ACF files (25%) have different formats. If you want to find out what your ACF file contains, drag and drop it onto this page.

Technical Data for ACF File Extension

File classification:

Settings

Related files:

gse, afc, manifest, aci, vcf, sav, abr, atf, asr

Mime type:

text/plain

The following listing is compiled from the database produced by the 'Associate This!' program, selected data from the main FILExt database and file extension information submitted by users.

ProgramID: Photoshop.CustomFilterKernel
EXEFile: %ProgramFiles%\Adobe\Adobe Photoshop CS\Photoshop.exe

ProgramID: Photoshop.CustomFilterKernel
EXEFile: %ProgramFiles%\Adobe\Photoshop

ProgramID: Photoshop.CustomFilterKernel
EXEFile: %ProgramFiles%\Adobe\Photoshop 5.0 LE\Photosle.exe

ProgramID: Photoshop.CustomFilterKernel
EXEFile: %ProgramFiles%\Adobe\Photoshop 6.0.1 CE\Photoshp.exe

ProgramID: Photoshop.CustomFilterKernel
EXEFile: %ProgramFiles%\Adobe\Photoshop 6.0\Photoshp.exe

ProgramID: Photoshop.CustomFilterKernel
EXEFile: %ProgramFiles%\Adobe\Photoshop 7.0\Photoshop.exe

ProgramID: Photoshop.CustomFilterKernel
EXEFile: %ProgramFiles%\Adobe\Photoshop CS\Photosho

ProgramID: Photoshop.CustomFilterKernel
EXEFile: %ProgramFiles%\Adobe\Photoshop CS\Photoshop.exe

ProgramID: Photoshop.CustomFilterKernel
EXEFile: %ProgramFiles%\Adobe\Photoshop Elements

ProgramID: Photoshop.CustomFilterKernel
EXEFile: %ProgramFiles%\Adobe\Photoshop Elements 2\Photoshopelements.exe

ProgramID: Photoshop.CustomFilterKernel
EXEFile: %ProgramFiles%\Adobe\Photoshop Elements\PhotoshopElements.exe

ProgramID: Photoshop.CustomFilterKernel
EXEFile: %ProgramFiles%\Photoshop Elements 2\Photoshopelements.exe

ProgramID: Photoshop.CustomFilterKernel
EXEFile: d:\adobe photoshop 5\Photoshp.exe

ProgramID: Photoshop.CustomFilterKernel
EXEFile: e:\Adobe\Photoshop 4.0 LE\photosle.exe

ProgramID: Photoshop.CustomFilterKernel
EXEFile: %ProgramFiles%\Adobe\Photoshop 5.0\Photoshp.exe

ProgramID: Photoshop.CustomFilterKernel
EXEFile: %ProgramFiles%\adobe\photoshop cs\photoshop.exe does not exist.

ProgramID: Photoshop.CustomFilterKernel
EXEFile: %ProgramFiles%:\Photoshop7\Photoshop.exe

ProgramID: Photoshop.CustomFilterKernel
EXEFile: %ProgramFiles%\Adobe\Photoshop 5.5\Photoshp.exe

ProgramID: Photoshop.CustomFilterKernel
EXEFile: %ProgramFiles%\Photoshop CS\Photoshop.exe

ProgramID: Photoshop.CustomFilterKernel
EXEFile: %ProgramFiles%\Adobe\Photoshop Elements 3.0\PhotoshopelementsEditor.exe

ProgramID: Photoshop.CustomFilterKernel
EXEFile: %ProgramFiles%r\Adobe\Photoshop 7.0\Photoshop.exe

ProgramID: Agent.Character.2
EXEFile: %SystemRoot%\system32\runonce.exe

ProgramID: Photoshop.CustomFilterKernel
EXEFile: %ProgramFiles%\Adobe\Photoshop Elements 5.0\PhotoshopelementsEditor.exe

ProgramID: Photoshop.CustomFilterKernel
EXEFile: %ProgramFiles%\Adobe\Photoshop\Photoshop.exe

ProgramID: Photoshop.CustomFilterKernel
EXEFile: %ProgramFiles%\PhootoshopCS\Adobe Photoshop CS3\Photoshop.exe

ProgramID: Photoshop.CustomFilterKernel
EXEFile: %ProgramFiles%\Photoshop Elements\Photoshopelements.exe

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an acf custom kernel file is a special file format by Adobe and should only be edited and saved with the appropriate software.

How to solve problems with ACF files

Associate the ACF file extension with the correct application.
Update your software that should actually open custom kernel files. Because only the current version supports the latest ACF file format. Search, therefore, e.g. on the Adobe manufacturer website after an available Photoshop update.
To make sure that your ACF file is not corrupted or virus-infected, get the file again and scan it with Google's virustotal.com.
Click here to open your .ACF file online - secure, fast, and no downloads needed.