Opening an INI File

The INI file type is primarily associated with Windows.

INI	File extension: INI
	File type:	initialization/configuration file

What is an INI file

INI files mostly belong to Windows by Microsoft. The INI file extension is primarily associated with the settings file generated by Microsoft Windows that contains configuration details of the associated device. These are also known as Windows initialization files and hence INI, here, stands for initialization. These are typical ASCII text files.

Main Usage: INI files contain configuration options set into sections where each section is delimited by a square bracket with a term inside it. This information is nothing, but the user's preferences and operational settings stored in a predefined format. Many third-party tools running Windows operating systems create individual INI files that contain program-specific data.
Associations:
- Symbian Operating System Configuration File: The configuration files of Symbian Operating System and installed applications also used INI file extension. These are analogous to Windows INI files and hence stores user's preferences and operational settings.
- Finale Preference File: The INI file extension is also associated with MakeMusic Finale, a music notation program. These INI files contain configuration options to customize work environment like menu settings, font style etc.

How to open an INI file

You need a suitable software like Windows to open an INI 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 INI file correctly, try to right-click or long-press the file. Then click "Open with" and choose an application. You can also display a INI 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 INI files:

Windows by Microsoft
See the previous paragraphs to learn more about the main application. INI files are often referred to as Windows settings because this type of file is primarily created or used by this software.
Cloanto Currency System (initialization/configuration file) by Cloanto
Cloanto Currency System represents a comprehensive set of currency solutions like - server software, web services, and client applications. This software set uses INI file for implementation of the Simple Exchange Rate Information File Format (SERIFF). Roughly speaking - INI is a text-based configuration file that contains currency exchange rates. This file format is classified as Settings. Related links: SERIFF information, Cloanto Implementation of INI File
Finale (initialization/configuration file) by MakeMusic
Finale is for many years the leading software among music notation software. MakeMusic has developed this commercial application for Windows and macOS. It has many different input methods and tools to help with musical scores composing. This file format is classified as Settings. Related links: User Manuals, Help Center
Gravis GIPC (initialization/configuration file) by Gravis
Gravis GIPC stands for the Gravis InterWave Patch Converter, and it is made for Gravis UltraSound sound card. This DOS-based utility converts UltraSound patch files PAT - to the InterWave patch file FFF and data file DAT. This INI file contains settings and names of the patches intended for conversion. This program is old and discontinued. This file format is classified as Settings. Related links: GIPC Readme file, Manuals
Mwave DSP GM setup (initialization/configuration file) by IBM
Mwave DSP GM setup is a system application for IBM Mwave technology. This technology allowed single adapter card to have a combination of telephony and sound card functions. Mwsynth ini file contained instructions that construct instruments from WAV files. This system application is old and discontinued. This file format is classified as Settings. Related links: MWave on Wikipedia
Notepad (initialization/configuration file) by Microsoft
Microsoft Notepad is a basic text editor application developed for all versions of Windows operating systems. INI is one of the file extensions that Notepad can open and edit. This file format is classified as Settings. Related links: Notepad on Wikipedia, How to use
Notepad++ (initialization/configuration file) by Don Ho
Notepad++ is a free advanced text and source code editor. It is written in C++ and utilizes an open-source library called Scintilla for the text editing function. Notepad++ is known for optimizing routines without losing ease of use. This file format is classified as Settings. Related links: User Manual, Community
UltraEdit (initialization/configuration file) by IDM
Made by IDM, UltraEdit represents a powerful and versatile commercial editor that provides different features for - text editing, finding and replacing, programming/web development, cloud services, and hex editing. It is designed to work in OS X, Linux, and Windows operating systems. This file format is classified as Settings. Related links: UltraEdit on Wikipedia, Support, https://www.ultraedit.com/wiki/Category:Help_documentation
Visual Studio Code (initialization/configuration file) by Microsoft
Visual Studio Code is a streamlined and powerful source-code editor. Designed by Microsoft, this freeware works under macOS, Linux, and Windows operating systems - providing debugging features, intelligent code completion, code refactoring, syntax highlighting, etc. This file format is classified as Settings. Related links: Learn Guide, Questions and answers, Feature requests

INI file format:

To view or edit INI files you need to know the file format, because it determines how the data in this file is stored. The first characters in a file identify the file format, for example, HTML files start with the bytes <html>. If the file extension does not match the file format, double-clicking on the file will cause an error upon opening. Exact knowledge of the format is therefore important in order to solve problems occurring in files. Below you will find our evaluation of the INI files:

INI is a very commonly used file extension and uses a uniform format that many programs support. However, the following two file formats are common:

50% of all INI files are configuration files, which are based on the config file format. A configuration file is used by computer software to store settings. It consists of a text-based content with a structure and syntax comprising key–value pairs for properties, and sections that organize the properties. The contents of these files can even be read by a human. The files are on average 320 bytes in size and range from 47 bytes to 3 KB. The file type was developed 20 years ago and is still in use today. Some examples of file names are Desktop.ini or UserCustom.ini. Files like these have the following tags: user, custom, settings, game, config, engine, setup and data.

The remaining 50% of all INI files are files with no common format. Tagged as browscap, system, info, options, enjoycjzc or custid. If you want to find out what your INI file contains, drag and drop it onto this page.

Technical Data for INI File Extension

File classification:

Settings

Related files:

exe, dll, sccfg, pak, txt, asi, sav, inf, bfl, dat, log, zip, srv, gameerrornorecords, rmskin, lnk, config, json, win, bin, cab, jnt

Mime type:

text/x-ini, text/x-properties, 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: inifile, FileType: Configuration Settings, AppName: Notepad
EXEFile: NOTEPAD.EXE

ProgramID: inifile, FileType: Configuration Settings, AppName: TextPad

ProgramID: inifile, FileType: Configuration Settings, AppName: Windows Notepad
EXEFile: NOTEPAD.EXE

ProgramID: UltraEdit.ini, FileType: Configuration Settings, AppName: UltraEdit-32 Professional Text/Hex Editor
EXEFile: uedit32.exe

ProgramID: GetDiz.Document
EXEFile: %ProgramFiles%\GetDiz\GetDiz.exe %1

ProgramID: Hackman.INIEditor
EXEFile: notepad.exe %1

ProgramID: inifile
EXEFile: %ProgramFiles%\Bred2r\Bred2r.exe %1

ProgramID: inifile
EXEFile: %SystemRoot%\System32\NOTEPAD.EXE %1

ProgramID: inifile
EXEFile: notepad.exe %1

ProgramID: UltraEdit.ini
EXEFile: %ProgramFiles%\UltraEdit\uedit32.exe %1

ProgramID: UltraEdit.ini
EXEFile: Y:\UltraEdit\uedit32.exe %1

ProgramID: inifile
EXEFile: %SystemRoot%\system32\dllcache\notepad.exe %1

ProgramID: inffile
EXEFile: %SystemRoot%\System32\NOTEPAD.EXE %1

ProgramID: pnpinifile
EXEFile: %ProgramFiles%\A Tech Group\Professional Notepad\notepad.exe %1

ProgramID: UltraEdit.ini
EXEFile: %ProgramFiles%\IDM Computer Solutions\UltraEdit-32\uedit32.exe %1

ProgramID: inifile
EXEFile: %ProgramFiles%\Bred3\Bred3_2k.exe %1

ProgramID: microdvd.file
EXEFile: notepad.exe %1

ProgramID: Notepad++_file
EXEFile: %ProgramFiles%\Notepad++\notepad++.exe %1

ProgramID: TextPad.ini
EXEFile: notepad.exe

ProgramID: inifile
EXEFile: %SystemRoot%\system32\NOTEPAD2.EXE

ProgramID: PFE32
EXEFile: notepad.exe

ProgramID: inifile
EXEFile: %ProgramFiles%\BOXERT~1\B.exe

ProgramID: inifile
EXEFile: %ProgramFiles%\Scintilla Text Editor\SciTE.exe

ProgramID: inifile
EXEFile: %ProgramFiles%\Boxer Text Editor\b.exe

ProgramID: inifile
EXEFile: %ProgramFiles%\_PCUtils\Apps\EmEditor\EmEditor.exe

ProgramID: inifile
EXEFile: %SystemRoot%\SysWow64\NOTEPAD.EXE

ProgramID: inifile
EXEFile: %SystemRoot%\NOTEPAD.EXE -s

ProgramID: hidemaru.ini
EXEFile: %ProgramFiles%\Hidemaru\Hidemaru.exe

ProgramID: UltraEdit.ini
EXEFile: %ProgramFiles%\IDM Computer Solutions\UltraEdit\Uedit32.exe

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an ini initialization/configuration file is a special file format by Microsoft and should only be edited and saved with the appropriate software.

How to solve problems with INI files

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