Opening MAN Files

The MAN file type is primarily associated with Manual Pager.

MAN	File extension: MAN
	File type:	manual page

What is a MAN file?

MAN files mostly belong to Manual Pager by Manual Pager Team. A MAN file contains a manual page readable by the man (Manual Pager) program bundled with UNIX-like operating systems such as Linux. Its contents are saved as plain text. This file is usually distributed as part of software projects. Another type of MAN file contains an XML-encoded instrumentation manifest generated by the ECManGen program in Windows SDK. Windows operating system uses driver information saved in a different MAN file. Notepad and other plain text editors can read text encoded manuals saved in MAN files. Some MAN files are actually Word documents saved in Microsoft Compound File Binary File Format.

How can I open a MAN file?

You need a suitable software like Manual Pager to open a MAN 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 MAN file correctly, try to right-click or long-press the file. Then click "Open with" and choose an application. You can also display a MAN file directly in the browser:. Just drag the file onto this browser window and drop it.

Online MAN File Viewer

Choose your .man file to view

or drag and drop it here

Online File Viewer

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How to convert MAN files to JPG, PDF, HTML, DOC, ...

If you want to convert or edit a MAN file, you can use our free Online MAN File Converter (powered by Convert.Guru):

Just click the "Choose your .man file to view" button on this page.
Your MAN file will then be displayed in the browser.
Now click on "Save as..." at the top of the page.
Then click the file format (e.g. PDF, JPG, DOCX, TXT, ...) you want.
Download the converted file.

Programs that open and convert MAN files:

Manual Pager by Manual Pager Team
See the previous paragraphs to learn more about the main application. MAN files are often referred to as Manual Pager simple text files because this type of file is primarily created or used by this software.
7-zip (compressed data) by Igor Pavlov
7-zip is a cross-platform archive file compression and encryption program. It can open and unpack a MAN file saved in ZIP archive compression format. This file format is classified as Compressed.
Blaise (data) by Statistics Netherlands
Blaise is a statistics and scientific research software package used for assisted survey. It saves data in a MAN file. This file format is classified as Data.
ECManGen (instrumentation manifest) by Microsoft
ECManGen is a program included in the \Bin\ folder of Windows SDK. When ECManGen generates an instrumentation manifest for a Windows program, it saves that manifest to an XML-encoded MAN file. Dynamic Link Libraries and applications use this manifest to identify instrumentation providers and events written by such providers. This file format is classified as Simple text file. Related links: Writing an Instrumentation Manifest, Visual Studio
Notepad (data) by Notepad
Notepad is a lightweight plain text editing application for Windows desktop. It can read and edit a MAN file saved as text. This file format is classified as Simple text file.
VLC (video clip) by VideoLAN
VLC is a cross-platform multimedia playback and streaming application. It can play a MAN file containing a Matroska video clip. This file format is classified as Video. Related links: Matroska Media Container — Homepage, Matroska
Windows (driver information) by Microsoft
Windows is a proprietary operating system for desktop, server, and IoT platforms. It uses driver information saved in a MAN file. This file format is classified as Simple text file.
Windows XP (mandatory user profile) by Microsoft
Windows XP is a discontinued version of Windows operating system. It saves a mandatory system user profile in the \Documents and Settings\<Username>\NTUSER.MAN file. This file format is classified as Data.
WinRAR (compressed data) by RARLab
WinRAR is a file compression and encryption software for desktop environments. It can unpack a MAN file saved in RAR archive format. This file format is classified as Compressed.
Word (manual) by Microsoft
Word is a word processing application for desktop and mobile platforms. It can open a MAN file saved in its native binary format. This file format is classified as Page Layout. Related links: Microsoft Compound File Binary File Format

MAN file extension format:

The file format, which is the arrangement and type of data in a file, determines which program can open the file. 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. Nonetheless, different programs can utilize the same file extension to represent distinct file formats. Double-clicking on the file often results in an error when opening. So a detailed analysis of a file is vital in order to determine the format and the associated program. In the following you will find our evaluation of the MAN files:

An MAN file has no uniform or dominant file format. The two most popular formats are as follows:

15% of all MAN files are using the well-known RAR file format to store the data. RAR is a proprietary archive file format that supports data compression, error correction and file spanning. They consist of illegible, cryptic characters. The average file size is 320 MB with most files being between 4 MB and 2 GB in size. The file type is a fairly new file format. Several words can almost always be found in the files, e.g. Rar!. Files like these have the following tags: adobe, setup, multilingual, pcware, nidv, photoshop, autodesk and soft.
30% of all MAN files are using the well-known XML file format to store the data. The Extensible Markup Language (XML) is a simple text-based format for representing structured information: documents, webpages, data, configuration, books, transactions, invoices, and much more. XML defines a set of rules for encoding documents in a format that is both human-readable and machine-readable. These files are plain text, which means they can be viewed with any text editor such as Windows Editor, Nano for Linux, and TextEdit for macOS. The files are 870 bytes to 76 KB in size, with a median of 5 KB. Several words can almost always be found in the files, e.g. xmlns, schemas-microsoft-com, http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema, <?xml version='1.0' encoding='utf-8' standalone='yes'?>, <?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>, manifestVersion and <assembly. The file name component.man or microsoft-windows-actionqueue-instrumentation.man is typical for these files. Such files are related to microsoft, windows, replacement, instrumentation, repl, actionqueue and events.

All other MAN files (55%) have no consistent format, frequently e.g. Man page, ZIP, DOC, MKV and WordPerfect. Tagged as keys, crypto, award, client, core, portable, android or dual. If you want to find out what your MAN file contains, drag and drop it onto this page.

Technical Data for MAN File Extension

File classification:

Simple text file

Related files:

mans, exe, men, zip, mam, dll, mui, jpg, 3, xml, bootmgr, apk, 1, efi, main, mp3, rar, txt, pdf, 8

Mime type:

application/x-troff, application/x-troff-man, application/x-troff-me

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: Access.Shortcut.Macro.1
EXEFile: %ProgramFiles%\Microsoft Office\OFFICE11\MSACCESS.EXE /NOSTARTUP /SHELLSYSTEM [ShellOpenMacro %1]

a man manual page is a special file format by Manual Pager Team and should only be edited and saved with the appropriate software.

How to solve problems with MAN files

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