Opening a PBK File

The PBK file type is primarily associated with Remote Access Service.

PBK	File extension: PBK
	File type:	phone book file

What is a PBK file?

PBK files mostly belong to Remote Access Service by Microsoft. PBK files are phonebook files used by the Remote Access Connection Manager (RAS) tool on Windows. RAS uses these files to store information needed for it to establish a remote connection.

• Structure: PBK files are text files that contain entry names and associated information. They associate the entry names with phone numbers, COM ports, and modem settings. Each entry is a single specified connection.
• Usage: RAS creates these phone book files themselves. The user can use the "Dial-Up Networking" dialog box to create personal phone book files. The user can also specify the default phone book used when none are explicitly referenced upon establishing a connection. PBK files also allow for easier transfer of connection data by having import/export functionality.
• VPN: In recent times, PBK files have been more frequently used for, and adapted for, virtual private network connections, since dial-up connections have become very rare.
• Related associations: PBK can also refer to a plain-text file created by Adobe Pixel Bender. This file is used to store a kernel program.

How to open a PBK file

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

Online PBK Text Viewer

Choose your .pbk file to view

or drag and drop it here

Online File Viewer

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How to extract texts from PBK files or capture a screenshot to PDF, JPG, DOCX, TXT, ...

1. To do so, click the "Choose your .pbk file to view" button above.
2. After your file is opened in browser,
3. click "Save as..." in the menu.
4. Then choose the file format (e.g. JPG, PDF, DOCX, TXT, ...) you want.
5. Download the converted file.

PBK file format:

To view or edit PBK files you need to know the file format, because it determines how the data in this file is stored. The file format can be deduced from the file extension and the signature. However, different programs can use the same file extension, and file extensions can be assigned incorrectly. When there is a problem with a file, the first step to solving it is to determine the file format. Our examination of the PBK files comes to the following conclusion:

The PBK file extension is not widely used. Such a file mainly uses a defined PBK format. The two most common formats are as follows:

• 70% of all PBK files belong to Microsoft PhoneBook. The files are using the common file format config. 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. These files contain text and words, not binary data. The file size is in the range of 1 KB to 5 KB. It is a modern file type. The keywords Encoding=1, AutoLogon=0, DialParamsUID, Guid, Type=2, UseRasCredentials=1, HighDateTime, LowDateTime, PBVersion and VpnStrategy are typical for these files. Examples of file names are rasphone.pbk or VPN.pbk. Such files sometimes refer to connection, iustvpnconnection, data and pptp.
• 2% of all PBK files are associated with The Print Shop Deluxe Backdrop. These files are binary files, so they do not contain text, but only cryptic characters. Most of these files are 190 KB to 1 MB in size.

The remaining 28% of all PBK files are different files with different signatures, often, for example, Pixel Bender Kernel and Microsoft PhoneBook. These files sometimes refer to umsu or paymaster. You can get all the details of your PBK file by dragging it onto this page or by clicking the button "Choose your .pbk file to view" above.