Opening a PDA File

The PDA file type is primarily associated with SoftMax Pro.

PDA	File extension: PDA
	File type:	microplate data file

What is a PDA file

PDA files mostly belong to SoftMax Pro by Molecular Devices. PDA files are proprietary files used by SoftMax Pro. p.SoftMax is a microplate software used for reading microplates and analyzing data. It uses two types of proprietary files: data and protocol files.

• Data: Data files use one of the following extensions: PDA (standard), EDA, SDA, and SDAX. All of these extensions are proprietary formats. They contain the experiment settings, the raw data collected by the reader, and any data analysis that has been completed.
• Export: Data files can be exported through the software into any of the following formats: XML, TXT (list or plate), XLS (list or plate).
• Protocol: Protocol files use one of the following extensions: SPR, SPRX, PPR, and EPR. All of these extensions are proprietary formats. They are experiment template files that contain microplate well layout assignments and all other reader configuration information. A large number of predefined protocols are installed with the software and placed in the default protocols folder.
• Compatibility: Newer versions of SoftMax are backward compatible, meaning they can open all files created in older versions of the software.

How to open PDA files

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

Online PDA Text Viewer

Choose your .pda file to analyze

or drag and drop it here

Online File Viewer

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PDA file format:

If you can determine the file format, the associated program can also be determined. A file format is determined by the file extension and signature, so JPEG images have the extension .jpg and the first bytes in the file are ÿØÿ. If the file extension or signature does not match the file format, errors will occur when opening or editing the file. So you need a detailed analysis of a file to find out the format and the associated program. Below is our analysis of the PDA files:

The file type with the extension 'PDA' includes different formats for different programs. But the following two file formats are common:

• 25% of all PDA files start with the bytes 00 06 20 35 2E 34 2E, which are crucial for this file format. They consist of illegible, cryptic characters. The files are on average 18 KB in size and range from 12 KB to 62 KB. The file type is relatively new. The keywords ##BLOCKS= 1 and 5.4.12.1.0 are typical for these files. Files like these are sometimes connected to data and plate.
• 15% of all PDA files start with the magic bytes 00 04 20 35 2E, which are always the first bytes of this file format. The contents of these files cannot be read by a human; only a computer program can interpret the data. PDA files are between 12 KB and 56 KB in size. Certain words are almost always found in the files, such as ##BLOCKS= 1 and 5.42.1.0.

All other PDA files (60%) have different formats, often e.g. Spf, BLOCKS, Protocase, IIII, PrintShopDeluxe and rev. Often described as assay, case, dpphassay or curve. You can get all the details of your PDA file by dragging it onto this page or by clicking the button "Choose your .pda file to analyze" above.