Opening HDC Files

The HDC file type is primarily associated with Hero Lab.

HDC	File extension: HDC
	File type:	game data file

What is an HDC file?

HDC files mostly belong to Hero Lab. The HDC file extension appears in several contexts. Its most common role is as a file for game characters. In this use case, the file stores character data for role‐playing or strategy games. Some versions use XML encoding while others use UTF-16 (BE) to structure the data. This format is used by tools such as Hero Designer and Hero Lab to manage and save character details.
Aside from game data, HDC files serve other roles. Some are used as firmware update files. For example, Panasonic uses an HDC file type for firmware updates on devices like the HDC-SD1000 Camcorder. These files are sometimes called Panasonic HD Writer files. More information is available on the Panasonic website.
In another instance, HDC files act as dictionary files. These files store data for handheld dictionaries and are integrated with tools like GoldenDict and Babylon Glossary Builder. For more details on this usage, you can visit the GoldenDict website.
To sum up, use the proper software for the specific context:

Game Character Files: Open with Hero Designer or Hero Lab.

Firmware Files: Use Panasonic's device update utilities.

Dictionary Files: Open with GoldenDict or compatible applications.

FilExt.com note: Always keep a backup before making any changes and consider checking the file’s contents with a text editor if the encoding appears to be text based.

How to open an HDC file

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

Online HDC Text Viewer

Choose your .hdc file to analyze

or drag and drop it here

Online File Viewer

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HDC format details:

If you can determine the file format, the associated program can also be determined. Each file format has a unique extension and almost always a unique signature. For example, Microsoft Word documents have the extension .docx and the signature (usually the first 3 characters in this file) PK. Frequently, however, one file extension is used by different programs for different file formats, and one file format for different file extensions. When there is a problem with a file, the first step to solving it is to determine the file format. Our evaluation of the HDC files is as follows:

The HDC file extension is rarely used and covers different formats for different programs. However, the following two file formats are common:

• 25% of all HDC files use the popular XML file format. 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 text files, so they contain words and text. The files are often between 18 KB and 100 KB in size. The file type is old but is used even today. The keywords <?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>, BASIC_CONFIGURATION BASE_POINTS, DISAD_POINTS, EXPERIENCE, Default, RULES, <CHARACTER version="6.0" TEMPLATE="builtIn.Superheroic6E.hdt">, <CHARACTER version="3.0" and EXPORT are typical for these files. Such files sometimes refer to agent.
• 20% of all HDC files start with the bytes Panasonic, which are crucial for this file format. They consist of illegible, cryptic characters. HDC files are between 40 MB and 66 MB in size. Several words can almost always be found in the files, e.g. Panasonic. An example of a file name is UPDATE.HDC.

All the rest of the HDC files (55%) have different formats, often, for example, UTF-16 (BE) and ZIP. Often described as english. If you want to find out which format your HDC file belongs to, just click on the button "Choose your .hdc file to analyze".