All about IL Files

The IL file type is primarily associated with ILDASM.

IL	File extension: IL
	File type:	code file

What is an IL file?

IL files mostly belong to ILDASM. Your IL file is most often an Intermediate Language (IL) code file used by the Microsoft .NET Framework. In this context, the file holds assembly-level code as text, usually encoded in UTF-8 or Source2, which is generated from high-level languages like C# and then compiled to a low‐level, human‐readable format. This IL code can be disassembled, inspected, or even modified using tools such as the .NET Framework IL Disassembler (ILDASM) or reassembled with IL Assembler (ILASM).
Additionally, some IL files show up in other areas:

IC Layout Data: In certain environments like Cadence Virtuoso, the IL file extension is used for integrated circuit layout data and often involves the SKILL programming language.

PDF Document: A smaller percentage of IL files may be identified as PDF document files and are handled by Adobe Acrobat Reader DC.

Usage tips:

If your file is a .NET Intermediate Language file, start with IL Disassembler or a text editor to view the code.

For IC layout files, ensure you use the appropriate Cadence Virtuoso tools.

If the file behaves like a PDF, open it with Adobe Acrobat Reader DC.

FilExt.com tip: Always verify the file’s content to decide which tool is best for opening and editing it.

How do you open IL files?

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

Online IL Text Viewer

Choose your .il file to view

or drag and drop it here

Online File Viewer

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

1. To do this, click the button "Choose your .il file to view" on this page.
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.

IL file format:

If you know the file format, you can also find out how to open or edit the file. 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. File extension, signature and file format must match; otherwise errors will occur when the file is opened. So a detailed analysis of a file is vital in order to determine the format and the associated program. Our evaluation of the IL files is as follows:

IL is rarely used as a file extension and covers different formats for different programs. The file formats most commonly found in IL files are:

• 50% of all IL files are based on the well-known Source file format. A source code is the set of instructions written by a programmer using a computer programming language like JavaScript, C++ or Basic. This code is translated into machine language by a compiler. The translated result is called app, program or executable. If you open these files in a text editor, you can view and read the content yourself. The files are 190 bytes to 1 MB in size, with a median of 28 KB. The file type is relatively new. Certain words are almost always found in the files, such as version, .NET Framework, NET Framework IL Disassembler, Version 4 and // Copyright (c) Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved. config.il is a typical file name. Files like these are sometimes connected to helper.
• 6% of all IL files start with the bytes procedure(, which are crucial for this file format. The content consists of readable text data, which can be read using a text editor. The average file size is 1 KB with most files being between 140 bytes and 1 KB in size. The files contain the following words: procedure.

All the rest of the IL files (44%) have different formats, often, for example, PDF. Often described as assembly, palstore, data, logo or prod. Just click the "Choose your .il file to view" button on this page to find out what your IL file is.