Opening a PCB File

The PCB file type is primarily associated with Altium Designer.

PCB	File extension: PCB
	File type:	Printed Circuit Board design file

What is a PCB file?

PCB files mostly belong to Altium Designer by Altium Limited. A PCB file contains various data (such as dimensions, layers, drill guides, masks, etc.) used in electronics for the design and manufacturing of printed circuit boards. These files can be created in a binary format and an ASCII text format, of which the latter is more frequently used.

Structure: The ASCII PCB format is human-readable and just contains all values and paramaters named within itself. It is arranged into records with each record taking a line in the file. The records are sorted by name and are as follows: "Board", "ECO", "Output", "Printer", "Gerber", "AdvancedPlacer", "DesignRuleChecker", "Classes", "Nets", "Components", "Polygons", "Dimensions", "Coordinates", "Rules", "Connections", "Embeddeds", "Arcs", "Pads", "Vias", "Tracks", "Texts", "Fills" and "FromTos". In the records of a PCB file, you will see defined PCB objects. An object can either be a primitive or a group object. Primitives are basic objects (eg. an arc), while a group object is composed of primitives (eg. a polygon).
Related extensions: There couple of extensions, in varying popularity, used for PCB files, other than PCB. These are: DDB, PCBDOC, T2001, T300, BRD, FBRD, MAX, EWPRJ, DDF, LYT, LAY, GWK, DIP, FZ, and GBR.

How do you open PCB files?

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

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Programs that open and convert PCB files:

Altium Designer by Altium Limited
See the previous paragraphs to learn more about the main application. PCB files are often referred to as Altium Designer cads because this type of file is primarily created or used by this software.
ACCEL
This file format is classified as CAD.
CADSTAR (printed circuit board design file) by Quadra Solutions
CADSTAR is Zuken's Windows based desktop PCB Design solution, that is ready-to-use and easily integrated into your current design environment while preserving your legacy data. The PCB files contain the layout that is used for printing the physical board, where it is saved in standard ASCII text format. This file format is classified as CAD. Related links: Wikipedia page, Video series (tutorials)
ExpressPCB
ExpressPCB is one of the best PCB layout and design software for the past 20 years. It is primarily utilized by Engineers, electronic designers, and students. The PCB file contains the layout that is used for printing the physical board, where it is saved in standard ASCII text format. This file format is classified as CAD. Related links: Official tutorials, CAD software information
PADS (printed circuit board design file) by Mentor Graphics
PADS is a PCB design software that provides a personal automated design system to cater to what the user needs, for fast, effective PCB design. PADS benefits from continuous, solid, development, and global distribution, making it one of the most popular PCB design programs. The PCB file contains the layout that is used for printing the physical board, where it is saved in standard ASCII text format. This file format is classified as CAD. Related links: Mentor Graphics PCB Browser, Professional version
PC-Doctor
PC-Doctor is a system health and diagnostic tool for consumer systems, where it aims to optimize product quality, support, and service for the computer user. It is unknown how the PCB file is utilized within this software. This file format is classified as Data. Related links: Further information
PCB Artist (printed circuit board design file) by Advanced Circuits
PCB Artist is one of many great PCB layout software tools. However, PCB Artist differs from the others such that it is entirely free, while its only restriction is that it is unable to output a GRB file for general use. The PCB file contains the layout that is used for printing the physical board, where it is saved in standard ASCII text format. This file format is classified as CAD. Related links: Video tutorials, Direct download
PowerPoint (application data file) by Microsoft
PowerPoint is the leading computer presentation program, where it is utilized to display information in the form of eye-catching slide shows. Initially, it was released for Mac OS machines, however, it is currently supported on virtually any modern operating system. The PCB file contains the application settings data. This file format is classified as Settings. Related links: Powerpoint Wikipedia page, Download Powerpoint
Print Shop (business card file) by Broderbund Software
Print Shop is an easy-to-use desktop publishing software developed by Broderbund Software. It contains thousands of images, pre-designed project templates, and many other desktop publishing tools. The PCB file stores business cards that can be distributed to various other users across the internet. This file format is classified as Page Layout. Related links: Deluxe software, Wiki page
Winboard (design file) by Ivex
Winboard is a PCB design software that was created in the early 2000s, and the first of its kind for consumer and independent PCB manufacturing and design. However, there exists extremely limited documentation regarding how the PCB file is used, and what specifically the software accomplished. This file format is classified as CAD. Related links: Online Forums

PCB file format details:

Every file has a defined file format, i.e. how the data is arranged in the file. Often, the file format can be deduced from the file extension or the initial bytes (called the signature). Frequently, however, one file extension is used by different programs for different file formats, and one file format for different file extensions. If there are problems opening a file, you must first determine the file format used. Below you will find our evaluation of the PCB files:

The PCB extension is very commonly used. This PCB file itself is among the most popular common file types and covers different formats for different programs. The two most popular formats are as follows:

35% of all PCB files start with the bytes 00 FF crucial for this file format. They consist of unreadable binary data. PCB files are between 410 KB and 6 MB in size. The file type was developed 10 years ago and is still in use today. Files like these are about phone, pads, kitc, board, iphone, layout, demo and ipad.
15% of all PCB files start with the bytes 00 01 00 00 01 01 00 00, which are crucial for this file format. They consist of illegible, cryptic characters. The file size is in the range of 18 bytes to 130 bytes. The following filename is common: PPT16.pcb or PPT14.pcb.

All the rest of the PCB files (50%) have different formats, often e.g. PCB ASCII Printed Circuit Board, PCB 4.0 Binary, P-CAD Printed Curcuit Board, ACCEL or Protel Printed Circuit Board, ACCEL Printed Circuit Board, CIRCAD data, smARTWORK Printed Circuit Board project, DOC, Dsg, Personal, ViKey, IEN and release. These files are often connected to smart, controller, gerber, eval, mini or galaxy. If you want to find out which format your PCB file belongs to, just click on the button "Choose your .pcb file to analyze".

Technical Data for PCB File Extension

File classification:

CAD

Related files:

pbc, pcbdoc, sch, pcbfile, pcp, asc, fbrd, kicad_pcb, pcblib, zip, rar, brd, prjpcb, pdf, pad, drl, eco, ddb, schdoc, tmp, schdocpreview

Related links:

Free trial, Introductory tutorial

Mime type:

text/plain, application/octet-stream, text/x-pcboard

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: PCBFile, FileType: Office Data File

ProgramID: PrintShop.Project, FileType: Print Shop Project, AppName: Home Productivity Program

ProgramID: webfile, AppName: Dreamweaver MX

ProgramID: WEBFile, FileType: Office Data File

ProgramID: PrintShop.Project
EXEFile: C:\The Print Shop Products\The Print Shop Pro Publisher 6.0\The Print Shop 6.0\ps6.exe %1

ProgramID: ProtelPCBFile
EXEFile: %ProgramFiles%\Design Explorer 99 SE\Client99SE.exe %1

ProgramID: PrintShopDeluxe
EXEFile: C:\PSDWIN\psdwin.exe %1

ProgramID: PrintShop.Project
EXEFile: C:\The Print Shop Products\The Print Shop Premier Edition 5.0\Pspe5.exe %1

ProgramID: PrintShop.Project
EXEFile: %ProgramFiles%\The Print Shop Deluxe III\psdwin.exe %1

ProgramID: ProtelPCBDocument
EXEFile: %ProgramFiles%\Dxp.exe

ProgramID: ProtelPCBFile
EXEFile: %ProgramFiles%\Protel99\Client99SE.exe

ProgramID: EasyPC.Pcb.Design
EXEFile: %ProgramFiles%\Number One Systems\Easy-PC\Epcwin.exe

ProgramID: PCBWizard.Document
EXEFile: %ProgramFiles%\New Wave Concepts\PCB Wizard 3 Demonstration\PCBWiz.exe

ProgramID: RealPCB.PcbFile
EXEFile: %ProgramFiles%\RealPCB\realPCB.exe

Show all 14 listings To Top

a pcb Printed Circuit Board design file is a special file format by Altium Limited and should only be edited and saved with the appropriate software.

How to solve problems with PCB files

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