File extension INI
| File type | Text Configuration Format |
| Developer | N/A |
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What is a INI file?
File with an .INI extension contains information on a start-up Microsoft Windows software configuration, stored in a specific text format. The file comprises of different parts – parameters’ names and their values, stored in sections grouped with strings of signs representing a name in square brackets.
An example of a popular hidden INI file is Desktop.ini located in the system directories of Windows and storing its properties – icon, viewing settings and others. Equivalent of desktop.ini in the Mac OS are .DS_STORE files. The initial functionality of the INI files in Windows type systems was acquired by the registry entries and XML files.
Program(s) that can open the .INI file
Mac OS
Linux
More information about INI file
INI file extension is used by Windows system configuration files. INI file stores information in plain text format.
INI configuration files
INI files define configuration data using ‘sections’, properties, and values. Section names are surrounded by square brackets, with each section containing properties and properties values separated by newline characters, i.e.:
[Section name]
property1 = value
property2 = value
INI files now and then
INI config files were extensively used by systems before introduction of Windows 95, when most configuration processess were replaced by Windows registry database. Earlier Windows versions to work properly required only two INI files, system.ini and win.ini, which contained settings for keyboard, mouse, external devices, etc. Modern Windows systems sometimes use desktop.ini files which store folder access data for (image thumbnails, file settings, etc.).
How to open INI files
If you cannot open the INI file on your computer - there may be several reasons. The first and most important reason (the most common) is the lack of a suitable software that supports INI among those that are installed on your device.
A very simple way to solve this problem is to find and download the appropriate application. The first part of the task has already been done – the software supporting the INI file can be found in the table. Now just download and install the appropriate application.
Possible problems with the INI format files
The inability to open and operate the INI file does not necessarily mean that you do not have an appropriate software installed on your computer. There may be other problems that also block our ability to operate the Text Configuration Format file. Below is a list of possible problems.
- Corruption of a INI file which is being opened
- Incorrect links to the INI file in registry entries.
- Accidental deletion of the description of the INI from the Windows registry
- Incomplete installation of an application that supports the INI format
- The INI file which is being opened is infected with an undesirable malware.
- The computer does not have enough hardware resources to cope with the opening of the INI file.
- Drivers of equipment used by the computer to open a INI file are out of date.
If you are sure that all of these reasons do not exist in your case (or have already been eliminated), the INI file should operate with your programs without any problem. If the problem with the INI file has not been solved, it may be due to the fact that in this case there is also another rare problem with the INI file. In this case, the only you can do is to ask for assistance of a professional staff.
Similar extensions
| .a2theme | Aston 2 Theme Format |
| .acb | Adobe Color Book Format |
| .acbl | Adobe Color Book Format |
| .aco | Adobe Photoshop Color Palette And Swatches Format |
| .acrobatsecuritysettings | Adobe Acrobat Security Settings Format |
| .acrodata | Adobe Acrobat Data Format |
| .acv | Adobe Photoshop Colour Curves Format |
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How to associate the file with an installed software?
If you want to associate a file with a new program (e.g. my-file.INI) you have two ways to do it. The first and the easiest one is to right-click on the selected INI file. From the drop-down menu select "Choose default program", then click "Browse" and find the desired program. The whole operation must be confirmed by clicking OK. The second and more difficult to do is associate the INI file extension to the corresponding software in the Windows Registry.
Is there one way to open unknown files?
Many files contain only simple text data. It is possible that while opening unknown files (e.g. INI) with a simple text editor like Windows Notepad will allow us to see some of the data encoded in the file. This method allows you to preview the contents of many files, but probably not in such a structure as a program dedicated to support them.