File extension TAB
| File type | MapInfo Format |
| Developer | Pitney Bowes Software |
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What is a TAB file?
File with a .TAB extension contains references to spatial data or its visualisation, stored in ASCII plain text format. It is utilised by the GIS – Mapinfo software, which is a product of Pitney Bowes Software company, previously known as MapInfo Corporation.
TAB files can store information about maps of geographical areas, along with data imposed on it, such as national borders, roads or other topological details. These are basic files of a geographic database of the program, they are linked with the DAT files.
Program(s) that can open the .TAB file
Windows
How to open TAB files
If you cannot open the TAB 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 TAB 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 TAB file can be found in the table. Now just download and install the appropriate application.
Possible problems with the TAB format files
The inability to open and operate the TAB 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 MapInfo Format file. Below is a list of possible problems.
- Corruption of a TAB file which is being opened
- Incorrect links to the TAB file in registry entries.
- Accidental deletion of the description of the TAB from the Windows registry
- Incomplete installation of an application that supports the TAB format
- The TAB 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 TAB file.
- Drivers of equipment used by the computer to open a TAB file are out of date.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 TAB file should operate with your programs without any problem. If the problem with the TAB file has not been solved, it may be due to the fact that in this case there is also another rare problem with the TAB file. In this case, the only you can do is to ask for assistance of a professional staff.
This extension
can be converted to:
How to associate the file with an installed software?
If you want to associate a file with a new program (e.g. my-file.TAB) you have two ways to do it. The first and the easiest one is to right-click on the selected TAB 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 TAB 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. TAB) 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.