Files with .17 extension are associated with VoiceType software program developed by IBM in 1997. The project has later been renamed to IBM ViaVoice, and its latest version was released 2005. Files with .17 extension contain scripts needed for recognizing various languages.

Files with .17 extension were commonly used on Mac computers and Microsoft Windows platforms (95 through 7). ViaVoice offered many transcription tools and featured an advanced speech-based user recognition module.