Open a .dbf table from dBase, FoxPro, Clipper or a shapefile and see every record in a sortable, searchable grid. Pick the right text encoding, view field types and memo text, then export the rows to CSV, Excel XLSX or JSON. Files are read in your browser and never uploaded.
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How to use the DBF File Viewer
Open the .dbf file by dropping it on the box or clicking to choose. Select the .dbt/.fpt memo file and .cpg file at the same time if you have them. A sample table is shown on load.
Check the text: if accented letters look wrong, choose another encoding in the Text encoding menu.
Find records by typing in the search box, optionally limited to one field, and click column headers to sort.
Look at the structure on the Fields tab to see each field's type and size.
Export the rows you see (after filtering and sorting) as CSV, XLSX or JSON.
DBF field types
Each field has a one-letter type code in the header. These are the codes this viewer understands and how they are shown and exported.
Code
Type
Stored as
Shown as
C
Character
Fixed-width text padded with spaces (up to 254 bytes, longer in Clipper and FoxPro)
Text with trailing spaces removed
N / F
Numeric / Float
Number written as text with a fixed number of decimals
Number with the field's decimals
D
Date
8 characters YYYYMMDD
YYYY-MM-DD (a real date in XLSX)
L
Logical
One character: T/Y, F/N or ? for unknown
True, False or empty
M, G, B, W
Memo, general, binary, blob
Block number pointing into the .dbt or .fpt file
Memo text, or a placeholder without the memo file
I
Integer
4-byte binary integer (Visual FoxPro, dBase 7)
Whole number
Y
Currency
8-byte integer scaled by 10,000 (Visual FoxPro)
Number with 4 decimals
B / O
Double
8-byte floating point (Visual FoxPro B, dBase 7 O)
Number
T
DateTime
Julian day number plus milliseconds since midnight
YYYY-MM-DD HH:MM:SS
Files that come with a DBF table
.dbt or .fpt: memo text for dBase or FoxPro tables. Keep the same file name as the .dbf.
.cpg: a one-line text file naming the code page, such as UTF-8 or 1252. Common next to shapefile tables.
.ndx, .mdx, .cdx, .ntx: index files. They speed up searches in the original program and are not needed to view the data.
.shp, .shx, .prj: geometry, shape index and projection of a shapefile. The attribute data is only in the .dbf.
Tips
Sort a column, search, then export: the CSV, XLSX and JSON exports contain exactly the rows currently listed, in the same order.
CSV exports are UTF-8 with a byte order mark, so Excel opens accented text correctly.
Numbers that look cut off (shown as asterisks in other programs) were too wide for their field when the file was written; they are left empty here.
Frequently asked questions
What is a DBF file?
DBF is the table format of dBase, introduced in the early 1980s and later used by FoxPro, Clipper and many business programs. Each file holds one table: a header that defines the fields (name, type, length) followed by fixed-length records. It is still widely used as the attribute table of Esri shapefiles and in older accounting and inventory systems.
How do I open the attribute table of a shapefile?
A shapefile is a set of files with the same name. Open the .dbf file from that set (and the .cpg file if present, which states the encoding). The .shp and .shx files hold geometry and are not needed to read the attributes.
Why do some characters look wrong?
Older DBF files store text in a legacy code page such as DOS 437/850 or Windows-1252/1251 rather than UTF-8. The viewer reads the code page mark in the header or the .cpg file, and otherwise tests whether the text is valid UTF-8. If letters still look garbled, pick the correct encoding from the menu; the table is decoded again instantly.
Why do memo fields show [memo #12]?
Memo, general and blob fields keep only a block number in the .dbf file; the text itself is stored in a separate .dbt (dBase) or .fpt (FoxPro) file. Open that file together with the .dbf to see the memo text.
What are deleted records?
dBase does not remove a deleted row right away; it marks it with an asterisk until the table is packed. These rows are hidden by default. Tick Show deleted records to see them crossed out, for example to recover data.
Is my data uploaded?
No. The file is parsed by JavaScript in your browser and stays on your device. CSV and JSON exports are created locally; XLSX export loads the small open-source JSZip library from a public CDN to build the spreadsheet.
How large a file can I open?
Files up to 400 MB can be opened, depending on your device's memory. Records are read in batches with progress shown, and the table displays one page at a time so scrolling stays smooth.
Are all the tools on FreeToolCabin tested for quality and accuracy?
Yes! Every tool on our site undergoes automated Q/A testing in real browser environments to ensure high precision, correct output, and zero errors. If you happen to spot a bug or have a suggestion, please contact us at [email protected] and our team will review it right away.