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.asf File Extension

Developer: Microsoft Corporation

File type: Advanced Streaming Format File

You're here because you have a file that has a file extension ending in .asf. Files with the file extension .asf can only be launched by certain applications. It's possible that .asf files are data files rather than documents or media, which means they're not meant to be viewed at all.

what is a .asf file?

An advanced streaming format file is used by the Microsoft Windows Media Player software to implement support for digital audio and video files that have been processed and implemented with support for online and network streaming. These advanced streaming format files are integrated with digital audio or video compression specifications that are used to improve the latency and quality of digital audio and video content for streaming purposes. The content of an advanced streaming format file is implemented with data encoding standards that are used to store its media content in the ASF file format and to append the file with the .asf extension. Some digital media players and other types of applications have built-in support for these advanced streaming format files.

how to open a .asf file?

Launch a .asf file, or any other file on your PC, by double-clicking it. If your file associations are set up correctly, the application that's meant to open your .asf file will open it. It's possible you may need to download or purchase the correct application. It's also possible that you have the correct application on your PC, but .asf files aren't yet associated with it. In this case, when you try to open a .asf file, you can tell Windows which application is the correct one for that file. From then on, opening a .asf file will open the correct application. Click here to fix .asf file association errors

applications that open a .asf file

Microsoft Windows Media Player

Windows Media Player Playlist (WPL) is a computer file format that keeps multimedia playlists for video and audio collections. It is an owned file format utilized in Microsoft Windows Media Player versions 9 to 12. The fundamentals of WPL files are represented in XML format. These .WPL files can be accessed and utilized by the Nullsoft Winamp Media Player 5.6 application version as well as the Roxio Creator 2012 program. WPL files are also known as Windows Media Player playlist files, which are indicated by the Microsoft Windows Media Player or the other media players with support for WPL files as reference data when users open these playlist files and begin to access the content stored in it. The top-level aspect specifies that the file's elements go after the Synchronized Multimedia Integration Language (SMIL) structure. The information contained in these WPL files are directory locations to the video files and audio content chose by the creator of the .WPL file, this enables the media player application to quickly and easily find and play the video and audio content from their directory locations.

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a word of warning

Be careful not to rename the extension on .asf files, or any other files. This will not change the file type. Only special conversion software can change a file from one file type to another.

what is a file extension?

A file extension is the set of three or four characters at the end of a filename; in this case, .asf. File extensions tell you what type of file it is, and tell Windows what programs can open it. Windows often associates a default program to each file extension, so that when you double-click the file, the program launches automatically. When that program is no longer on your PC, you can sometimes get an error when you try to open the associated file.