.ASD File Extension

Microsoft Word AutoSave File

Developer Microsoft
Popularity
3.7  |  112 Votes
 

What is an ASD file?

An ASD file is a temporary backup created by Microsoft Word, a word processing program used to author documents. It contains a snapshot copy of the currently opened Word document. ASD files are used for automatic backup and recovery of documents in Word in case of an unplanned disruption or program crash.

More Information

ASD files were introduced by Microsoft with the release of Word 95 (Word 7.0) in 1995 and are still used by current versions of Word. The application creates ASD files automatically even if the "Always create backup copy" option (this setting informs Word to generate .WBK files for documents) is disabled in Word.

Word saves ASD files in the following default directories:

Windows 8/8.1/10/11: [user]\​AppData\​Local\​Microsoft\​Office\​UnsavedFiles

Windows Vista/7: [user]\​AppData\​Roaming\​Microsoft\​Word\​

Windows XP: [user]\​Application Data\​Microsoft\​Word\​

How to open an ASD file

You can open an ASD file with Microsoft Word in Windows and macOS. To open an ASD file select File → Open, select "All Files (*.*)" in the File type list, choose the ASD file, and click Open. You can also select File → Open, click "Recover Unsaved Documents," select the ASD file, and click Open.

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Programs that open ASD files

Windows
Mac

Ableton Live Sample Analysis

Developer Ableton
Popularity
4.1  |  31 Votes
 

An ASD file may also be a sample analysis created by Ableton Live, a digital audio workstation (DAW). Ableton Live creates a new ASD file whenever a user imports an audio file. The ASD file contains metadata that allows Ableton Live to load the corresponding audio file more quickly.

More Information

Musicians and audio engineers use Ableton Live to perform, record, compose, and mix music. Whenever a user imports a new audio file into Ableton Live, the program creates a corresponding ASD file. The ASD file uses a filename similar to the imported audio file's. For example, for an audio file named FileInfo.com Example.wav, Ableton Live will create an ASD file named FileInfo.com Example.wav.asd.

ASD files contain metadata about a file's waveform and other attributes, including:

  • Warp mode on/off
  • Warp markers
  • Transpose
  • Loop settings

Can I safely delete ASD files?

If you plan to continue using an audio file in Ableton Live, you should not delete that file's corresponding ASD file. Ableton Live will recreate the deleted ASD file the next time you use the audio file, rendering your efforts moot.

If you do not plan to continue using an audio file in Ableton Live, feel free to delete that file's corresponding ASD file. You can also stop Ableton Live from creating ASD files altogether, though doing so will cause the program to load imported audio files more slowly.

How to stop Ableton Live from creating ASD files

You can manually stop Ableton Live from creating ASD files by:

  1. Selecting Preferences → File/Folder.
  2. Setting Create Analysis File to OFF.

Note that if you stop Ableton Live from creating ASD files, imported audio files will load more slowly.

How to open an ASD file

ASD files are not meant to be opened by users.

Programs that open or reference ASD files

Windows
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Mac
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