.CDF File Extension

Game designers, 3D artists, and developers working on PC and console games built with CryENGINE are most likely to encounter CDF files. By defining a character’s components and attachments in a CDF file, the engine can assemble and render the character dynamically during gameplay. This allows designers to manage multiple variations of a character, including different outfits, gear, or accessories, without modifying the core character model.

You can open CDF files with CryENGINE SDK in Windows. The software provides tools for game asset management, character creation, and game testing.

Some examples of who uses the format:

• NASA scientists might use the format to store data from satellites that measure solar wind and magnetic fields in space.
• Climate researchers may use the format to share atmospheric data, such as temperature and pressure readings, across different labs and institutions.
• Space weather centers may use CDF files to distribute real-time alerts about solar storms that could affect satellites and power grids.
• Physicists might use CDF files to save results from particle simulations and make them available to other researchers for verification.

One of the most common ways users create CDF files is with NASA’s GSFC CDF software toolkit. The toolkit supports multiple operating systems and includes tools for writing, reading, and visualizing data, enabling users to reliably access the same information across platforms.

You can open CDF files with several programs, including GSFC CDF software, Weisang FlexPro, and The MathWorks MATLAB (with CDF Patch). ISTP CDF Skeleton Editor can also open CDF files.

Businesses used CDF files to keep an organized record of their financial activity. By loading a CDF file into the software, users could view and update their accounts, generate invoices, track expenses, and prepare basic financial reports. This made it easier for business owners to monitor cash flow and meet tax obligations.

You can open CDF files with bsmArt Consulting Nominal Small Business Accounting. However, the software is no longer developed.

Researchers and scientists use CDF (or more commonly, .NC) files to store large datasets that can be accessed and analyzed across different operating systems and programming languages, and are widely used in the fields of meteorology, oceanography, and environmental science.

NOTE: NetCDF is a set of data formats, programming interfaces, and tools developed by Unidata, part of the University Corporation for Atmospheric Research (UCAR).

You can open CDF files with Panoply, a viewer developed by NASA’s Goddard Institute for Space Studies. NcView is another common choice for opening CDF files.

Biologists, geneticists, and bioinformaticians working with Affymetrix microarray experiments are the most likely users to encounter CDF files. CeneChips are physical DNA microarrays produced by Affymetrix that contain thousands of probes designed to detect specific DNA sequences or gene expression levels.

The CDF file maps each probe to its intended target, so researchers can accurately match the raw measurements of intensity data in the corresponding .CEL files to the correct gene or sequence. Without the CDF file, it would be impossible to properly analyze the raw microarray data.

You can open CDF files with Affymetrix Tiling Analysis Software in Windows. VSN GenStat and RMAExpress also support the files.

ECM vendors, system integrators, and organizations that need to migrate or synchronize large amounts of enterprise content are the users most likely to encounter CDF files. The Enterprise Content Management Group (ECMG) developed the CDF format as part of its Content Transformation Services (CTS) framework to provide a common framework for moving content between different ECM solutions, even when those systems used different internal formats.

You can open CDF files with ECMG FileMatica in Windows. However, the program is discontinued.

Since the format is based on XML, advanced users can also inspect or edit CDF files in a text or XML editor if they need to troubleshoot or adjust their content migration process.

The files were primarily associated with Microsoft's Active Channel technology in Internet Explorer, which allowed automatic delivery of web content in the late 1990s and early 2000s. When a user subscribed to a channel defined by a CDF file, the software automatically checked the source for updates and downloaded new content to the user's computer, helping them to stay informed without manually visiting each website.

NOTE: Modern web technologies, such as RSS, Atom feeds, and push notifications, have replaced CDF for distributing frequently updated content.

C.Scope International produces pipe and cable location equipment that allows utility and construction professionals to locate underground pipes and cables. C.Scope's cable avoidance devices produce CDF files, which contain a record of when and how the devices were used, as well as the data the devices collected.

Devices generate a new CDF file each time they are used. Each CDF file contains the following data:

• Device model type
• Device serial number
• Automatic self test result
• User identity
• Date and time of use
• Device detection mode
• Signal strength
• Signal generator/transmitter frequency
• Cable/pipe depth
• Sonde depth

Each device can store roughly 12 months' worth of CDF files at one time. Device operators and auditors can transfer a device's CDF files to a PC or mobile device, to view the files' data in C.Scope PC Toolkit or C.Scope Relay.

You can open a CDF file in C.Scope PC Toolkit (Windows) or C.Scope Relay (Android, iOS). For example, to open a CDF file in C.Scope PC Toolkit, open the program and select the Analyse tab. Then, select Open, navigate to your CDF file, and open the file.