.PCF File Extension

File used by Valve Source, a game engine used for making first-person shooter games; stores a particle system that simulates smoke, fire, explosions, or another mass particle event; can be used for creating custom game modifications.

The Valve Source development suite includes a tool called the Particle Editor, which can be used for viewing and editing PCF files.

A PCF file contains the configuration of a client in a virtual private network (VPN) set up by Cisco Systems VPN Client software. It stores various information in .INI format, such as the username and password, along with the tunneling port and Domain Name System (DNS) settings.

VPN Client software is primarily used by organizations that require a VPN for security purposes, such as businesses and universities. The software is installed on the various computers within the organization in order to connect to the VPN(s).

When a user creates a new configuration in VPN Client and saves it, the application creates a PCF file to store the profile. PCF files are stored in the following directory:

C:\​Program Files\​Cisco Systems\​VPN Client\​Profiles

NOTE: Cisco Systems announced that it was discontinuing the VPN Client program in 2011 and officially dropped support in July 2014.

You can open a PCF file with Cisco Systems VPN Client by selecting Connection entries → Profiles.

Since PCF files are saved in the text INI format, you can also open a PCF file with a plain text editor.

A PCF file may also be a Portable Compiled Format (PCF) font file that stores a font as a collection of bitmap images. Each character is represented by pixels rather than a scalable outline, so PCF fonts are designed for specific sizes. PCF files also store information about the characters, their sizes, and other font properties.

PCF was developed for the X Window System and became a standard bitmap font format for X11-based systems. X servers and other X11 font software use PCF files to load and display bitmap fonts. PCF is related to the OpenType Bitmap (.OTB) format because both can store bitmap fonts used with Unix and Linux font systems.

Although scalable fonts are more common in modern applications, PCF files remain supported for compatibility with the X11 core font system. Linux and other Unix-like systems, as well as developers and users working with older X11 applications or bitmap fonts, may encounter PCF files.

You can open PCF files with FontForge to view and edit the font. PCF fonts can also be used directly by software that supports the X11 font system or through libraries, such as FreeType.

FontForge can convert PCF files to various file types, including the following formats:

• .BDF - Glyph Bitmap Distribution Format
• .TTF - TrueType Font
• .OTF - OpenType Font
• .SFD - Spline Font Database