DLL format files are opened by special programs. There are 2 types of DLL formats, each of which is opened by different programs. To open desired type format, study the file descriptions and download one of the proposed programs.

.DLL file extension

Find and install any missing or damaged DLL library The HELPER.DLL program will help.

DLL format files contain settings for links to various resources used by the program, for example, icons. DLLs are intended exclusively for Windows OS. On other operating systems, such files can only be opened using emulators (the exception is cross-platform applications for Mac OS). It must be remembered that modern programs do not support files for 16-bit architecture.

Precautionary measures

In most cases, the user does not need to open DLL format files as they are intended exclusively for developers. Editing this file may adversely affect performance individual programs and operating system, for this reason you need to find the Dll file and make a copy of it.

Programs for opening DLL files

View source code

One of the most common ways to view a Dll extension is . The program has built-in functions for decompiling some files, so you can debug dlls, and most importantly, it is completely free. Of course, it is impossible to guarantee correct display of code for all files.

As an alternative, you can use the dotPeek decompiler. It is also free, but can only work with programs written in C#.

Setting up the program interface

Best suited for this purpose. With this program you can easily change icons, dialogs or set your own animation. Unfortunately, the program is paid even for non-commercial use. Please note that problems may arise with large files (about 1 GB or more).

Debugging

The most in a simple way is to use Visual Studio from Microsoft. This is a fairly functional tool, the capabilities of which include program debugging, but it will only help if the file is not protected.

If you just need to download the DLL instead broken file(or the Dll is missing), then DLL-helper will help here - a completely free program.

Dynamic web pages

There is another DLL format - files that generate code for websites. Such libraries can be opened in any convenient development environment, for example, Visual Studio . The browser will help you test them in action. Better to use latest versions popular browsers, otherwise the file may not be displayed correctly.

A web page that is automatically created during user access. Can combine server-side scripts, such as Perl or , that generate code for web pages.

Web pages in extension files DLLs more often in total are stored on Microsoft IIS web servers. The DLL extension must be mapped to the appropriate server scripting engine for the page to be processed correctly.

A compiled library file containing a set of procedures and/or drivers referenced and executed by a program. Allows various programs access publicly available system functions through standard libraries. Can be dynamically linked within a program while it is running.

Many DLL files (read DLL) are provided by the operating system Windows system, others are included in Windows programs. They also provide various software features such as connecting to external devices both input and output signal hard drive. They can also be referenced by cross-platform Mac applications.

Note: Deleting or changing the contents of a DLL file may cause errors in the program that references the file. Therefore, DLL files should not be opened or edited.

With help Resource Tuner you can open executable files such as .EXE, .DLL, .OCX, screensavers (.SCR) and many others. By opening the file, you gain access to the file's resources and can replace icons, cursors, and graphics in various formats, change lines in the menu, dialog boxes and other user interface elements.

However, it is worth keeping in mind that the resources in the executable file are separate from the program code, and by changing the program interface, you do not gain access to the program code. Using the resource editor, you can change program controls. The program code cannot be changed using the resource editor.

For more serious changes (which, however, will not lead to anything good without sufficient experience in programming applications for Windows), we recommend using PE Explorer (PE file structure editor) or FlexHex (hex editor for binary files).

Opening an EXE or DLL file in Resource Tuner

Supports multiple ways to open files. To open a file for viewing and editing, click the button Open File on the toolbar or select the command File > Open from the menu. The drop-down menu next to the button on the toolbar gives you quick access to a list of recently opened files. The same list can be obtained with the command File > Recent Files from the program menu. The number of files in the list is configured in the dialog Customize.

You can also open the file using Resource Tuner directly from Windows Explorer by clicking on the file right click and selecting Open with Resource Tuner from the context menu.

Or you can simply drag and drop the file icon from Windows Explorer onto the Resource Tuner icon on the desktop or onto the window of the running Resource Tuner.

You can also open the file from the command line.
For example: restuner.exe filename.exe

When opening a file, Resource Tuner performs several automatic operations: unpacks the file if it is detected that it was packed using UPX, then checks the structure and resources of the file for possible errors, and finally rebuilds damaged resources in accordance with the format specification executable files.

Errors when opening a file

If an error occurs when opening a file, it is most likely for three reasons: the file is protected, the file is 16-bit, or it is not an executable file at all.

1. Error: The file is damaged, compressed by a packer or protected by a protector.

There is a very good chance that the file has been compressed to reduce its size. There are dozens of packers and protectors for executable files, and new ones appear all the time. Resource Tuner supports unpacking of only one, but the most common packer - UPX. Other packers are not supported, and you will have to unpack the file yourself before you can open the file for viewing or editing.

This situation is not considered a program error. We are not going to fight the attempts of other program authors to protect their creations from hacking, nor support the unpacking of several dozen different packagers, including both commercial products and homemade products.

2. Error: The file is defined as 16-bit NE Executable. This format is not supported!

Our programs only work with 32- and 64-bit PE files. The NE format (short for "New Executable") is a 16-bit application format left over from older Windows versions 3.xx. WITH the advent of Windows 95 this format is considered obsolete and is not used, although it can be executed on modern platforms from Microsoft. We do not support 16-bit files and do not intend to support them.

3. Error: The file is not an EXE or DLL file. At all!

Resource Tuner does not detect a file by extension. If you rename the extension of an executable file, say, correct .EXE to .TXT, or remove the extension altogether, Resource Tuner will not be fooled by this: when opening a file, the program analyzes the file header inside the file, and does not look at the extension at all.

Therefore, if Resource Tuner tells you that the file is not executable, then it is so. If someone supplied for some reason text file If the game is delivered with the extension .DLL, then the file does not cease to be text and does not become a dynamic library. Don't be fooled by the file extension.

Which files do not make sense to open in the resource editor?

Although Resource Tuner is designed to open and edit any 32/64-bit executable files, there are some EXE types files in which there are practically no resources.

1. Files created using Visual Basic.

In such files, there is nothing in the resources section except an icon and version information. Lines and dialogue in programs written in Visual BASIC are stored in their own proprietary format, and they do not use the standard resource section.

2. EXE files of gigabytes or more in size.

Since Resource Tuner is a 32-bit program, there are natural limitations for placing the image of the file being opened in virtual memory within the first gigabyte. A file of a gigabyte or more in size simply will not fit there.

3. Self-extracting archives in the form of EXE files.

In such files, there is nothing in the resources except an icon and version information, and maybe even that. Essentially, this is archived data equipped with a subroutine for unpacking.

4. Installers of other programs.

In such files, there is nothing in the resources except an icon and version information. Very similar to point 3. An installer file can be thought of as a container that contains another .EXE file in compressed form and a routine to extract it. In addition, programs for creating installers use different algorithms to store archived data within themselves.

Download your free trial!

Resource Tuner runs on all versions of Windows
from 2000 and XP to 8 and 10.

Minimum system requirements:
CPU Intel Pentium® or AMD K5 166 MHz
16 MB RAM

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

what is a .dll file?

These DLL files are also known as Dynamic Link Library files, and the content of a file affixed with the .dll extension is a set of compiled resources like directives, procedures and driver libraries that are required by built-in Windows applications and third party programs that have been developed for Microsoft Windows. These DLL files allow Windows programs to share common resources in compiled libraries with other applications.During runtime, some of these applications can be linked to these DLL resources. Most of these DLL files are already bundled with Microsoft Windows system s, though some programs provide its own DLL resources upon installation. Some of these DLL files facilitate communications between the Windows system, corresponding built-in or third party applications and driver resources required by external and internal I/O devices.

how to open a .dll file?

Launch a .dll 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 .dll 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 .dll files aren"t yet associated with it. In this case, when you try to open a .dll file, you can tell Windows which application is the correct one for that file. From then on, opening a .dll file will open the correct application.

applications that open a .dll file

Microsoft Windows Operating System

Microsoft Windows Operating System platforms mostly used files with .ANI extension, a graphic file format used for animated mouse cursors, which are also defined as Windows Animated Cursor. These files have the same functions with CUR file format or better known as the Static Cursor; its distinction is that being an animated cursor with the use of strings of images to show animation. The format is based on the Microsoft RIFF file format, which is utilized as storage for keeping the individual frames, which are typical Windows icons of the animation. This type of file is usually integrated in a customized theme for desktop, and is helpful to personalize the CPU system. Its final animation is designed with some icon frames are used for showing a single image after another to generate animation. Despite a number of frames using the icon format, part of the stored data in the animated cursor file handle the order of the step, length, title, and the author of the animation.

a word of warning

Be careful not to rename the extension on .dll 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, .dll. 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.

It happens that it feels like you’ve been using a computer for a long time, you know all the main programs, even friends sometimes ask you to help you figure out this or that application, like here...

In general, I think you understand a similar feeling when you yourself are faced with one or another confusion in the computer world. I was once stumped by the question of how to open a dll.

And the fact is that at that time I understood little about this issue. I have never seen files with this extension, so, as you probably understand, there was no discussion at all about how to open a dll file.

I sat. I figured it out. Happened! I share my experience.

Section 1. How to open dll: definition of concept

As it turns out, files with this extension represent a library. Honestly, if we delve deeper into the etymological meaning, we find out that dll is an abbreviation that can be deciphered as and translated into our native language it means that the file of this format is a truly special library containing various program codes and resources.

What makes it unique? It has the ability to connect dynamically.

The resources for such a file can be anything: images, text materials, audio files, videos, cursors, and many other elements that are used by applications installed on your computer.

But I would like to warn you right away...

Before you set yourself such a task and try to open a dll, think about whether it’s worth doing this at all. Why? After consulting with specialists, I learned that it is possible to view and change files of this kind, but, however, only with the help of special software. However, this should be done very carefully, because... this may result in complete inoperability of programs using these files.

Section 2. How to open dll. detailed instructions

Method one. Cygnys Hex Editor

In the computer world there are special programs, called disassemblers, they allow you not only to access, but also to change the code of dll files. It appears completely logical question. Or rather, even two.

1. Where can you find and download such a program? What is it called?
2. Is it possible to do this for free?

I answer both at once. Similar applications so many. Personally, I use a free and very effective version called Cygnys Hex Editor. I liked the latter for several reasons. First of all, thanks to her simple interface, and secondly, because it does not require tedious installation. To download it, you just need to use the direct link on the official website of the manufacturer.

Download and you can use it almost immediately. The information contained in the dll file will open on the computer screen in a fairly convenient way. At the same time, both in the form of a table with a set of hexadecimal codes, and in a more familiar display - like text characters. You can read, study and, if necessary, make the necessary changes. Moreover, amendments made to one of the tables will simultaneously automatically change in the second. Convenient, right? There is no need to do any extra work.

Method two. Resource Hacker

You can answer the question of how to open a dll for yourself differently. If in your files dynamic library you need to view and replace some resources, use some specialized program. Personally, I chose the Resource Hacker viewer for myself. With its help, I can not only see and change the code inside the file, but also monitor appearance resource that is created using code. The interface of this program is very simple and understandable even for beginners. It allows you to replace not only the image, but also the audio or video file with your own. Moreover, all this happens not even at the code level, but at a higher level of objects. This application is also provided free of charge.