FILExt - The File Extension Source

This page contains the license for use of the FILExt site and instructions for developers who might wish to access the FILExt database.

License

THIS WEBSITE IS PROVIDED "AS IS" WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EITHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, OR NON-INFRINGEMENT.

THIS WEBSITE COULD INCLUDE TECHNICAL INACCURACIES OR TYPOGRAPHICAL ERRORS. CHANGES ARE PERIODICALLY ADDED TO THE INFORMATION HEREIN. COMPUTER KNOWLEDGE MAY MAKE IMPROVEMENTS AND/OR CHANGES IN THE WEBSITE.

It is not warranted that the contents of this Website, whether individually or as one or more groups, will meet your requirements or are error-free.

It is possible that this Website may contain references to, or information about, products (machines and programs), programming, or services that are not announced or available in your country. Such references or information must not be construed to mean that such products, programming, or services will be offered in your country. Any reference to a licensed program on this Website is not intended to state or imply that you can use only that licensed program. You can use any functionally equivalent program instead.

The information provided regarding publications by other vendors does not constitute an expressed or implied recommendation or endorsement of any particular product, service, company or technology, but is intended simply as an information guide that will give a better understanding of the options available to you. The fact that a publication or company does not appear on this Website does not imply that it is inferior to those listed.

A feedback form is provided on this Website. If you do not wish to use an electronic form, address comments to Computer Knowledge, PO Box 5818, Santa Maria, CA 93456-5818. Any information that you supply to Computer Knowledge or FILExt by any form may be used without incurring any obligation to you.

RESTRICTED RIGHTS LEGEND: Use, duplication, or disclosure by the United States Government is subject to the restrictions set forth in DFARS 252.227-7013 (c)(1)(ii) and FAR 52.227-19.

© Copyright Computer Knowledge, 2000-2008. All rights reserved. The material on this site and its presentation are covered by copyright law. No material on this site may be copied and used for public display on other websites or in other forms without prior written permission from Computer Knowledge.

FILExt, FILEXT.COM and other marks indicated on our site are trademarks of Computer Knowlede in the United States and other countries. Computer Knowledge and FILExt graphics, logos, page headers, button icons, scripts, and service names are trademarks or trade dress of Computer Knowledge. Computer Knowledge or FILExt's trademarks and trade dress may not be used in connection with any product or service that is not Computer Knowledge or FILExt's, in any manner that is likely to cause confusion among customers, or in any manner that disparages or discredits Computer Knowledge or FILExt. All other trademarks not owned by Computer Knowledge or FILExt that appear on this site are the property of their respective owners, who may or may not be affiliated with, connected to, or sponsored by Computer Knowledge or FILExt.

Developer/Use Permissions

At present there is a limited download of the alphabetic listings from the FILExt database that will run as a program on a PC (not a Macintosh, sorry). This program must be specifically requested with what the site owner considers a valid reason for having it. By downloading and running the program you agree to NOT give copies of the program or the link to its download page to others. Use the contact form to make the request.

There is no mechanism currently available to allow direct access to the FILExt database. Various XML feeds are under consideration however. They will be announced here and on the FILExt home page when/if available.

Developers and users may directly link to the FILExt display page (and thus query the database) in applications so long as several conditions are met:

• The full Web page, including all advertising, images, and copyright notices that show up must be included in any display from the program. In short, you can't modify what the FILExt site and any site it calls feeds to you. (Note: If your application calls a user's browser and they have some form of advertising blocker in place you do not have to disable that; you simply can't insert your own blocker between the user and the FILExt information or encourage the user to obtain one to suppress the ads.)

• No attempt is made to state or imply that the information comes from the application/program or any other entity instead of FILExt.

• Any menu items must refer to FILExt with that specific spelling (upper case FILE and lower case xt).

• You only use link(s) of the form described below.

So long as these conditions are met, there is no fee for linking to the FILExt site for the purpose of querying the database.

Computer Knowledge makes no representations about the suitability of these links and the database information for any purpose. It is provided "as is" without express or implied warranty.

Linking Instructions

So long as you meet the restrictions above, here are the linking instructions to query the FILExt database through our display page.

Use a URL of the form:

http://filext.com/file-extension.php?extension=EXT

where EXT is the extension you wish information about. The EXT may be lower case, upper case, or mixed case; a routine on the FILExt site converts all entries to upper case. The EXT may have a leading period; however if it does it will be stripped off before the database query so it's best to perform the submission without a leading period. At present, all submissions are trimmed at 25 characters. For characters outside the alphabet (A-Z) and numbers (0-9) you should use standard HTML hex encoding. For example, if you wanted to send three tildes (~~~) you should actually send %7E%7E%7E instead. The FILExt site uses the PHP function rawurldecode () on the EXT value; programs should use the equivalent of the PHP function rawurlencode () on the EXT value before sending it.

You may wish to parse the page returned from the FILExt query. If the text on the page contains the term "Ooops" then you know that the query to the FILExt database came up empty. You are not required to display the FILExt page if this occurs; however, you might wish to as there is a link on that part of the page that gives users tips on how to further handle searching for information about that extension. Also, results from secondary databases that might be of use to the user may still appear on the page.

Other Questions

1) How do I get my [whatever] into a FILExt listing for an extension?

The FILExt display has three general areas available for information not directly related to the file extension itself. These are numbered and explained below...

• Area 1: Most Likely. The simplest answer to how to get listed with a "Most Likely" token is to be the most popular program that uses a particular file extension. This is a judgment call on DaBoss' part and largely is based on results from FILExt's collection of information sent in by users about the file extension associations on their computers. It doesn't hurt to ask but it's entirely up to DaBoss.
• Area 2: Associated Links. This is one of the more coveted areas for a listing. The rules are flexible, however there are general guidelines. First, only five associated links can presently be entered for any single listing. This is a database constraint that eventually will be lifted but right now is fixed. Second, format links generally have priority over viewer links. Third, viewer links are generally to programs with no cost associated with them. Finally, if there is a unique viewer with an associated cost it might be listed here but this should be considered rare.
• Area 3: Graphic Icons. Some FILExt listings come with small graphic icons (approximately 90x33 pixels). These are generally associate links to programs that will work with a particular file format. Think of this area as a paid ad area in the sense that a user clicking on one of the links will be taken to a site where if they buy some software FILExt will get a percentage of the purchase price. Only associate links are presented in this area.

2) What can I use to link back to FILExt?

If you need a small button please download one of these and save it to your own server. Please do NOT link directly to this button and use FILExt bandwidth to serve it.

66x24	88x33	116x43