Format

ESRI ArcInfo DAT File (Internal)

Summary

Name

ESRI ArcInfo DAT File (Internal)

Identifiers

PUID: fmt/1600

Format type

Text (Structured)

Description

Files which comprise part of an ArcInfo Coverage, which is a data model whose purpose is to store georelational data such as spatial location and descriptive data. Each ArcInfo Coverage resides in an ArcInfo workspace, a directory which contains two or more folders. These packages are generated using ArcGIS software, produced by Esri (https://www.esri.com/en-us/arcgis/about-arcgis/overview.) An ArcInfo coverage dataset typically has two types of .dat file: internal, which store the actual data table, and external, which contains a relative path to the data table. These external files, which have extension .dat, follow a unique naming pattern: arcXXXX.dat, where XXXX is incrementally increasing number starting from 0000, e.g. arc0000.dat, arc0001.dat. The .dat files always come in pair with a NIT file and are both stored in an INFO directory at the root. Internal .dat files usually contain the byte sequence BOF, 000000.

Submitted by

National Library of Australia / National Library of Australia

Relationships

Equivalent to

• ESRI ArcInfo DAT File (External)

Changelog

• V108

  Release date

  5 September 2022

  • Updated

    ESRI ArcInfo DAT File (Internal): Amended source. Submitted by Digital Preservation Department, The National Archives (UK).

• V107

  Release date

  21 July 2022

  • Updated

    ESRI ArcInfo DAT File (Internal): Added relationship to ESRI ArcInfo .dat File (External), removed extension, expanded description. Submitted by Preservica.

• V101

  Release date

  15 February 2022

  • Added format

    ESRI ArcInfo DAT File (Internal): Full entry added. Submitted by The National Library of Australia.

  • Added signature

    ESRI ArcInfo DAT File (Internal): Signature researched and samples provided by The National Library of Australia.