NFO File Extension What is an nfo file and how do I open it?

However, web browsers use an incompatible alternative encoding scheme resulting in incorrect rendering of NFO files. Also, many modern text editors often use proportional fonts whereas the ASCII art included in both old and new NFO files is heavily dependent on the file being viewed with a fixed-width font. For this reason dedicated NFO viewers are available which are text editors with appropriate fonts (Terminus) and encoding settings, automatic window size and clickable hyperlinks. Additionally, online NFO viewers are also available to browse public NFO databases. The NFO file extension is used for a Warez Information File developed by THG.

Even when running from the command line, a window pops up where you can see the System Information being refreshed before the report generation. You could also click File → Export which saves the information as a TXT plaintext file that may be easier to read but cannot be opened via the System Information Tool later. To find the tool, search for MSInfo32 on the Start Menu, and be sure to click the Run as administrator option. Notepad will open and display the contents of your .nfo file. Xml file with program specifications used by shareware sites, download here.

Kodi, Plex, and NFO Files

Similarly, if you’re creating or reading NFO files for Plex, Kodi, or another media service, you could probably use a default operating system text editor without running into any issues. If you find an NFO file on your system and want to view its contents, you can use a standard text file program, such as Notepad for Windows or TextEdit for macOS. However, opening an NFO file in those basic text editing programs doesn’t unlock the full potential of the file. At the very least, you won’t view the ASCII artwork in its true form, missing out on its glory.

• The XPath query itself is very similar to the ones before, but looking for the Components and Display categories this time.
• If you don’t want to install a specific NFO viewer on your system but come across a file you want to look at, you could use an online NFO viewer.
• He enjoys copious amounts of tea, board games, and football.
• The first step in retrieving detailed information about your system is to open the MSInfo32 tool.
• You should at least try out this application if you’re currently disappointed with Notepad.

NFOPad is a freeware NFO viewer app and text editor, developed by True Human Design for Windows. This file has been scanned with VirusTotal using more than 70 different antivirus software products and no threats have been detected. It’s very likely that this software is clean and safe for use. Stay up to date with latest software releases, news, software discounts, deals and more. Windows may unsuccessfully attempt to use the Microsoft Help program in order to open the file; instead open the file directly with a text editor. Gavin is the Technology Explained Section Editor, co-host on the Really Useful Podcast, and a frequent product reviewer.

NFO files are text files that hold information about an application that has been downloaded from the Internet. NFO files can contain elaborate ASCII artwork, showing off the skills of the creator. The NFO files found with torrent and warez downloads also act as a tag of kinds, indicating to the rest of the community that a particular group cracked this software. In this article, you have learned how MSInfo32 offers a convenient way to generate a comprehensive system report for a local system. With the save and export functions of MSInfo32, you learned how to export the system status to analyze over time and use PowerShell to analyze the available information. To read the XML report file, open a PowerShell window and run Get-Content, as shown in the screenshot below.

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There is also a command-line tool available for Linux users, which you can find in the iNFekt Github releases. Although any file extension will work, as the system information report export is an NFO file, /nfo option, convention dictates using .nfo as the report extension. Locate the .nfo file you want to open but instead of double-clicking it, right-click it and select Open with… from the menu. This license is commonly used for video games and it allows users to download and play the game for free. If you regularly use NFO files, then you can set DAMN NFO Viewer as the default viewer for them as soon as the setup process is over with. You can use the drag and drop function to open files that are in TXT, NFO, or DIZ format.

Different software may use files with the same extension for different types of data. Easy to use, one of my favorite iNFekt features is also one of the simplest—it keeps the NFO file centered when you change the window size. Aside from that, there are options for importing and exporting NFO themes, customizable color schemes, editable fonts, and a few different viewing mode options. The NFO file includes information regarding the media, such as release date, genre, title, bitrate, subtitles, audio and video codec, resolution, and so on. Some NFO files attached to pirate software will also include information on how to install the program without triggering anti-piracy software or trackers.

• It lets you view files that are in NFO format, whether they have ASCII Art or different kinds of information.
• NFO files can contain elaborate ASCII artwork, showing off the skills of the creator.
• Aside from that, there are options for importing and exporting NFO themes, customizable color schemes, editable fonts, and a few different viewing mode options.
• Different software may use files with the same extension for different types of data.
• You could click File → Save to save the information as an NFO file, which is known as a System Information File.

He has a degree in Contemporary Writing pillaged from the hills of Devon, and more than a decade of professional writing experience. He enjoys copious amounts of tea, board games, and football. There’s no wonder it features on our list of the best Notepad alternatives. Throughout this tutorial, you’ve learned how to generate and export MSInfo32 reports.

Download DAMN NFO Viewer Latest Version

You could click File → Save to save the information as an NFO file, which is known as a System Information File. The NFO file is an XML-based file that can be later opened by the MSInfo32 tool to view in the same organized format. Find and fix file extension errors, registry problems and restore optimum PC performance quickly, easily and safely. Binary Viewer Analyze binary files and data with this viewer. NFOPad is provided under a freeware license on Windows from text editors with no restrictions on usage.

NFO readers such as NFOPad can render the text characters as the intended graphic. For standard text editors, it’s generally best to view the text with a fixed width font. Yet Another NFO Viewer is a free NFO file viewer for macOS. YANV is a very basic NFO viewer and was designed as a “small, light, and hopefully fast tool.” Features-wise, YANV doesn’t offer much, but it is a handy NFO file reader option for macOS users. INFekt is a free and open-source desktop NFO viewer for Windows.

Not sure exactly what type of file you are trying to open? It is a free tool that can identify more than 11,000 different kinds of files – most likely yours too! It will help you find software that can handle your specific type of file. The file contains text explaining how to use the software, software release notes, and information about the group that cracked and distributed the program. Jane is one of the most feature-packed NFO viewers available to Windows users. Not only that, but Jane is also one of the most frequently updated options, too.

The download has been tested by an editor here on a PC and a list of features has been compiled; see below. This could be due to the program being discontinued, having a security issue or for other reasons. Trial software allows the user to evaluate the software for a limited amount of time.

Warez Information File

The allows PowerShell to read the XML text and converts that to PowerShell objects. This second example demonstrates generating the NFO report, this time by specifying the directory where the report will be saved. Be aware that the directory must exist before running the command.

Download and installation of this PC software is free and 1.75 is the latest version last time we checked. For instance, the copy-on-select option is very convenient when you want to select text and copy it automatically to your clipboard. If you’re familiar with mIRC, it had a similar feature a few years back. Also, It contains a drag and drops functionality, word wrapping ability, and options to set the colors of text and the background. The Humble Guys later became a demogroup, thus bringing the .nfo file tradition into the demoscene. More than forty thousand demoscene productions have an NFO file next to the program file.

If the user’s computer wasn’t already configured to load the ANSI.SYS driver, viewing ANSI art required reconfiguring and rebooting. Because of this, ANSI art was much less common, and getting ANSI art to display correctly on a Windows 95 PC often proved more difficult, leading to a decline of such art in NFO files. Media streaming and organization services such as Kodi and Plex use NFO files to update media library information.

Now that you know how to generate a system information report from MSInfo32, how would you go about generating either an NFO or TXT report from the command line? Maybe you’re creating a script, and you need a quick way to retrieve hardware information. As soon as the tool opens, it will present you with a report, an automatically generated one. You’ll see a hardware summary of your computer in the System Summary view. This view outlines an overall view of the system configuration.

If you want to make your own nfo file file all you need to do is use Notepad to create a .txt file and then rename it to an .nfo. If you want to create an NFO file with fancy ascii art, you could try out NFO Maker – an open source app for Windows. Just use the visual settings to alter the appearance and to change its overall appeal.

The maximum file size is 300KB, which is a decent limit considering the minute amount of data a typical NFO file uses. As an example, the NFO file I’m using in these screenshots is 3KB. There are several excellent NFO file viewers available for each operating system. So, here’s what an NFO file is, where you find them, and how to open and view NFO files—to their full potential. This first example demonstrates generating a TXT report in the same directory the command is run, as you can see in the following screenshot. And below you’ll see an example of the text file format MSInfo32 exports.

If you don’t care about the ASCII artwork and just want the information in the file, you can open the NFO file in a standard text editor. While the fancy logo header won’t parse, the information regarding the file should be absolutely fine. If you don’t want to install a specific NFO viewer on your system but come across a file you want to look at, you could use an online NFO viewer. NFOmation is a basic online NFO viewer you can use to view your NFO file. Below are two different options using the command line to generate both an NFO and TXT report.

How to Open .NFO Files in Windows 10

Also, the tool contains Unicode support, shell integration, smart line breaking, and wrapping modes. The installation of this application won’t take long and is not complicated to perform. Once it’s installed, you’ll find the interface to be quite simple to manage. There are a few configurable options on the settings menu that simplify the use of the application even more. NFO files often contain ASCII art identifying the piracy group.

NFOPad is a lightweight combined nfo viewer and text editor. It looks and feels like Microsoft’s Notepad but with additional settings and support for nfo files with ASCII-art. You’re here because you have a file that has a file extension ending in .nfo. Files with the file extension .nfo can only be launched by certain applications.

Shown below is an additional example of how to use an XPath query and PowerShell to find information on the System Report Display category. The XPath query itself is very similar to the ones before, but looking for the Components and Display categories this time. Perhaps you need to retrieve the list of services that were running at the time the report was generated. Since MSInfo32 reports contain that, you retrieve the list via the SelectNodes() method.

You should at least try out this application if you’re currently disappointed with Notepad. Data file used by Microsoft’s System Information tool, a Windows software utility for gathering system information and for diagnosing problems; stores information gathered by the program. NFO Viewer is a simple viewer for NFO files, which are “ASCII” art in the CP437 codepage. The home theater software Kodi uses NFO files for its library. Plex Media Server uses NFO files for match movie library. Filebot app fetch artwork and create NFO files for TV shows or movies.

Notepad++ is a significant step up from the Windows Notepad. It supports several programming languages, multiple tabs, and heaps of other features. Importantly, it can display NFO files, as well as edit and convert them, too.

They contain information (hence the “nfo” name) typically about software or digital media. Best of all, you don’t need to install any additional software to open .nfo files. By default, Windows can open files that have ASCII art in them.

The THG group would first upload their package to their world headquarters, “Candyland BBS” or later “The P.I.T.S. BBS”, to establish distribution immediately. Such organizations are also known as warez groups or crack groups. The first use came in 1990 on the THG release of the PC game Knights of Legend. This file was used in lieu of the more common README.TXT or README.1ST file names. The perpetuation of this file extension legacy was carried on by warez groups which followed after THG and is still in use to this day.