I got a folder of old accounting data from a client and it is full of .dbf files. I do not have dBase or anything like it. What are these files and how can I read them?
What is a DBF file and how can I open it without dBase?
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Roy Fletcher October 26, 2026
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DBF is the dBase database format, used by dBase, FoxPro, Clipper and a lot of older accounting and GIS software. Each file is one table with rows and columns.
Easy ways to open one:
• Excel: File > Open, set the file type to "All Files" and select the .dbf. It opens as a normal sheet. Good for viewing and copying data out.
• LibreOffice Calc: opens DBF directly and can also save back to DBF, which Excel is not great at.
Keep the entire folder together. If the table has memo fields, the data sits in a separate .dbt or .fpt file that must be in the same folder.
Excel opened it, but some names with accents look broken (é, that kind of thing). What is going on?
That is a code page mismatch. Old DBF files were often written in DOS or Windows code pages and Excel guessed wrong. Open the file in LibreOffice Calc instead, it asks you for the character set when you open the DBF. Try "Western Europe (Windows-1252)" first, then "DOS/OS2-850" if that still looks wrong. Once it looks right, save as .xlsx or .csv for normal use.
Windows-1252 fixed it. All names readable now. Saved everything to xlsx. Thanks David.