Microsoft Compound File

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(add information about the old (inofficial) name "LAOLA")
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The format was not publicly documented by Microsoft until 2008.
 
The format was not publicly documented by Microsoft until 2008.
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It is (or was?) inofficially known as ''LAOLA File Format''.
  
 
== Identification ==
 
== Identification ==
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* [[Wikipedia:Compound File Binary Format|Wikipedia article]]
 
* [[Wikipedia:Compound File Binary Format|Wikipedia article]]
 
* [http://www.joelonsoftware.com/items/2008/02/19.html Joel on Software: Why are the Microsoft Office file formats so complicated?]
 
* [http://www.joelonsoftware.com/items/2008/02/19.html Joel on Software: Why are the Microsoft Office file formats so complicated?]
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* Some (older) reverse engineered information [http://stuff.mit.edu/afs/athena/astaff/project/mimeutils/share/laola/guide.html here] and a Perl module [http://stuff.mit.edu/afs/athena/astaff/project/mimeutils/share/laola/laola.pl here]
  
 
== Editors' notes ==
 
== Editors' notes ==

Revision as of 15:59, 30 June 2013

File Format
Name Microsoft Compound File
Ontology
PRONOM fmt/111

Microsoft Compound File is a complex container format used by some versions of Microsoft Office, and other Microsoft applications. It has features similar to those of a filesystem format.

It is also known as Compound File Binary File Format (CFBF or CFB), Microsoft Compound Document File Format, OLE Compound Document Format, OLE2 Compound Document Format, etc.

The format was not publicly documented by Microsoft until 2008.

It is (or was?) inofficially known as LAOLA File Format.

Contents

Identification

Files begin with signature bytes D0 CF 11 E0 A1 B1 1A E1.

Specifications

Links

Editors' notes

TODO: Explain the relationship between Compound File format and the format/technology called COM Structured Storage (or OLE Structured Storage).

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