OpenAnyFile
Works
Viewing, inspecting and verifying. You get the table list, with row counts and browsable contents for each table. File details, exact byte size and the detected signature are always shown.
How to open a .pdb file
If double-clicking a PDB file did nothing useful, that is normal: the format is fine, your operating system just has no default application registered for it. This page explains the format and gives you a way to read one immediately.
What is a .pdb file?
Palm Database / Program Database is a database format developed by Palm / Microsoft, first appearing in 1996. It is normally produced by PalmOS apps, MSVC debug builds.
Genuinely two formats sharing an extension: a PalmOS record database, or a Microsoft debug symbol file. Also used for protein structures in science.
| Full name | Palm Database / Program Database |
|---|---|
| File category | Databases |
| MIME type | application/vnd.palm |
| Developer | Palm / Microsoft |
| Introduced | 1996 |
| Usually created by | PalmOS apps, MSVC debug builds |
| OpenAnyFile engine | SQLite database browser |
| Opens without upload | Yes — parsed locally in your browser |
Open a .pdb file in your browser
OpenAnyFile routes .pdb to its SQLite database browser, which opens the table list, with row counts and browsable contents for each table.
- Open the OpenAnyFile opener in this browser — nothing to download or sign up for.
- Drag your .pdb file onto the drop zone, click to browse for it, or paste it with Ctrl+V.
- The extension is detected and the file is handed to the SQLite database browser.
- Your PDB opens on its own viewer page: the table list, with row counts and browsable contents for each table.
- Use fullscreen for a closer look, or download the file back out unchanged. Works the same on Windows, macOS, Linux, Android and iOS, because it is just a web page.
What you can and cannot do with it here
Does not work
Editing and re-saving. OpenAnyFile is a reader, not an editor — for changes you still need special software or an equivalent.
Is it safe to open a {E} file on a website?
It depends entirely on whether the website uploads it, and almost all of them do. That is a real problem when the databases file in question is a contract, a client deliverable or something under NDA. OpenAnyFile removes the question: the decoding happens inside your browser tab, so there is no transfer, no queue, no temporary storage and no retention window to read about in a privacy policy.
Frequently asked questions about PDB files
Can I open a .pdb file without installing special software?
Yes. OpenAnyFile's SQLite database browser runs in your browser, so you can read a PDB file with nothing installed. You get the table list, with row counts and browsable contents for each table. For full editing you still need the original application — this is a viewer, not an editor.
How can I tell what a .pdb file actually contains?
The .pdb extension carries no fixed signature, so the extension alone proves nothing. Opening it in OpenAnyFile shows the raw header bytes and detected type, which is the only reliable way to identify one.
Is it safe to open a PDB file online?
With OpenAnyFile, yes, because nothing is uploaded. The file is read locally through your browser's File API and never leaves your device, so there is no server copy to leak, log or retain. That matters most for the kind of file people are least willing to hand to a random converter site.
What is a .pdb file, exactly?
Palm Database / Program Database — an application/vnd.palm format created by Palm / Microsoft since 1996. Genuinely two formats sharing an extension: a PalmOS record database, or a Microsoft debug symbol file. Also used for protein structures in science.
Does the same viewer handle formats related to PDB?
Yes — the same engine also opens .db, .sqlite, .sqlite3, so you can compare related files without switching tools.
Related formats
These open with the same engine, so if you have one of these sitting next to your .pdb file, it will open too: