APD File

What are APD files and how to open them

Are you having problems opening an APD file or are you simply curious about its contents? We're here to explain the properties of these files and provide you with software that can open or handle your APD files.

What is an APD file?

APD files have multiple uses, and ACT! Printer Driver Data is one of them. Read more about the other uses further down the page.

ACT! Printer Driver Data

We have not yet analyzed in detail what these files contain and what they are used for. We're working on it.

How to open APD files

Important: Different programs may use files with the APD file extension for different purposes, so unless you are sure which format your APD file is, you may need to try a few different programs.

While we have not verified the apps ourselves yet, our users have suggested ten different APD openers which you will find listed below.

Last updated: August 18, 2026

All known file formats using extension .APD

While ACT! Printer Driver Data is a popular type of APD-file, we know of 4 different uses of the .APD file extension. Different software may use files with the same extension for different types of data.

Aldus Printer Driver

The Aldus Printer Driver format is a printer description file used by the PageMaker desktop publishing software from Aldus (later Adobe). It serves to define the capabilities and settings of a particular PostScript-compatible printer so that PageMaker can generate print jobs correctly.

This format is created by printer or typesetter vendors and/or bundled with printer utilities. It is read by PageMaker when selecting a printer in order to know what paper sizes, screen angles, font capabilities, memory, and other device-specific features the output device supports. The file enables PageMaker to offer the correct options in its print setup dialogs, to substitute fonts, to control printing of separations, etc.

Aldus Printer Driver files are plain text and contain various named parameters and keywords. They include strings like DEFAULTFONT, RESOLUTION, SCREENANGLE, SCREENFREQ, FONTLIST, JOBNAME, PSVERSION, FORMATVERSION, USERNAME, PASSWORD, etc. One specific signature at offset 0 is the ASCII string "@Comment:". They often contain verbose descriptive identifiers, e.g. "THIS APD PRODUCED FOR USE WITH ALDUS PAGEMAKER", "ALDUS PRINTER DESCRIPTION (APD) FILE", and field names like ALDUSHEADERMEM and ALDUSPATCHFILE which help identify them unambiguously.

Allways Printer Driver

Allways Printer Driver files store printer driver data used by the Allways add-in for Lotus 1-2-3 (by Funk Software, 1988). They configure how Lotus 1-2-3 sends output to supported printers when enhanced printing features are used, such as combining spreadsheets and graphics or applying special formatting. The add-in first creates these files and Lotus 1-2-3 loads them when printing through Allways; users do not usually edit them directly.

These files are produced by Funk Software's Allways as part of its printer driver system for DOS versions of Lotus 1-2-3. The driver files are selected or installed via Lotus's Allways menus or driver-management utilities supplied by Lotus or Funk Software, then used during printing to translate spreadsheet and graphical output into printer-specific commands, so that the printer produces the correct layout.

Internally, these driver files begin with a signature that identifies them as belonging to the Allways driver family. They start with the two bytes "PD" at the very beginning (offset 0), and include printable text later (for example at offset 12) showing a copyright notice like "(C) 1988 FUNK SOFTWARE, INC." which helps tools distinguish them from other APD-format files and unrelated files. These signatures are not part of printer control commands but serve solely to detect the format type.

Better On-Line Solutions Printer Driver

We know that one APD format is Better On-Line Solutions Printer Driver. We have not yet analyzed in detail what these files contain and what they are used for. We're working on it.

Various apps that use files with this extension

These apps are known to open certain types of APD files. Remember, different programs may use APD files for different purposes, so you may need to try out a few of them to be able to open your specific file.

Help us help others

File.org helps thousands of users every day, and we would love to hear from you if you have additional information about APD file formats, example files, or compatible programs. Please use the links below or email us at submit@file.org to discuss further.