BAL File

What are BAL files and how to open them

Are you having problems opening a BAL 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 BAL files.

What is a BAL file?

BAL files have multiple uses, and B4A Layout is one of them. Read more about the other uses further down the page.

B4A Layout

These BAL files contain the user interfaces created in Basic4Android (B4A), an application development tool for Android devices. This software is designed to create user interfaces for mobile devices with different screen sizes. B4A is also used to create Android apps for Google Play, Samsung Apps, and Amazon Appstore.

How to open BAL files

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

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

Last updated: August 23, 2026

All known file formats using extension .BAL

While B4A Layout is a popular type of BAL-file, we know of 4 different uses of the .BAL file extension. Different software may use files with the same extension for different types of data.

Baldies Animation

Baldies Animation files store sprite‐based animations used by the DOS version of the game Baldies. They hold frame data that defines CG motion sequences (cutscenes or in‐game animated graphics) which the game displays during play. These animations are compressed using run-length encoding and use indexed (paletted) image data.

These animations are produced during development of Baldies for its DOS/Windows release, included among its resource bundles rather than created by user tools. They are loaded at runtime by the game engine to render animated sequences. The Windows/CD version uses a different format (FLIC) for its full motion video, but the DOS version uses this BAL format for smaller, sprite-style animation assets.

File identity is based on internal signatures: the ASCII string INAE appears at offset 0, "RLOC" 6 bytes later, and repeated occurrences of "TCIP" appear at higher offsets.

Red Sector Demo-Maker Vector-ball Object

Red Sector Demo-Maker Vector-ball Object files store 3D "vector-ball" object data used by Red Sector Inc's DemoMaker software for the Amiga. These objects represent spherical or ball-like wireframe models that the DemoMaker can display and animate as part of demos, including rotating, coloring, lighting, and blending into vector-ball effects.

These files are authored using the VectorObject or VectorBall editors included with Red Sector DemoMaker (often sold through Data Becker GmbH in 1991), then imported into a final Demo file ("short" or "final" demo) via DemoMaker's asset system. Within the workflow, the file defines points, edges, color or shading data, perhaps normals, so that the 3D ball renders in wireframe or partially filled ("shaded") style as used in vector-ball effects in the demo. DemoMaker loads the object data at run time and uses it to generate the visual effect within the demo's vector routines.

Files of this format begin with the ASCII signature "BALL\0\0" at the start (offset 0).

Skullcaps Level

Skullcaps Level files store the layout and data for single levels in the real-time strategy game Skullcaps, created by Creative Edge Software. These files are produced by the game or its level editor when saving or exporting a level. They define map terrain, object placement, trigger zones, waypoints, resources, and other map-specific data that the game reads when loading a level to set up what players see and interact with.

When the game loads a Skullcaps Level file it parses its internal structure to reconstruct the visual map, place units or static objects (such as buildings or traps), define resource positions and navigational waypoints. Designers creating custom levels use this format so that the game engine can recreate all gameplay elements and behaviors specific to that map.

Internally these files can be recognized by specific byte-signatures: they begin with the ASCII signature "CEMP" at offset 0, contain the string "POSN" and later "DATA", with "POSN" appearing around offset 12 where "POSN....DATA" is found. These markers and offsets help identify the level as being of the Skullcaps Level format.

Various apps that use files with this extension

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

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