BMIX File

What are BMIX files and how to open them

Are you having problems opening a BMIX 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 BMIX files.

What is a BMIX file?

A .BMIX file is a Blaise Instrument file.

Blaise Instrument files store compiled metadata models used in Blaise 5 to define the structure and behavior of survey instruments. They are written by Blaise software, developed by the Centraal Bureau voor de Statistiek (CBS, Statistics Netherlands), as part of building questionnaires and data collection applications. These files are good for capturing the survey's data model - what questions exist, their types, logic, routing rules, layout, labels, language settings, and other metadata - in a binary format that Blaise uses during deployment and execution of interviews.

Blaise Instrument files are produced when a survey instrument is compiled, including through the Blaise Control Centre or when preparing data model files from Manipula scripts. They are used by Blaise tools (runtime or metadata viewers) to load survey definitions, support editing, validation, deployment, and to enable export to external metadata standards like DDI Lifecycle via tools that read the .bmix file.

Technically, these files begin with the ASCII header "SQLiteformat3" at byte offset 0, marking them as SQLite-based databases. They contain tables and indexes named things like DATAMODELDEFINITION, CLASSIFICATIONITEM, DATAENTRYSETTINGS, ERRORPAGEMAPPING, FIELDPAGEMAPPING, CUSTOMPAGE, LAYOUTSETGROUPS, BASEOBJECTS, BASESTRINGS, etc. Field definitions include types like NVARCHAR(255), NVARCHAR(40), NVARCHAR(50), as well as constraints, primary keys, and layout and page properties.

How to open BMIX files

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

We have not yet verified any programs for Windows that work with this specific file format. If you know one, please use the 'Suggest a program' link below. Thanks!

Last updated: August 24, 2026

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