CDV File

What are CDV files and how to open them

Are you having problems opening a CDV 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 CDV files.

What is a CDV file?

CDV files have multiple uses, and CD Viewer Data is one of them. Read more about the other uses further down the page.

CD Viewer Data

CD Viewer Data files hold interactive multimedia content from CD-magazines published by micromedia electronic publishing in Germany. They were produced for use with software titled CD Viewer, developed by Volker Everts in 1993, and allow publishers to present image, video, and text content - often in German - for magazines distributed on CD-ROM. These files serve as data containers that store the content of "CD-magazine" issues so that the CD Viewer program can display its pages, videos, hyperlinks, and navigation elements.

These files are created when the magazine CD is authored using micromedia's CD Viewer tool, bundling together media files, textual content, and layout/structure information. The viewer software then reads the file to reconstruct the magazine's interactive experience: combining image-based pages, video clips, textual panels, and navigation links. They are not designed for editing in common word processors or image editors but for viewing as published ― the interactive multimedia title is the intended delivery format.

The internal format can be identified by recognizable signatures. The file begins with the ASCII string CDV-EV, and contains other German phrases and identifiers such as "BY VOLKER EVERTS UND MICROMEDIA ELECTRONIC PUBLISHING", "COPYRIGHT (C) CD VIEWER 1993", and component-labels like "BILD-VIDEO", "TEXT-VIDEO", "INHALT", "LINK", alongside references such as CDVIEW.CVH and WINDOWS. These markers help distinguishing this exact format from others.

How to open CDV files

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

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

Last updated: August 31, 2026

All known file formats using extension .CDV

While CD Viewer Data is a popular type of CDV-file, we know of 2 different uses of the .CDV file extension. Different software may use files with the same extension for different types of data.

Javelin Country Driver

We know that one CDV format is Javelin Country 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 CDV files. Remember, different programs may use CDV 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 CDV file formats, example files, or compatible programs. Please use the links below or email us at submit@file.org to discuss further.