CLR File

What are CLR files and how to open them

Are you having problems opening a CLR 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 CLR files.

What is a CLR file?

CLR files have multiple uses, and 3DS UI colors is one of them. Read more about the other uses further down the page.

3DS UI colors

These CLR files contain the colors used to customize your 3ds Max interface, a program designed to create 3D animations, games, and images. You can modify all the elements in your interface to make it completely customized.

How to open CLR files

Important: Different programs may use files with the CLR file extension for different purposes, so unless you are sure which format your CLR 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 CLR openers which you will find listed below.

Last updated: August 31, 2026

All known file formats using extension .CLR

While 3DS UI colors is a popular type of CLR-file, we know of 3 different uses of the .CLR file extension. Different software may use files with the same extension for different types of data.

Macromedia Flash Color Table File

Macromedia Flash Color Table files store collections of solid colors and gradients for use within the Macromedia/Adobe Flash (now Adobe Animate) application. These files are called Flash Color Set files and are used to save, share, and recall color swatches (including gradient fills) across Flash documents.

Flash produces these files via the Color Swatches panel. The user defines colors and/or gradients, then exports the swatch collection using the "Save Colors" command and selecting Flash Color Set. Within Flash, these swatch sets are later imported through the Swatches panel to append or replace a document's palette. Unlike simpler palette formats, this one supports both solid fills and gradient definitions.

Internally the file is binary and begins with specific signature data: it starts with a little-endian sequence including "CColorList" near byte offset 0 and "CColorDef" around byte offset 18. Color entries follow: each solid color entry includes components like RGB and alpha, and a version byte; gradient entries are stored elsewhere in the file and define information such as gradient type (linear, radial), number of stops, stop offsets and colors.

PhotoStyler Colors Definition

PhotoStyler Colors Definition files store color palettes used by Aldus PhotoStyler, a now-discontinued image editor. These files define sets of colors that can be applied during image editing (such as for selecting indexed color palettes or switching among user-defined color sets). They are created by PhotoStyler when users save custom color definitions to reuse or apply elsewhere in the program.

PhotoStyler reads these files when opening or selecting a palette in the color-management or image indexing functions; it displays the colors in interface controls or applies them to images with indexed palettes. Since PhotoStyler is no longer sold or updated, files in this format are effectively obsolete today, though some archival documentation and software references still list their existence and usage.

Files begin with a specific ASCII header signature. The first bytes at offset zero are 0x43 0x57 0x43 0x4C 0x52 0x0D 0x0A 0x31 0x30 0x30 0x0D 0x0A, which correspond to the string "CWCLR..100" (with carriage returns and line feeds).

Various apps that use files with this extension

These apps are known to open certain types of CLR files. Remember, different programs may use CLR 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 CLR file formats, example files, or compatible programs. Please use the links below or email us at submit@file.org to discuss further.