CLY File

What are CLY files and how to open them

Are you having problems opening a CLY 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 CLY files.

What is a CLY file?

CLY files have multiple uses, and ACT! Contact Layout is one of them. Read more about the other uses further down the page.

ACT! Contact Layout

ACT! Contact Layout files are used by the contact management application ACT! LLC for defining how the contact detail screen appears. These files are created by ACT!'s built-in layout designer when a user saves or customizes the layout for showing contact information. The purpose of a layout file is to control which fields appear, their order, how tabs are organized, field labels, and visual styles in the contact window of the ACT! application.

When creating or editing contact layouts in ACT! (for versions such as ACT! 6.0, ACT! Premium, ACT! for Web, etc.), users operate via the Layout Designer. After arranging fields from contact records (including built-in and user-defined fields), setting up field entry order ("Tab"/"Enter" stops), grouping fields as needed, arranging tabs, graphic objects, and layout tools, the user saves that design. On saving, ACT! produces a contact layout file using this format so that it becomes one of the selectable layouts for contact records. The program uses one of these files as the "Default Contact Layout" setting if it is configured that way.

From a technical standpoint, the files are in a proprietary binary format specific to ACT!. They begin with a unique identifier visible in the first bytes (for example a signature around "CActFileHeader YLC"). Internally, they contain object lists and style lists such as ViewProperties, TextFieldObject, TextStyleList, FillStyleList, FrameStyleList, etc., indicating layout objects, formatting definitions, style sheets, and positioning parameters.

How to open CLY files

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

Last updated: August 31, 2026

All known file formats using extension .CLY

While ACT! Contact Layout is a popular type of CLY-file, we know of 2 different uses of the .CLY file extension. Different software may use files with the same extension for different types of data.

The Print Shop Deluxe Card Layout

We know that one CLY format is The Print Shop Deluxe Card Layout. 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 CLY files. Remember, different programs may use CLY 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 CLY file formats, example files, or compatible programs. Please use the links below or email us at submit@file.org to discuss further.