DCM File

What are DCM files and how to open them

Are you having problems opening a DCM 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 DCM files.

What is a DCM file?

DCM files have multiple uses, and DICOM Medical Imaging Bitmap is one of them. Read more about the other uses further down the page.

DICOM Medical Imaging Bitmap

Files that contain the .dcm file extension are most commonly associated with image files that have been saved in the DICOM image format.

DICOM stands for Digital Imaging and Communications in Medicine. This file format was created to distribute and view medical images using a standardized file format. The DCM file format was developed by the National Electrical Manufacturers Association.

In addition to medical images, DCM files may also contain patient information.

How to open DCM files

We have identified four DCM openers that are compatible with this specific type of DCM file.

Programs that open DICOM Medical Imaging Bitmap files

Last updated: October 22, 2026

All known file formats using extension .DCM

While DICOM Medical Imaging Bitmap is a popular type of DCM-file, we know of 4 different uses of the .DCM file extension. Different software may use files with the same extension for different types of data.

Atari Compressed Disk Communicator Image

Atari Compressed Disk Communicator Image files are compressed disk images used for Atari 8-bit computers. They store a full copy of all usable sectors from a floppy disk after compression by Bob Puff's Disk Communicator utility. These images preserve file structure and bootability, but must be decompressed to uncompressed formats (such as ATR) before being used by many emulators or hardware systems.

The format is created by Disk Communicator version 3.2 made by Bob Puff. It takes raw disk contents from an Atari disk, compresses them, and saves the result. The same program can restore such an image back to a blank floppy disk by decompressing it and writing all sectors.

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

DCM 3D Model

DCM 3D Model is a 3D scan format developed by 3Shape, used for dental models captured by devices such as TRIOS scanners, ScanIt Dental etc. It stores detailed scan geometry, including surface meshes with real-life color or texture, annotations, and metadata. It is the native format used by 3Shape software for exports and imports of dental scans.

The format is produced by 3Shape dental scanning systems and their software such as Unite, Dental System, Implant Studio. Scanning applications generate DCM files after captures are processed. The data inside can then be converted to more universal formats like STL, OBJ, or PLY (often with third-party tools or open-source converters) for use outside the 3Shape ecosystem.

DCM 3D Model files are structured as ZIP archives that contain an HPS (HIMSA Packed Scan) XML document. The XML holds geometry encoded in base64, including vertices and triangular facets. It includes optional texture (UV mapping and embedded images), single mesh-wide color, annotations and transformation or coordinate metadata. Several encoding schemas are possible: unencrypted (labeled CA, CB, CC) or encrypted (schema CE using Blowfish). The encrypted variant includes metadata such as a check value, package lock list, and flags for transform matrices, annotations, and other properties.

Byte signatures begin with an ASCII header like <HPS version="1.1"> near the start of the file, and internal tags include strings such as VERTICES VERTEX_COUNT, BASE64_ENCODED_BYTES, FACETS FACET_COUNT, COORDINATETRANSFORM, PACKED_GEOMETRY, TRANSFORMMATRIX, PROPERTY NAME, ANNOTATION TYPE, BINARY_DATA, SCHEMA, COLOR and others that help identify the format.

KiCad Documentation

KiCad Documentation is a text file used by KiCad's legacy schematic component library system to hold metadata about symbols. It complements a library file by storing human-readable information such as component descriptions, keywords, datasheet references and comments.

These documentation files are created and used by the Eeschema schematic editor in KiCad versions before 6.0. In those versions, each symbol library had two separate files: a library file containing symbol graphics, pins and fields, and a documentation file storing metadata. In KiCad 6 and later, the library and documentation are merged into one file format, so documentation files of this type are only read, not written, by the software.

Files start with a header line beginning with "EESchema-DOCLIB Version 2.0" at file offset zero. They include a separator string "END DOC LIBRARY" to mark the end of the metadata section. Typically the header contains versioning information, followed by entries for each symbol's documentation: descriptive fields, keywords, references, and comment lines.

Various apps that use files with this extension

These apps are known to open certain types of DCM files. Remember, different programs may use DCM 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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