MB File

What are MB files and how to open them

Are you having problems opening a MB 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 MB files.

What is a MB file?

MB files have multiple uses, and MapBasic Source Code is one of them. Read more about the other uses further down the page.

MapBasic Source Code

Files that contain the .mb file extension are most commonly associated with the MapBasic development environment. The MapBasic programming language is similar to the BASIC programming language, and it is used to create applications for MapInfo Professional.

MB files allow a user to customize the features and functions of the MapInfo Professional program and integrate the software with other software applications.

How to open MB files

We have identified one MB opener that is compatible with this specific type of MB file.

Programs that open MapBasic Source Code files

Last updated: August 9, 2026

All known file formats using extension .MB

While MapBasic Source Code is a popular type of MB-file, we know of 2 different uses of the .MB file extension. Different software may use files with the same extension for different types of data.

Maya Binary Scene

Maya Binary Scene files are files created by Autodesk Maya to record complete 3D scenes in a compact, computer-readable form. They store all the elements of a Maya project - geometry, cameras, lights, textures, shading, animation curves, scene graph connections, and rendering settings - in binary form rather than text. Maya writes these files when you choose the Maya Binary format to save or export your scene, especially when you want faster load/save times and smaller file sizes. The binary format is not human readable and cannot be edited with a text editor.

These files are the native scene format for Maya. When you open a .mb file, Maya itself reads the data and reconstructs your full project exactly as it was saved. Scenes saved in .mb include every Maya node and attribute supported by the version of Maya used. Because the format changed in Maya 2014 - switching to 64-bit indices - files saved in this format are not compatible with older versions of Maya.

Technically, .mb files use an IFF (Interchange File Format) style container, identified by specific magic numbers at the beginning: standard 32-bit-index scenes start with "FOR4" (hex 46 4F 52 34), and 64-bit-index scenes (introduced in Maya 2014) start with "FOR8" (hex 46 4F 52 38).

MB opener for Windows

We have identified one MB opener that is compatible with this specific type of MB file.

Various apps that use files with this extension

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