PAL File

What are PAL files and how to open them

Are you having problems opening a PAL 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 PAL files.

What is a PAL file?

PAL files have multiple uses, and Applause Palette is one of them. Read more about the other uses further down the page.

Applause Palette

Applause is a graphic editing software application for MS-DOS by Ashton-Tate. It stores palette info in a PAL file.

How to open PAL files

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

Last updated: August 10, 2026

All known file formats using extension .PAL

While Applause Palette is a popular type of PAL-file, we know of 28 different uses of the .PAL file extension. Different software may use files with the same extension for different types of data.

ArtCAM Palette

We know that one PAL format is ArtCAM Palette. We have not yet analyzed in detail what these files contain and what they are used for. We're working on it.

CHAOS Attractor Palette

We know that one PAL format is CHAOS Attractor Palette. We have not yet analyzed in detail what these files contain and what they are used for. We're working on it.

CHAOS Barnsley Palette

We know that one PAL format is CHAOS Barnsley Palette. We have not yet analyzed in detail what these files contain and what they are used for. We're working on it.

CHAOS Toy Universe Palette

We know that one PAL format is CHAOS Toy Universe Palette. We have not yet analyzed in detail what these files contain and what they are used for. We're working on it.

Cream Software Palette Definition

We know that one PAL format is Cream Software Palette Definition. We have not yet analyzed in detail what these files contain and what they are used for. We're working on it.

CWPAL Color Palette

We know that one PAL format is CWPAL Color Palette. We have not yet analyzed in detail what these files contain and what they are used for. We're working on it.

Daneba Canvas Palette

We know that one PAL format is Daneba Canvas Palette. We have not yet analyzed in detail what these files contain and what they are used for. We're working on it.

Dark Reign Palette

We know that one PAL format is Dark Reign Palette. We have not yet analyzed in detail what these files contain and what they are used for. We're working on it.

DCTV Paint Palette

DCTV, short for Digital Composite Television, is a video digitizer for the Commodore Amiga home computer. It is a hardware device that makes it possible to grab an image from almost any video source. Associated software used PAL files for color palette information.

DIV Games Studio Palette

We know that one PAL format is DIV Games Studio Palette. We have not yet analyzed in detail what these files contain and what they are used for. We're working on it.

Dr. Halo Palette

Dr. Halo was one of the first paint programs for MS-DOS PCs, with the first version released in 1984. It stores color palette information in PAL files.

Dynamix Palette

Color palette data used in various games by Dynamix, e.g., A-10 Tank Killer and MechWarrior.

FM Towns Palette

We know that one PAL format is FM Towns Palette. We have not yet analyzed in detail what these files contain and what they are used for. We're working on it.

Matrox Palette

We know that one PAL format is Matrox Palette. We have not yet analyzed in detail what these files contain and what they are used for. We're working on it.

NeoDraw Palette

We know that one PAL format is NeoDraw Palette. We have not yet analyzed in detail what these files contain and what they are used for. We're working on it.

NeoPaint Palette

NeoPaint Palette files (extension .PAL) store a set of colours used by the NeoPaint graphics editor to define its working colour palette. These files let the user choose, save and reuse a specific list of colours when drawing or editing images, ensuring consistency in colours across artwork or projects. NeoPaint is a graphics studio for MS-DOS and Windows that supports many image formats and tools for bitmap, photograph editing, icon and sprite design.

NeoPaint writes .PAL files when you save or export a palette from within the program. Once created, a NeoPaint .PAL file is read by NeoPaint to load those specific colours into its palette system for use in painting, retouching, icon-making, or converting images with limited colour depth. Artists might share these files so that others using NeoPaint can use the same colour set.

Internally the file begins with an ASCII signature "NeoPaintPaletteFile..(C)" (bytes 0x4E 65 6F 50 61 69 6E 74 20 50 61 6C 65 74 74 65 20 46 69 6C 65 0D 0A 28 43 29) at offset zero.

PAL opener for Windows

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

PaintShop Pro Palette

We know that one PAL format is PaintShop Pro Palette. We have not yet analyzed in detail what these files contain and what they are used for. We're working on it.

Programs that open these PAL files

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

Papillon Palette

We know that one PAL format is Papillon Palette. We have not yet analyzed in detail what these files contain and what they are used for. We're working on it.

PI Image Palette

PI was an image editing application for the Commodore Amiga home computer. It stored color palette information in PAL files.

PiXCL Text Palette

The PiXCL Text Palette file is a palette file used by the PiXCL image-processing language to store collections of colour definitions. These files are created within PiXCL when building or saving a custom palette of colours for use in graphics or image display tasks. They allow the user to define exactly which RGB colour entries form a palette which PiXCL programs can later apply to images, graphics tools, or other palette-aware operations.

PiXCL writes .PAL text palette files; these are meant to be human-readable and editable, typically stored as ASCII text. When using PiXCL, a user will generate a palette with commands or helper tools, save it to a .PAL file, and later load it in PiXCL scripts or windows to apply those colours to pens, brushes, backgrounds or overlays. Outside PiXCL the .PAL text file might be examined or edited with a plain text editor, but only PiXCL guarantees proper parsing and correct behaviour from its commands when using these files.

The file starts with the ASCII header "PiXCL-PAL" at byte offset zero. The rest of the format is text, under PiXCL's "text Palette" type, meaning the entries are stored as readable definitions (for example lines containing RGB triplets), not binary data.

Programs that open these PAL files

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

RIFF Palette

We know that one PAL format is RIFF Palette. We have not yet analyzed in detail what these files contain and what they are used for. We're working on it.

Sid Meier's Civilization Palette

We know that one PAL format is Sid Meier's Civilization Palette. We have not yet analyzed in detail what these files contain and what they are used for. We're working on it.

Surface-water Modeling System Palette

Surface-water Modeling System (SMS) is a program for building and simulating surface water models. It is a graphical user interface and analysis tool used by engineers and scientists. It stores color palette information in PAL files.

Programs that open these PAL files

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

Train Simulator Colors Palette

We know that one PAL format is Train Simulator Colors Palette. We have not yet analyzed in detail what these files contain and what they are used for. We're working on it.

Twisted Metal (PC) Palette

We know that one PAL format is Twisted Metal (PC) Palette. We have not yet analyzed in detail what these files contain and what they are used for. We're working on it.

White Wolf Productions Palette

We know that one PAL format is White Wolf Productions Palette. We have not yet analyzed in detail what these files contain and what they are used for. We're working on it.

ZSoft PhotoFinish Palette

PhotoFinish is an image editor released by ZSoft in 1994. It stored color palette information in PAL files.

Programs that open these PAL files

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

Various apps that use files with this extension

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