Tips to open CBL file

Can't open the CBL file? You are not the only one. Thousands of users face similar problems every day. Below you will find tips on how to open CBL files as well as a list of programs that support CBL files.

CBL file extension

File Name COBOL Source Code Format
File Category Developer Files

The CBL file is supported on 3 operating systems. Depending on your operating system, you may need different software to handle the CBL files. Below is a summary of the number of programs that support and open the CBL file on each system platform.

Operating systems
  • 5
  • 1
  • 2
  • 0
  • 0
  • 0

What is CBL file?

The file with the extension CBL is the Developer Files file type. In addition to this file, the Developer Files category includes 1205 related files. COBOL Source Code Format is most often found on 3 operating systems. Although it can be found with greater or lesser success on any operating system, it will only be useful on Linux, Mac OS, Windows. This file type can also be opened by 7 other programs. The NetCOBOL, PSPad, COBOL IDE Project, Liant programs will also handle the file when the OpenCOBOL program does not fulfill its role.

How to open CBL file?

An often recurring problem with COBOL Source Code Format is that CBL is not associated with the correct program file. This causes the file CBL to open by system applications not designed for this purpose, or to display a message that there is no associated program. How to solve such a problem?

The first thing you should do is just "doubleclick" on the CBL file icon you want to open. If the operating system has an appropriate application to support it and there is also an association between the file and the program, the file should be opened.

Step 1. Install OpenCOBOL

The first step is to check if the computer has the OpenCOBOL program installed. To do this, enter the name OpenCOBOL into the system search engine. If we do not have this program, it is worth installing it, as it will help you automatically associate the file CBL with OpenCOBOL. Later in this article you will find a list of programs that can open CBL files.

Step 2. Create association of OpenCOBOL with CBL files

However, it may happen that the application itself does not cause the CBL file to open in the OpenCOBOL application, but you can set it manually. This option is available from the level of Properties of a specific file available in the context menu. The window will show, among other things, the type of the file and the information by which the program is used to launch the file. Using the "Change" button we can set the program to handle this type. If there is no software on the list, simply select "Browse" and manually select the directory where the application is installed. However, it is important to check the "Always use the selected program ..." box, this will allow you to permanently associate the CBL file with the OpenCOBOL application.

Step 3. Update OpenCOBOL to the latest version

If, despite the association of the OpenCOBOL program with the COBOL Source Code Format file, the file still does not open, check the program version and possibly update it to the newest version.

Step 4. Check for the following problems with the CBL file

If the above steps do not help, you can assume that the file itself is not correct. This could be due to the file itself, the cleanest issues are:

Very often, the file may be size 0 or incomplete. This is most often caused by a problem while downloading the CBL file. The only repair option is to download the file again.
The computer may have fallen victim to a computer virus or hacker. A quick virus scan using an up-to-date antivirus program should clear up any doubts. Some antivirus vendors also provide free online scanners. For the best results, we will scan the entire operating system, not just our CBL file. Sometimes virus-infected CBL files cannot be recovered, so make a backup in advance.
This can happen especially when the program is dynamically developed and the structure of the CBL files changes over time. On their websites, developers usually offer free solutions to such problems, e.g. in the form of a conversion program or an older version of the program.
There can be many reasons for this. Repairing is very dependent on the file type. Some programs offer the ability to automatically repair CBL file corruption.
The program indicates that the file is encrypted or corrupted. The encrypted file CBL except for the special designation, works normally, but only on the device where it was encrypted, before transferring it to another machine, decryption is required.
Some of the system directories are excluded from modification. The problem is only writing to the file, not reading it. Copying the CBL file to another location will fix the problem.
This problem only occurs with more complex files. Some file types can only be opened in one program at a time. Closing other programs should help. Sometimes you have to wait for the session to the file CBL to close. However, some background programs may block the CBL file while scanning. If nothing helps, please reset the device.