The file extension BOOT is associated with the InstallShield software application by Flexera Software, Inc. InstallShield is a Windows installation development application which is used by developers and development teams to build various InstallScript and Windows Installer (MSI) installers. The installers are used to facilitate the installation of applications for desktop web, mobile, and server environments. InstallShield is also used to build applications for virtualized environments and conventional MSI (Microsoft Installer) formats.
The BOOT file extension is categorized as a settings file type which stores settings in a plain text format that are used for the installation of programs and applications. The settings are part of an MSI (Microsoft Installer) file which is used for the installation storage, execution, and removal of various applications for the web, mobile, desktop, server, and virtualized environments.
BOOT files are stored in a package file which is used with the installer service on the client side known as an executable or EXE file. The EXE file then opens and installs the application to the appropriate environment as described above. For this reason, the file extension BOOT is typically named setup.BOOT and is accompanied with the corresponding files which assist with the installation of an application. The files which accompany the setup.BOOT files are usually identified by the filename setup.EXE and setup.INI.
How to Open BOOT Files
Since the BOOT file extension is a settings file type, the file is not meant to be opened manually by the average user to prevent inadvertently modifying the file contents. If you accidentally change the settings contained in a BOOT file, this could prevent the application from being installed properly.
On the other hand, if you are a developer and understand the codes and scripts involved with building an installation file, the file extension BOOT can be opened and edited using a variety of different applications and platforms.
The most common way to open a BOOT file is by using the InstallShield development application. InstallShield 2012 is offered in a demo version on the Flexera Software website and can also be obtained as a 21-day free trial and a full featured paid version on the same website as well. InstallShield is designed for use with the Windows operating system as well as various Windows development environments.
Since the file extension BOOT is stored in a plain text format, you can open the file using any text editing application provided you are a developer or at least understand how to interpret the file contents. If you are using the Windows operating system, you can open BOOT files with WordPad, Notepad, PSPad, TextPad, Geany, Open Office Writer, or Microsoft Word. This can be accomplished by right clicking on the BOOT file and then choosing Open With from the drop-down menu. Choose the text editing application you want to use or click on Browse if it is not listed in the menu to open the BOOT file.
If there is a reason to open and edit the file extension BOOT using Mac OS X, BOOT files can be opened with Apple TextEdit, AbiSource AbiWord, MacroMates TextMate, BareBones Software BBEdit, Bean OS X, or MacVim.
For the Linux operating system, you can use BSD Vi, AbiSource AbiWord, gEdit, GNU Emacs, Leafpad, Pico, Nano Editor, or Vim to open and view the contents of BOOT files.
