The best way to know what type of data is in a file is to find out from the person or persons who created the file. In your case, since you got the file from the U.S. patent office, you should search the FAQs on their site to find out the format of the discs they supply and/or download and use the software that they supply to search the discs.

The second best way is to use the kind of format-snooping programs recommended by dorward.

The third best way is to use an online file format resource like this file extensions list. That list shows .dbo as a compiled dBase IV format. The problem with lists that name extensions is that more than one program can create extensions so you can't always trust the answer.

Unrelated to your question: do you have a good reason for searching the patents database? Do you know that searching it might actually harm your ability to protect a potential patent? If your interest is in protecting some invention, do yourself a favor and talk to a patents attorney.

In reply to Re: determining .db file type by jZed
in thread determining .db file type by dannoura

Title:
Use:  <p> text here (a paragraph) </p>
and:  <code> code here </code>
to format your post, it's "PerlMonks-approved HTML":


  • Posts are HTML formatted. Put <p> </p> tags around your paragraphs. Put <code> </code> tags around your code and data!
  • Titles consisting of a single word are discouraged, and in most cases are disallowed outright.
  • Read Where should I post X? if you're not absolutely sure you're posting in the right place.
  • Please read these before you post! —
  • Posts may use any of the Perl Monks Approved HTML tags:
    a, abbr, b, big, blockquote, br, caption, center, col, colgroup, dd, del, details, div, dl, dt, em, font, h1, h2, h3, h4, h5, h6, hr, i, ins, li, ol, p, pre, readmore, small, span, spoiler, strike, strong, sub, summary, sup, table, tbody, td, tfoot, th, thead, tr, tt, u, ul, wbr
  • You may need to use entities for some characters, as follows. (Exception: Within code tags, you can put the characters literally.)
            For:     Use:
    & &amp;
    < &lt;
    > &gt;
    [ &#91;
    ] &#93;
  • Link using PerlMonks shortcuts! What shortcuts can I use for linking?
  • See Writeup Formatting Tips and other pages linked from there for more info.