This article describes the various file formats that use the AVE file extension, including how to open and convert each type.

What to Know

  • Your AVE file could be an ArcView Avenue script.
  • Open one with a text editor like Notepad++, or with ArcGIS Pro.
  • Other AVE files could be settings files or videos.

What Is an AVE File?

A file with the AVE file extension is most likely an ArcView Avenue script that adds new functions to Esri’s ArcGIS program, but there are a couple other formats your AVE file could represent.

Some are Avid user settings files. They store user preferences for various Avid software programs and are sometimes saved with an AVS (Avid Project preferences) file.

If neither of those are correct for your file, it’s probably an Avigilon video file created by video surveillance hardware.

How to Open an AVE File

ArcView Avenue scripts open with ArcGIS Pro, formerly called ArcGIS for Desktop and originally known as ArcView. Since these are just plain text files, edit them in any text editor—like the Notepad program built-in to Windows or one from our Best Free Text Editors list.

AVE is also short for some technical terms like analog video equipment, AutoCAD visualization extension, application virtual environment, and ​augmented virtual environment. None of these, however, have anything to do with the file formats mentioned on this page.

Avid settings files can be opened with Avid’s Media Composer as well as the company’s discontinued Xpress program.

Open an AVE video file with Avigilon Control Center Player. This program also opens Avigilon backup video files (AVKs).

How to Convert an AVE File

It’s unlikely that an ArcView Avenue script should exist in any other format, though it is a text-based format, so you could technically save it as an HTML or TXT file. However, doing so would render the file useless for what it’s intended for in the ArcGIS application.

If an application tries to open the file but it’s the wrong application, or you’d rather have another installed program open it, you can change which program opens when you double-click the file in Windows.

The same concept applies to Avid files. They are used exclusively in Avid’s software, so changing the format to something else would make it unusable in Media Composer and Xpress.

Avigilon Control Center Player exports an Avigilon video to other formats (use a free video converter on the exported file if you need broader support). To export a screenshot of the video, use the PNG, JPG, TIFF, or PDF formats. AVE videos save to the common AVI video format. You can also use this application to export just the audio from the AVE file, to make a WAV file.

Still Can’t Open It?

If your file still won’t open, you might be confusing another file format for one of the formats mentioned above. This is easy to do if you’ve misread the file extension. Some files look like they are AVE files, but they’re actually using a different file extension.

For example, AVI is a video format that can’t open with some of the programs mentioned above. While the Avigilon software might be able to use it, ArcGIS is one example where opening an AVI video would show an error.

AVERY and AVA are other similar-looking file extensions that are unrelated to any of these formats. The former is used by Avery Design & Print as label files, and the latter is an eBook format that open with AvaaPlayer.

If you’re not dealing with an AVE file, research the file extension you see at the end of your file to find out what program you need to open it, make changes to it, or convert it to a different format.

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