3 file types use the .fm file extension.

What is an FM file?

An FM file is a document created with Adobe FrameMaker, an application used to author, enrich, manage, and publish technical documentation. It stores information about the structure of a page that is set to be published for print or the web. FM files may store pages that are meant to be individually published or published as part of a FrameMaker book ( .BOOK file).

More Information

Category: Page Layout Files

FileMaker Database

An FM file may also be a database created by an early version of Claris FileMaker or FileMaker Pro. It contains one or more tables of data. For example, an FM file might contain a business's inventory list or contact list.

FileMaker and FileMaker Pro are data management programs that allow businesses to track inventory, organize projects, and manage contacts. Nashoba released the original FileMaker for Mac in 1985. In 1990, Claris (which purchased Nashoba) released the first version of FileMaker Pro for Mac; Claris made the program available for Windows in 1992.

Early versions of FileMaker and FileMaker Pro, such as FileMaker Pro 2, saved users' databases as FM files. While current versions of FileMaker Pro cannot open FM files, you can still access the data your FM files contain, by converting them to newer FileMaker Pro database formats.

You can open an FM file with FileMaker Pro (Windows, Mac). To open an FM file with a current version of FileMaker Pro, you must first convert the file to the current FileMaker Pro database format. For example, to open an FM file with FileMaker Pro 12, you must:

Programs that open FM files

Updated: August 31, 2022

FeatureCAM Part

An FM file may also be a part file created by Autodesk FeatureCAM, a computer-assisted manufacturing program used to produce machining instructions for mechanical parts. It contains a set of features that define a part's shape. Using FeatureCAM and an FM file, machinists can export instructions that allow a computer numerical control device to produce a real-life version of the part the FM file describes.

Machining shops use computer-assisted manufacturing (CAM) and computer numerical control (CNC) applications to help them design and produce mechanical parts. FeatureCAM is a CAM application that allows machinists to design mechanical parts and output NC codes, which a CNC device can use to produce the part.

The parts machinists design in FeatureCAM are saved as FM files. Each FM file is comprised of a set of features, which contain instructions about how a CNC application should machine them.

FM files are often linked to several ancillary files, which use the same filename as the FM file but different extensions, such as .TXT , OP, TL, TDB, FDB, and CDB. FeatureCAM uses these ancillary files to load an FM file more quickly. However, you can open an FM file in FeatureCAM even if you do not possess its linked ancillary files. FeatureCAM will recreate the ancillary files when you open your FM file.

After a machinist finishes adding features to a FeatureCAM part, they can produce an NC code for that part (usually saved in a TXT file). The machinist can then transfer their NC code to a CNC device, which will use the code to produce a real-life version of the part.

NOTE: FeatureCAM was previously developed by Engineering Geometry Systems and DelCam.

You can open an FM file in Autodesk FeatureCAM (Windows). To do so, select [m]File → Open[/] from the program's menu bar. Then, navigate to and open your FM file.

Programs that open FM files

Updated: September 16, 2021