2 file types use the .inf file extension.

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What is an INF file?

An INF file is a plain text configuration file that defines what files are installed with a certain software program or update. It may also list the location of the files and the directories where the files are to be installed. INF files are used by the Windows operating system, or by the program or installer that includes the INF file.

More Information

Category: Settings Files

Inform Source Code File

An INF file contains Inform source code that can be compiled into an Interactive Fiction (IF) program by Inform, an IDE used to create IF programs. It stores plain text Inform source code (most often in the Inform 6 (I6) syntax ), which includes rules and behaviors for how the program can be played as well as playable game objects. INF files were replaced by .NI files with the release of Inform 7.

IF is like a literary video game. You can play through a narrative created by the author and can control characters with text commands and interact with the environment in the story. Inform is a free application that allows you to create and share custom IF stories that other users can experience.

INF files have been utilized through all of the versions of Inform to store source code that is compiled into a playable IF program. It is most notably used to contain I6 source code.

When compiling an INF file with Inform 6, the code will compile to a Z-machine .Z5 or .Z8 output file. If the program is less than 256 kilobytes, it compiles to the Z5 file and if the program is larger than 256 kilobytes, it compiles to the Z8 file.

How to create an INF file

You can create an INF file with any text editor. When you save the file, save it with the .inf file extension. You may need to instead save the file as a .TXT file, then manually change the .txt file extension to .inf .

You can open INF files with Inform 6 and Inform 7, then compile them to the appropriate output file to play the IF program.

Since INF files are saved in plain text, you can also open them with a plain text editor, such as Microsoft Notepad (Windows) or Apple TextEdit (macOS), and edit them. Also, Microsoft Visual Studio Code (multiplatform) is a useful source code editor that includes helpful syntax editing capabilities for viewing and editing INF files.

Programs that open INF files

Updated: November 20, 2020