Open ACF File

ACF extension files can acquire different formats depending on the application that creates them, some of which you will see below:

Steam Application

In this space, an ACF extension file is a cache file used by Valve Steam, a software package used for downloading games.

Actually, Valve Steam is a digital video game distribution platform developed by Valve Corporation.

The ACF file saves information related to the downloaded software and is used for the original download as well as game updates.

ACF files are used by newer versions of the Steam content delivery system.

Basically the ACF file replaced the older versions, with extension GCF and NCF.

X-Plane Aircraft Simulator

In this case, the ACF file is an airplane file used by X-Plane, a realistic flight simulator for pilots and sim hobbyists.

X-Plane is a flight simulator produced by Laminar Research with a desktop version that is available for macOS, Microsoft Windows, and Linux, while a mobile version is available for Android, iOS, and webOS.

The ACF file contains data describing aircraft properties such as engine power, flight physics, mass properties, and limits.

You can create an ACF file using Plane-Maker, which is a utility that comes with X-Plane, it does not allow you to create a 3D model, it only works to determine the layout of the plane's shapes and basic aerodynamic properties.

You can also use the AC3D application with the X-Plane plugin to create a 3D model in the X-Plane OBJ format.

The ACF file contained aircraft data in binary format, until X-Plane version 10, now it contains data in text format.

Microsoft Agent

In this particular case, the ACF file is a data file that describes a character created for Microsoft Agent, an interactive animation program.

Microsoft Agent is a technology with which you add animated characters to facilitate the user's interaction with the computer.

These types of characters replace the configuration wizards, for example, or rather transform them into animated characters that ask the user questions and give the different guidelines they have to follow.

The ACF contains character data that can be uploaded via the HTTP protocol.

The ACF is saved along with the corresponding ACA file, which contains animation data for the character.

Microsoft Agent technology has been discontinued since the release of Windows 7.

Adobe Photoshop

In the latter case, the ACF file is a revolution kernel file created by Adobe Photoshop, an image-editing program.

Photoshop is an image editing software package and suite developed by Adobe Systems for Windows and Mac OS devices.

This is Adobe's star tool, compatible with Windows and macOS, which has been incorporating improvements over the years to become the most complete photo retouching tool, and the favorite of professionals in the sector.

The ACF contains an NxN kernel matrix of values used to manipulate the neighboring pixels surrounding a given pixel, to dim, sharpen, emboss, or perform other raster graphics operations on an image.

It can also contain positive and negative values, as well as mathematical expressions.

One of the advantages of an ACF file is that once the matrices are saved, they can be applied repeatedly to the images.

Software to open and work with an ACF file

• Steam Application
• X-Plane Aircraft Simulator
• Microsoft Agent
• Adobe Photoshop