.DDS file extension
How to open file with .DDS extension?
.DDS is the file extension developed by Microsoft Corporation for the needs of their proprietary software. The files with the .DDS extension belong to the "Graphic Files " category. The full name of this type of files is DirectDraw Surface. Files with the .DDS extension can be opened in several ways. The easiest is to install the manufacturer’s application. Fortunately, this is not the only method. There are many applications on the market that successfully open files with the .DDS extension. Below is a list of such applications. Among them are also applications fully free of charge for home use.
DirectDraw Surface
| Ads | OS | Software |
|---|---|---|
| WINDOWS |
 Adobe Photoshop  FastPictureViewer Professional  XnView  XnConvert  DirectX  Painkiller Overdose  Need for Speed SHIFT  Battlefield 1942  Crysis  Stronghold 3  FPS Creator Orbiter |
XMap XData Dataset
| OS | Software |
|---|---|
| WINDOWS |
Xmap |
After downloading and installing the software in our system, files with the .DDS extension should be automatically associated with the new application. With this association, the file can be opened by double-clicking the mouse. If for some reason we still cannot open the file with the .DDS extension, we still have one method. It involves the attempt to open the file from the installed application. Choosing from the menu "FILE", we perform the command "Open" and the explorer window we select the file we are interested in, and then we confirm by pressing enter. This method is more time-consuming, but enables us to definitively state whether we use the correct application to open the files with the .DDS extension. If we are sure of it, we then use the extended reference menu (shift key and right mouse button) and by selecting "Open With", we select the appropriate application and we permanently connect it with a file with the extension we are interested in.