An Object Linking and Embedding (.dot)
.dot file signature | application/msword
An Object Linking and Embedding (OLE) Compound File (CF) (i.e.,OLECF)file format, known asCompound Binary File formatby Microsoft, used byMicrosoft Office 97-2003 applications (Word, Powerpoint, Excel, Wizard). Part ofMicrosoft'sStructured Storage (MSS)architecture for Component Object Model (COM)-basedoperating systems.[See also Excel, Outlook, PowerPoint, and Word "subheaders" at byte offset 512 (0x200).]There appear to several subheader formats and a dearth of documentation.There have been re
Magic Bytes
Offset 0
D0 CF 11 E0 A1 B1 1A E1
Sources: Apache Tika, Gary Kessler
All Known Signatures
10 signature variants are documented for .dot files across multiple sources.
| Hex Signature | Offset | Sources |
|---|---|---|
| D0 CF 11 E0 A1 B1 1A E1 | 0 | Apache Tika, Gary Kessler |
| 4D 69 63 72 6F 73 6F 66 74 20 57 6F 72 64 20 36 2E 30 20 44 6F 63 75 6D 65 6E 74 | 2080 | Apache Tika |
| 44 6F 63 75 6D 65 6E 74 6F 20 4D 69 63 72 6F 73 6F 66 74 20 57 6F 72 64 20 36 | 2080 | Apache Tika |
| 4D 53 57 6F 72 64 44 6F 63 | 2112 | Apache Tika |
| 31 BE 00 00 | 0 | Apache Tika |
| 50 4F 5E 51 60 | 0 | Apache Tika |
| FE 37 00 23 | 0 | Apache Tika |
| DB A5 2D 00 00 00 | 0 | Apache Tika |
| 94 A6 2E | 0 | Apache Tika |
| CF FA ED FE | 0 | Gary Kessler |
Extension
.dot
MIME Type
application/msword
Byte Offset
0
Risk Level
Safe
Validation Code
How to validate .dot files in Python
def is_dot(file_path: str) -> bool:
"""Check if file is a valid DOT by magic bytes."""
signature = bytes([0xD0, 0xCF, 0x11, 0xE0, 0xA1, 0xB1, 0x1A, 0xE1])
with open(file_path, "rb") as f:
return f.read(8) == signatureHow to validate .dot files in Node.js
function isDOT(buffer: Buffer): boolean {
const signature = Buffer.from([0xD0, 0xCF, 0x11, 0xE0, 0xA1, 0xB1, 0x1A, 0xE1]);
return buffer.subarray(0, 8).equals(signature);
}How to validate .dot files in Go
func IsDOT(data []byte) bool {
signature := []byte{0xD0, 0xCF, 0x11, 0xE0, 0xA1, 0xB1, 0x1A, 0xE1}
if len(data) < 8 {
return false
}
return bytes.Equal(data[:8], signature)
}API Endpoint
/api/v1/dot
curl https://filesignature.org/api/v1/dot
See the full API documentation for all endpoints and parameters.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a .dot file?
A .dot file is a An Object Linking and Embedding file. An Object Linking and Embedding (OLE) Compound File (CF) (i.e.,OLECF)file format, known asCompound Binary File formatby Microsoft, used byMicrosoft Office 97-2003 applications (Word, Powerpoint, Excel, Wizard). Part ofMicrosoft'sStructured Storage (MSS)architecture for Component Object Model (COM)-basedoperating systems.[See also Excel, Outlook, PowerPoint, and Word "subheaders" at byte offset 512 (0x200).]There appear to several subheader formats and a dearth of documentation.There have been re
What are the magic bytes for .dot files?
The magic bytes for An Object Linking and Embedding files are D0 CF 11 E0 A1 B1 1A E1 at byte offset 0. These bytes uniquely identify the file format regardless of the file extension.
How do I validate a .dot file?
To validate a .dot file, read the first bytes of the file and compare them against the known magic bytes (D0 CF 11 E0 A1 B1 1A E1) at offset 0. This is more reliable than checking the file extension alone, as extensions can be renamed.
What is the MIME type for .dot files?
The primary MIME type for .dot files is application/msword.
Is it safe to open .dot files?
An Object Linking and Embedding (.dot) files are generally safe to open. They are classified as low risk because they primarily contain data rather than executable code. However, always ensure files come from a trusted source.