A DBF file is a database file format that organizes data into records. It was originally used by the dBASE database management system to store tables of data and later adopted by similar database management system packages. The file format is appealing because of its combination of a simple structure and support for data types appropriate for business use. The header record defines the structure of the DBF file and contains any other information related to the table, while data records follow the header and contain the actual text of the fields. The DBF file format is used in various applications, including geospatial formats Shapefile, Coverage, and MapInfo. To open a DBF file, one can use software such as Microsoft Excel, LibreOffice Calc, or DBF Viewer.