File Consumers Dictionary

Software and tools that consume (read, process, execute) files used by ConstructiVision v3.60 and v7.0.

Note

This dictionary covers software that uses the file types found in legacy ConstructiVision distributions. Each entry includes the software description, file types consumed, and modern compatibility notes.

7-Zip

Open Source Archive Manager

Property

Value

Type

Desktop Application

Developer

Igor Pavlov

Platform

Windows, Linux, macOS

Current Status (2026)

Active

Consumes:

  • .CAB — Microsoft Cabinet archives (including InstallShield variants)

  • .ZIP — Standard ZIP archives

  • .EX_ — Compressed files (detects MS COMPRESS format)

How It Consumes:

  • GUI: Open archive, extract files

  • CLI: 7z x archive.zip

  • Supports 500+ archive formats

Deprecation Status (2026): Active — preferred extraction tool

Security:

  • Scans archive structure for exploits

  • Does not execute extracted content

  • Warns about executable extraction

Compatibility:

  • Universal format support

  • Can extract InstallShield CABs (better than Windows built-in)

  • Cross-platform

Adobe Acrobat / PDF Readers

PDF Viewing and Editing Software

Property

Value

Examples

Adobe Acrobat Reader, Foxit Reader, Edge (built-in)

Current Status (2026)

Active

Consumes:

  • .PDF — Portable Document Format

How It Consumes:

  • Opens PDF for viewing/printing

  • JavaScript execution (if enabled)

  • Form filling, annotation

Deprecation Status (2026): Active — PDF ubiquitous

Security — Historical (Windows XP era):

  • JavaScript exploits common

  • Buffer overflow vulnerabilities

  • Automatic execution of embedded content

Security — Modern (2026):

  • Protected View by default

  • JavaScript sandboxed or disabled

  • Defender scans PDF content

Compatibility:

  • PDF format highly backward compatible

  • Older readers may not support newer features

AutoCAD

Computer-Aided Design Software

Property

Value

Type

CAD Application

Developer

Autodesk

Platform

Windows

Current Status (2026)

Active

Consumes:

  • .AC$ — Recovers auto-save files

  • .ARX — Loads native C++ plugins

  • .BAK — Recovers backup drawings (rename to .DWG)

  • .BHF — Binary help index (legacy)

  • .BMP — Image references

  • .CTB — Plot style tables

  • .CUI — Menu/toolbar customization

  • .DCL — Dialog definitions

  • .DWG — Primary drawing format

  • .DWL — Checks for file locks

  • .FAS — Compiled AutoLISP

  • .HLP — WinHelp files (legacy, via system)

  • .JPG — Image references

  • .LSP — AutoLISP source code

  • .MNC — Compiled menus

  • .MNR — Menu resources

  • .MNS — Menu source

  • .MNU — Menu definitions

  • .PDF — Underlays and attachments

  • .PNL — Tool palette panels

  • .SCR — Script files

  • .SHX — Shape/font files

  • .VLX — Visual LISP executables

  • .XDV — Database views

How It Consumes:

;; Load AutoLISP
(load "module.lsp")
(load "module.fas")

;; Load VLX
(vl-load-com)
(load "csv.vlx")

;; Load dialog
(load_dialog "dialog.dcl")
(new_dialog "dlg_name" dcl_id)

;; Load ARX plugin
(arxload "plugin.arx")

;; Run script
SCRIPT filename.scr

;; Load menu
(menuload "custom.mnu")

Deprecation Status (2026): Active — dominant CAD platform

Security — Historical (Windows XP):

  • SECURELOAD not yet implemented

  • AutoLISP could execute any system command

  • ACAD.LSP auto-execution vulnerability

  • No trusted path concept

Security — Modern (2026):

  • SECURELOAD controls LSP/VLX loading

  • TRUSTEDPATHS whitelist directories

  • Warning dialogs for untrusted code

  • ARX still has full process access

Compatibility:

File Type

Compatibility Notes

.ARX

Version-specific — must match AutoCAD exactly

.VLX/.FAS

Version-independent — forward compatible

.DWG

Version-specific — newer can read older

.LSP

Universal — syntax stable since 1980s

.DCL

Universal — works in all versions

.MNU

Legacy — migrated to CUI in 2006+

AutoCAD Help System

Built-in Documentation Viewer

Property

Value

Type

AutoCAD Component

Current Status (2026)

Active (web-based)

Consumes:

  • .BHF — Binary help index (legacy)

  • .HLP — WinHelp files (legacy, pre-2006)

  • Web-based help (current)

How It Consumes:

  • F1 key or HELP command

  • Context-sensitive help lookup

  • Legacy: WinHelp integration; Modern: browser launch

Deprecation Status (2026):

  • BHF/HLP: Deprecated

  • Web-based help: Active

Compatibility:

  • Legacy help files not functional in modern AutoCAD

  • Online help requires internet connection

AutoCAD LISP Engine

AutoLISP Interpreter

Property

Value

Type

AutoCAD Component

Current Status (2026)

Active

Consumes:

  • .FAS — Compiled AutoLISP bytecode

  • .LSP — AutoLISP source code

  • .VLX — Visual LISP packages

How It Consumes:

;; Source loading
(load "file.lsp")

;; Compiled loading
(load "file.fas")

;; VLX loading (auto-loads internal modules)
(load "app.vlx")

;; Evaluate expression
(eval (read "(+ 1 2)"))

Deprecation Status (2026): Active — core AutoCAD scripting

Security:

  • LISP can call Windows API via ActiveX/COM

  • (startapp) can launch external programs

  • File system access via (open), (read-line)

  • Network access via ActiveX objects

Compatibility:

  • Bytecode format stable — FAS from 2000 runs in 2026

  • VLX container format unchanged

  • Visual LISP extensions (vl-, vlax-) consistent

AutoCAD Menu System

Menu/Ribbon Loader

Property

Value

Type

AutoCAD Component

Current Status (2026)

Active

Consumes:

  • .CUI — Modern XML menus

  • .CUIX — Extended CUI

  • .MNC — Compiled legacy menus

  • .MNR — Menu resources

  • .MNS — Menu source

  • .MNU — Legacy menu definitions

How It Consumes:

;; Load menu (command)
MENULOAD

;; Load via LISP
(menuload "custom.mnu")
(menuload "custom.cui")

Deprecation Status (2026):

  • MNU/MNS/MNC: Legacy (migrated to CUI on load)

  • CUI: Active

Security:

  • Menus contain macros that execute commands

  • Macros can load and run LISP

  • Validated on load but still powerful

Compatibility:

  • MNU → CUI migration automatic but imperfect

  • Complex menus may need manual adjustment

  • CUI forward-compatible (mostly)

AutoCAD Plotting System

Print/Plot Engine

Property

Value

Type

AutoCAD Component

Current Status (2026)

Active

Consumes:

  • .CTB — Color-based plot style tables

  • .STB — Named plot style tables

How It Consumes:

  • PLOT command

  • Page Setup Manager

  • Batch Plot utility

Deprecation Status (2026): Active

Compatibility:

  • Plot style files forward-compatible

  • Stored in user profile or shared location

ConstructiVision

Tilt-Up Panel Design Software

Property

Value

Type

AutoCAD Add-in

Current Status (2026)

Legacy

Consumes:

  • .PRJ — Project configuration

  • .PRV — Project variables

How It Consumes:

;; Load project
(load_project "project.prj")

;; Read variables
(setq vars (read_prv "project.prv"))

Deprecation Status (2026): Legacy — application-specific

Compatibility:

  • Format documented in project toolchain notes

  • Plain text; can be parsed by any LISP

DWG Viewers

Drawing Viewing Applications

Property

Value

Examples

Autodesk Viewer (web), DWG TrueView, eDrawings

Current Status (2026)

Active

Consumes:

  • .DWG — AutoCAD drawings

  • .DWL — Respects file locks

How It Consumes:

  • Opens DWG for viewing only

  • No editing capability (or limited)

  • Often includes measurement tools

Deprecation Status (2026): Active — free viewers available

Security:

  • View-only reduces attack surface

  • No script execution (typically)

  • Safe for untrusted DWG files

Compatibility:

  • Must support DWG version

  • Autodesk viewers handle most versions

EXPAND.EXE

Windows File Expansion Utility

Property

Value

Type

Command-line Tool

Developer

Microsoft

Platform

Windows

Current Status (2026)

Active (included in Windows)

Consumes:

  • .EX_ — Compressed executables

  • ._ suffix files (any compressed type)

  • .CAB — Cabinet archives

How It Consumes:

expand source.ex_ destination.exe
expand -F:* archive.cab destination\

Deprecation Status (2026): Active — legacy support tool

Security:

  • Simple decompression; no execution

  • Output files need separate security scan

Compatibility:

  • Handles MS COMPRESS format from 1990s

  • Still included in Windows 11

Image Viewers

Graphics Display Applications

Property

Value

Examples

Windows Photos, IrfanView, XnView

Current Status (2026)

Active

Consumes:

  • .BMP — Windows bitmap

  • .JPG / .JPEG — JPEG images

How It Consumes:

  • File → Open

  • Shell integration (double-click)

  • Thumbnail generation

Deprecation Status (2026): Active

Security:

  • Image parsers historically had vulnerabilities

  • Modern viewers heavily hardened

  • Defender scans image files

Compatibility:

  • BMP/JPEG universally supported

  • No compatibility concerns

InstallShield Runtime

Software Installation Engine

Property

Value

Type

Installer Runtime

Developer

Flexera

Current Status (2026)

Legacy (v5.x); Active (modern)

Consumes:

  • .CAB — Cabinet archives (InstallShield format)

  • .CIF — Component information

  • .HDR — CAB headers

  • .INS — Compiled InstallScript

  • .LID — Language ID

  • .TAG — Data tags

How It Consumes:

  • Setup.exe loads runtime

  • Runtime reads INS bytecode

  • Extracts CAB contents

  • Executes installation steps

Deprecation Status (2026):

  • v5.x/6.x format: Deprecated — no modern runtime

  • Modern InstallShield: Uses MSI engine

Security — Historical (Windows XP):

  • Full admin privileges

  • No UAC integration

  • Ran arbitrary code

Security — Modern (2026):

  • Legacy installers blocked by Defender

  • Require compatibility mode

  • No supported runtime

Compatibility:

  • v3.60 installer requires Windows XP/Vista

  • Use VM for legacy installation

  • Unshield tool can extract CAB contents

PDF Readers

See Adobe Acrobat / PDF Readers

Recovery Processes

File Recovery Systems

Property

Value

Type

Various (manual, automatic)

Current Status (2026)

Active

Consumes:

  • .$$$ — Temporary backup files

  • .BAK — Backup files

  • .BK1 — Secondary backups

How It Consumes:

  • Manual: Rename to original extension

  • Automatic: Application recovery dialog

  • AutoCAD Drawing Recovery Manager

Deprecation Status (2026): Active — standard recovery pattern

Security:

  • Backup files may contain sensitive data

  • Should be deleted after recovery

  • May persist after application closes

Compatibility:

  • Universal pattern

  • Rename to original extension to recover

REGEDIT / Windows Registry

Windows Configuration Database

Property

Value

Type

System Component

Developer

Microsoft

Platform

Windows

Current Status (2026)

Active

Consumes:

  • .REG — Registry import files

How It Consumes:

  • Double-click: Imports to registry

  • Right-click → Merge

  • regedit /s file.reg (silent import)

Deprecation Status (2026): Active — core Windows component

Security — Historical (Windows XP):

  • No UAC prompts

  • Could modify HKLM without elevation (as admin)

  • No confirmation for silent imports

Security — Modern (2026):

  • UAC required for HKLM modifications

  • Confirmation dialog before import

  • Defender may scan REG files

Compatibility:

  • REGEDIT4 (ANSI) and REGEDIT5 (Unicode) both supported

  • Text format stable

Note: v3.60’s WINCSS.REG is InstallShield CREG binary — not standard REG format; cannot be imported via REGEDIT.

Shockwave Player

Web Browser Plugin (Discontinued)

Property

Value

Type

Browser Plugin

Developer

Adobe (originally Macromedia)

Active Period

1995-2019

Current Status (2026)

Discontinued

Consumes:

  • .DCR — Shockwave Director movies

How It Consumed:

  • Browser plugin registered for DCR MIME type

  • Embedded via <object> or <embed> tags

  • Rendered Director content in browser

Deprecation Status (2026): Discontinued

  • Plugin discontinued April 2019

  • No modern browser supports NPAPI plugins

  • Content effectively inaccessible

Security — Historical:

  • Major attack vector

  • Numerous CVEs over lifetime

  • Reason for discontinuation

Compatibility:

  • None — no supported player

  • Requires legacy VM with old browser

  • Content should be considered lost

Unshield

InstallShield CAB Extractor

Property

Value

Type

Command-line Tool

Developer

Open source (David Eriksson)

Platform

Windows, Linux

Current Status (2026)

Active

Consumes:

  • .CAB — InstallShield Cabinet archives

  • .HDR — CAB headers

How It Consumes:

# List contents
unshield l data1.cab

# Extract all
unshield x data1.cab

# Extract specific component
unshield -g "Application" x data1.cab

Deprecation Status (2026): Active — essential for legacy extraction

Security:

  • Read-only extraction

  • No code execution

  • Safe for analyzing legacy installers

Compatibility:

  • Handles InstallShield 5.x/6.x CAB format

  • Works with v3.60 distribution files

  • May not handle all InstallShield variants

Windows

Operating System

Property

Value

Type

Operating System

Developer

Microsoft

Current Status (2026)

Active

Consumes:

  • .DLL — Dynamic link libraries (loaded by applications)

  • .EXE — Executes applications

  • .INF — Device driver installation

  • .INI — Legacy configuration (via API)

  • .LNK — Shortcut resolution

How It Consumes:

;; DLL Loading (pseudocode)
LoadLibrary("library.dll")
GetProcAddress(handle, "FunctionName")

;; EXE Execution
CreateProcess("application.exe", ...)

;; INF Installation
Right-click → Install
SetupCopyOEMInf()

;; INI Reading
GetPrivateProfileString("section", "key", "file.ini")

;; LNK Resolution
Shell parses shortcut target

Deprecation Status (2026): Active

Security — Windows XP:

  • No ASLR/DEP enforcement

  • No UAC

  • DLL search order hijacking

  • Admin accounts common

Security — Windows 11 (2026):

  • ASLR/DEP mandatory

  • UAC for admin operations

  • Controlled Folder Access

  • Virtualization-based security (VBS)

  • Smart App Control for unknown apps

Compatibility:

File Type

Windows 11 Notes

.EXE (32-bit)

Runs via WoW64

.EXE (16-bit)

Not supported

.DLL (32-bit)

Loads in 32-bit processes only

.INF

Driver signing required for kernel

.INI

API still supported

.LNK

Fully supported

Windows Explorer

File Management Shell

Property

Value

Type

System Component

Developer

Microsoft

Current Status (2026)

Active

Consumes:

  • .LNK — Resolves and follows shortcuts

  • .ZIP — Extracts compressed archives (built-in)

How It Consumes:

  • Double-click shortcut → Opens target

  • Double-click ZIP → Opens as folder

  • Right-click ZIP → Extract All

Deprecation Status (2026): Active

Security:

  • Mark-of-the-Web applied to extracted files

  • Defender scans ZIP contents

  • SmartScreen checks extracted executables

Compatibility:

  • Shortcut format stable since Windows 95

  • ZIP support native since Windows XP

Windows Help (WinHelp / WINHLP32.EXE)

Legacy Help Viewer

Property

Value

Type

System Component

Developer

Microsoft

Active Period

Windows 3.0 - Windows XP

Current Status (2026)

Discontinued

Consumes:

  • .HLP — WinHelp 4.0 help files

  • .GID — Full-text search index

How It Consumed:

  • Application calls WinHelp() API

  • F1 key launches context-sensitive help

  • Help → Contents menu item

Deprecation Status (2026): Discontinued

  • Not included in Windows 10/11

  • Microsoft provided download for Windows 8.1 and earlier

  • No official support

Security — Historical:

  • HLP files could contain macros

  • Macros could execute code

  • Vulnerabilities led to deprecation

Compatibility:

  • Not functional on Windows 10/11 without third-party viewer

  • Convert to CHM or web-based help

  • Content extraction tools available

Windows Installer (MSI)

Modern Installation Engine

Property

Value

Type

System Component

Developer

Microsoft

Current Status (2026)

Active

Consumes:

  • .CAB — Cabinet archives (embedded or external)

  • .MSI — Windows Installer packages

How It Consumes:

  • msiexec /i package.msi

  • Double-click MSI file

  • Extracts CAB, applies transforms, runs actions

Deprecation Status (2026): Active — standard Windows installer

Security:

  • Code signing verification

  • UAC integration

  • Defender scans packages

Compatibility:

  • Does not read InstallShield 5.x format

  • Standard CAB files compatible

  • MSI format stable since Windows 2000

Windows Setup / Device Installation

Driver and Device Manager

Property

Value

Type

System Component

Developer

Microsoft

Current Status (2026)

Active

Consumes:

  • .INF — Setup information files

How It Consumes:

  • Right-click → Install

  • Device Manager automatic detection

  • pnputil /add-driver driver.inf

Deprecation Status (2026): Active

Security:

  • Kernel drivers require signature (WHQL or EV cert)

  • User-mode drivers less restricted

  • UAC required for installation

Compatibility:

  • INF syntax stable

  • Signing requirements increased over time

WinZip

Commercial Archive Manager

Property

Value

Type

Desktop Application

Developer

Corel

Current Status (2026)

Active

Consumes:

  • .ZIP — Standard ZIP archives

  • .CAB — Cabinet archives

How It Consumes:

  • Double-click opens archive

  • Drag-and-drop extraction

  • Context menu integration

Deprecation Status (2026): Active but declining

Security:

  • AES decryption for encrypted archives

  • Virus scanning integration (optional)

Compatibility:

  • Standard formats

  • Largely replaced by 7-Zip, Windows built-in

Summary Tables

By Current Status

Status

Consumers

Active

7-Zip, AutoCAD, Windows, Windows Explorer, PDF Readers, DWG Viewers

Legacy

InstallShield Runtime (v5.x), ConstructiVision

Discontinued

Shockwave Player, WinHelp

By File Type Consumed

Consumer

File Types

AutoCAD

.AC$, .ARX, .BAK, .BHF, .BMP, .CTB, .CUI, .DCL, .DWG, .DWL, .FAS, .HLP, .JPG, .LSP, .MNC, .MNR, .MNS, .MNU, .PDF, .PNL, .SCR, .SHX, .VLX, .XDV

Windows

.DLL, .EXE, .INF, .INI, .LNK

7-Zip / WinZip

.CAB, .ZIP, .EX_

InstallShield Runtime

.CAB, .CIF, .HDR, .INS, .LID, .TAG

Discontinued

.DCR (Shockwave), .HLP/.GID (WinHelp)

Security Risk by Consumer

Risk Level

Consumers

High

Windows (EXE/DLL), AutoCAD (ARX), InstallShield Runtime

Medium

AutoCAD (LSP/VLX), REGEDIT (REG)

Low

Image Viewers, PDF Readers (modern), Archive Tools

Status: Complete | Updated: 2026-01-20