What is the FRF file format?
Files with the .frf extension belong to the category of document template files.
What do FRF files contain?
Content of files with the .frf extension includes report templates generated using a library originally released as FreeReport. This library can be incorporated into applications developed in C++ and Delphi languages. In .frf files, developers store document elements such as:
- defined report structure,
- fields to fill,
- margins, headers, footers,
- text blocks.
Using these components from .frf files, developers build forms that are then automatically filled with application data at runtime.
What are FRF files used for?
Integrating the FreeReport library into the source code of an application enables the creation of a reporting module. It is most commonly used to generate printed or exported output from business and data-management applications. The library was later renamed to FastReport, which uses the .fr3 format - an XML-based successor - instead of .frf files. Fast Reports Inc. remains an active software company as of 2025, with its current product line built around .fr3 and .frx files.
Security & safety
RISK: LOWFRF files are passive binary report templates used only within Delphi development environments. They contain no executable code directly; their Pascal expressions execute only within the FastReport runtime context.
Format details
in a nutshell- FontMonger Intermediate Font (Ares Software) - Ares Software FontMonger (1990s, discontinued) reportedly used .frf for intermediate font conversion files - extremely rare today.
Programs that open FRF files
Windows1 app
FastReport VCL (legacy 2.x / FreeReport)
Paid FRF is a FastReport 2.x legacy format. Current FastReport VCL does not open FRF directly - use the migration utility or frx2xto30 Delphi unit to convert to .fr3 first. See fast-report.com for migration docs. Technical details
deep spec| Container | None - proprietary binary stream with no outer wrapper |
| Encoding | Binary |
| Byte order | Little-endian (Delphi/Windows convention) |
| Internal structure | Delphi DFM-derived binary serialization of a report object tree |
| MIME type | application/octet-stream |
| Typical file size | 4 KB - 75 KB |
| Report components | Bands (header, data, footer), memo/text fields, images, and layout parameters |
| Platform | Windows |
| Superseded by | .fr3 (FastReport VCL 3.x+, XML-based, from ~2002 onward) |
| Developer | Fast Reports Inc. (originally distributed as FreeReport, a free Delphi/C++ Builder component) |
| Partial magic bytes | 19 00 00 00 at offset 0 in approximately 30% of files; format has multiple binary variants with no universal signature |
| Released | circa 1998 (FastReport 2.x / FreeReport era) |
| Latest version | Superseded by .fr3 (FastReport VCL 3.x+, XML-based); FRF is FastReport 2.x era only |
FRF conversions
Community Q&A
asked by usersNo questions yet - be the first to ask about FRF files.
