What is the MPR file format?
An .mpr file is a Visual FoxPro Generated Menu Program - a plain-text xBase source file that defines an application's menu structure using FoxPro procedural commands.
.mpr files are not written by hand; they are generated output. The Visual FoxPro Menu Designer stores menu definitions in a binary table pair: the .mnx file (menu structure table) and its companion .mnt memo file. When the developer clicks Generate in the IDE, FoxPro reads those table records and writes an .mpr source file using DEFINE MENU, DEFINE PAD, DEFINE POPUP, and ON SELECTION PAD commands to describe every menu item and its associated action.
The .mpr is then compiled to an .fxp (compiled FoxPro program) before execution at run time. End users never see .mpr files directly. Developers can inspect or patch them in a text editor, but hand-editing is discouraged because re-generating from the .mnx will overwrite any manual changes.
Files are encoded as plain text (CP437 on DOS-era FoxPro, Windows-1252 on Windows versions) and range from under 1 KB for simple menus to around 50 KB for large enterprise application menus.
Visual FoxPro was discontinued by Microsoft; extended support ended in January 2015, with VFP 9.0 SP2 (2007) as the final release. No official successor exists. The community-maintained VFPX project continues to extend VFP 9 with OOP menu alternatives and other tools, and legacy .mpr files remain in many still-running FoxPro business applications worldwide.
Security & safety
RISK: LOWPlain text source file; cannot execute by itself outside of the Visual FoxPro runtime. No malware vector in isolation. Treat as any legacy source code: keep in version control during migration projects.
Format details
in a nutshell- MapInfo Professional Report - MapInfo GIS software uses .mpr for print layout/report files; unrelated to FoxPro.
- Microsoft Project Resource - Older MS Project versions used .mpr for resource-related project templates.
Programs that open MPR files
Windows3 apps
NotePad++ text editor
Open-source Open the .MPR to read/edit the generated code. Syntax highlight may be set to 'FoxPro' if available, or plain text. 
Visual FoxPro 9.0
Paid Open the companion .MNX file in the Menu Designer; use Modify Menu → re-generate .MPR. VFP EOL January 2015; license still available second-hand. 
Visual Studio Code
Open-source Open the .MPR as plain text; install the 'FoxPro' VS Code extension for syntax highlighting of xBase/FoxPro code. Technical details
deep spec| Format type | Plain-text xBase procedural source code (generated file) |
| Text encoding | CP437 (DOS-era FoxPro 2.x) / Windows-1252 (Visual FoxPro on Windows) |
| Typical file size | 1 KB - 50 KB |
| Generation source | Produced by the VFP Menu Designer from .mnx (menu table) + .mnt (memo) - not hand-written |
| Key FoxPro commands | DEFINE MENU, DEFINE PAD, DEFINE POPUP, ON SELECTION PAD |
| Compilation output | Compiled by FoxPro to .fxp (compiled program) before execution; the .mpr itself is never executed directly |
| Hand-editing | Discouraged - re-generating from the .mnx table overwrites any manual edits |
| Companion files | .mnx (menu structure table), .mnt (memo file), .fxp (compiled output) |
| VFP version compatibility | VFP 3 through VFP 9; syntax is largely backward-compatible across versions |
| Target OS | MS-DOS (FoxPro 2.x); Windows 3.1 through Windows 10 (Visual FoxPro 3-9 era legacy apps) |
| Current status | Obsolete - VFP 9.0 SP2 (2007) is the final release; Microsoft extended support ended January 2015 |
| Released | FoxPro 2.x era, early 1990s; standardized in Visual FoxPro 3.0 (1995) |
| Latest version | Visual FoxPro 9.0 SP2 (final, 2007) - format unchanged |
MPR conversions
Community Q&A
asked by usersNo questions yet - be the first to ask about MPR files.
