What is the TAB file format?
A .tab file stores geospatial data in vector format. .tab is the native format for files created by MapInfo, a proprietary GIS format originally developed by MapInfo Corporation - now maintained by Precisely (formerly Pitney Bowes Software). The .tab file itself is a small ASCII text header that typically begins with the !table keyword; it does not hold spatial data directly. Instead, it binds a set of companion GIS files and stores information about datasets that make up a complete map and its elements, such as labels, drawings, and raster images. .tab files can also contain metadata.
A .tab file can link the following related file types:
.dat- data attribute files storing table records in native MapInfo format; also plain text, Excel documents, or Access databases..ind- index files for attribute table columns..map- binary map files that contain the actual geographical geometry data..id- files linking graphical objects to their corresponding attribute records.
For attribute data to be displayed on a given map, the related .id and .map files must be present alongside the .tab file. If no graphical data is needed, only .tab and .dat files are required. The format is also supported by ArcGIS Pro, QGIS, and the open-source GDAL/OGR library (ogr2ogr). The MITAB open-source library allows reading and writing .tab files, and the .tab header itself can be inspected with any plain text editor.
Security & safety
RISK: LOWMapInfo TAB is data, not executable, and is low risk. The practical pitfall is missing companion files: a lone .tab will not display. Get GIS software only from official sources (qgis.org, precisely.com); avoid "TAB viewer" download portals that bundle adware.
Format details
in a nutshell- Tab-separated values (TSV) text - A generic plain-text table where columns are separated by tab characters; opens in any text editor, Excel or LibreOffice - unrelated to GIS.
- Guitar/bass tablature - Music tablature files (e.g. older Guitar Pro or plain-text tabs) sometimes carry .tab; opened by tablature software, not GIS tools.
Programs that open TAB files
Windows4 apps
QGIS
Open-source Layer → Add Vector Layer, select the .tab (with companions present); the map renders immediately. 
ArcGIS Pro
Paid Add Data → the .tab (via the Data Interoperability / OGR support) to display or convert it. 
macOS1 app
Linux1 app
QGIS / GDAL (ogr2ogr)
Open-source ogr2ogr -f GeoJSON out.geojson in.tab - converts/inspects from the command line. Technical details
deep spec| File role | ASCII text header that declares the dataset schema and coordinate system; raw geometry and attributes are stored in binary companion files |
| File signature | Begins with `!table` on line 1, followed by `!version` on line 2 (no binary magic bytes; offset 0) |
| MIME type | `application/x-mapinfo-tab` |
| Companion files | `.map` (binary geometry), `.dat` (binary attribute table), `.id` (geometry-to-row index); all four files must share the same base name and reside in the same directory |
| Attribute storage | dBASE-like binary `.dat` file; supported field types: Character, Integer, Float, Decimal, Logical, Date |
| Geometry types | Point, Multipoint, Line, Polyline, Region (polygon), Arc, Ellipse, Rectangle, Rounded Rectangle, Text, and Collection objects |
| Coordinate system | Defined by a `CoordSys` clause inside the `.tab` header; supports dozens of named projections and datums including WGS84, NAD83, and UTM zones |
| Version declaration | `!version` line in the header records the schema version number (e.g., `300` corresponds to MapInfo Professional 3.x and later) |
| Optional index file | `.ind` file provides B-tree column indexes enabling fast attribute searches and queries within MapInfo Pro |
| Raster registration variant | A separate raster `.tab` variant registers georeferenced images (aerial or satellite) by embedding affine transformation parameters in the header |
| Seamless table support | Multiple tile `.tab` files can be registered into a single seamless logical layer via a master `.tab`, a native MapInfo feature for large area coverage |
| Style storage | Object display styles (colour, line weight, fill pattern, symbol type) are embedded in the binary `.map` file, not in the `.tab` header |
| Open-source support | MITAB (MIT-licensed C++ library) and the GDAL/OGR `TAB` driver both support reading and writing native MapInfo TAB datasets |
| Platform origin | Developed for Windows (MapInfo Professional); cross-platform read/write access available via GDAL/OGR on Windows, macOS, and Linux |
| Developer | MapInfo Corporation; ownership passed to Pitney Bowes Software and subsequently to Precisely (current maintainer as of 2019) |
| Released | early 1990s (MapInfo Professional) |
| Specification | www.precisely.com |
TAB conversions
Community Q&A
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