cds 

CDS File Extension

Have a problem opening a .CDS file? We collect information about file formats and can explain what CDS files are. Additionally we recommend software suitable for opening or converting such files.

What is the .CDS file type?

The filename extension .cds primarily belongs to the ChemDraw Style Sheet (.cds) or, on Mac OS, ChemDraw Stationery (.cds) file type introduced by and associated with ChemDraw. ChemDraw is a standalone tool for visualizing chemical formulas integrated in the ChemOffice suite by PerkinElmer (formerly, CambridgeSoft). By design, each ChemDraw document must reference a style sheet (.cds) that defines its visual appearance. For instance, all new ChemDraw documents have the default style sheet (New Document.cds) applied to them. ChemDraw allows to create style sheets (.cds) from any previously opened document by selecting the .cds file type in the file save dialog. On Windows, ChemDraw (and, generally ChemOffice) style sheets (.cds) reside in the %SystemDrive%\ProgramData\CambridgeSoft\ChemOffice201X\ChemDraw\ChemDraw Items folder. Any custom style sheet (.cds) saved in the ..\ChemDraw Items folder becomes available for selection in the Open Templates menu under File.


Alternatively, the .cds extension denotes the ConceptDraw Slide Show (.cds) file type that belongs to ConceptDraw, a commercial innovative and visually polished office productivity suite developed for Microsoft Windows and Apple Mac OS by CS Odessa. Beside word processing and project management, ConceptDraw allows to display any document in presentation mode using full-screen view with slide navigation. To have a ConceptDraw document automatically open as slide show, it has to be saved using the .cds file type. It is a convenience feature that allows to start running a presentation just by opening its .cds file.


Another file type represented by the .cds extension is Delphi/Embarcadero TClientDataSet Database (.cds). TClientDataSet is the name of a component of the Delphi (Embarcadero) software development environment that provides an in-memory dataset to support database operations. When written to a file on disk, datasets created by this component are saved using a binary version of the XML TClientDataSet format (.cds). Records inside a .cds 'database' can be accessed by the application that created it or by using a CDS viewer utility.



Software to open or convert CDS files

You can open CDS files with the following programs: 

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