Exe file is an extension format that you will most certainly notice shortly after your first use of the computer. Those files are very common, so you will encounter them oftenly. If you came to this page wondering what does this strange file with “.exe” to its end does, be sure to get your answer right away.

So, what is an exe file? Exe format marks an execution file type, the one, that makes your computer run and install programs. Most common exe file that you can find on your computer is “setup.exe” which usually installs software and games, just like that.

There might also be an abundance of other exe files on your computer. Files like “unique_program_name.exe” are launching programs that are already installed on your computer. For example, to open your browser you’ve most likely double-clicked icon of a browser. The icon actually hides “browsername.exe” in its code, which allows this cute little picture to launch browser for you.

Some exe files could be self-extracting archives that contain data like pictures, music and video.

How to Open EXE Files?

As long as you’re using Windows operating system, there would be no problem in using exe files – just double-click on those files and they will almost immediately run for you: initiate a program installation, unpacking an archive or launching a program.

Mac exe file and Linux exe file are a whole different story. If you need to know how to run exe on mac, proceed further to the next paragraph.

How to Open EXE Files on Mac?

First of all, make sure that there is no Mac-native version of a program that you want to run on Mac. Popular programs are usually developed and released to match customer’s demand and people using Apple products almost always get Mac-native version of a program which is not an exe file.

Assuming that Mac-native version of exe file is not available, your best bet would be to use Windows emulator or any program that allows run Windows-specific files on Mac. These emulators include: Parallels Desktop, VMWare Fusion, Virtual Box, WineBottles and many more. Check those out if you need to open exe on Mac.

How to Open EXE File Format on Linux?

To open exe file on Linux, the best solution is to install Wine – a program that ensures Windows compatibility for Linux. This will provide you an ability to run Windows-specific exe files under Linux operating system.

How to Edit EXE File?

Most of the times, you can’t, and, frankly, there’s no need to. Only skilled programmer will experience an urge to edit exe file, but skilled programmer won’t probably end up on this page in the first place!)

How to Convert EXE File?

Converting exe to other formats takes special software. Don't try to just rename an exe file, it will ruin it forever! To get more detailed information on how to convert exe file format you can look up our suggestions on the top of this page or you can proceed straight to our convert exe to msi page!

Troubleshooting and Warnings

The most common error that is associated with exe files is “exe file stopped working”. There are a few reasons to it, listed below:

1. Temporary one-time crash caused by a minor bug. The solution is to reopen the file;
2. Compatibility error. This one is more tricky to solve: you need to right-click on a misbehaving exe file, choose Properties=> Compatibility=> Run this program in compatibility mode for, choose another Windows version from the drop-down menu and click “OK”;
3. Major bugs. If your program crashes all the time, you might want to re-upload it and re-install. Some vital data might have been lost from your exe file.

Warning! Note that not all of exe files are good for your computer. Malicious software may hide behind an exe file, so you should be very cautious when encountering those files. Remember, that music files are usually MP3 or AVI, not EXE, video files are MP4 or AVI, but never EXE and text files might be DOC, DOCX, RTF but never EXE.