What is a .ASP file?
The file extension .ASP stands for Active Server Page. This type of file is a webpage that is designed and created by a web developer. Unlike simple HTML pages, an ASP file is stored on a web server and can include scripts that are written in programming languages like VBScript or JavaScript.
When a user accesses an ASP file through a web browser, the server where the file is hosted processes these scripts. The server then generates HTML (the standard language for creating web pages) based on the ASP scripts and sends this HTML to the user's web browser. As a result, the user sees a webpage in their browser that can display dynamic content, meaning the content can change based on interactions or other inputs.
ASP files are particularly common on websites that use Microsoft technologies. They are often hosted on Windows servers that run Microsoft Internet Information Services (IIS), which is a web server application that supports ASP file processing. Websites built with ASP.NET, a framework for building dynamic websites, also use ASP files.
To open or edit an ASP file, you can use several different programs: 1. **Microsoft Visual Studio Code** - A versatile editor that supports many programming languages including those used in ASP files. 2. **File Viewer Plus** - Available from Microsoft, this program can open and display the content of ASP files. 3. **Any web browser** - While a browser can't process the server-side scripts in ASP files, it can be used to view the final HTML output that the server sends to the browser. 4. **Any text editor** - Simple text editors like Notepad can open ASP files for basic editing, but won't support processing the scripts. 5. **Microsoft IIS** - This server software can process ASP files and is necessary for hosting and testing them in a live server environment. 6. **Adobe Dreamweaver 2021** - A web development tool that provides more advanced features for editing ASP files and visually designing web pages. 7. **Adobe Fireworks** - Although discontinued, it was previously used for designing web graphics that could be included in ASP pages. 8. **Microsoft Visual Studio 2022+** - A more advanced development environment that supports ASP and many other programming languages. 9. **ES-Computing EditPlus** - Another text and code editor that supports various file types including ASP.
These tools provide different levels of support for working with ASP files, from simple text editing to full-service web development environments.
Verification
Our goal is to help people find the most up-to-date information about file extensions for Windows, Mac, Linux, Android and iOS. We researched over 10,000 file extensions and their respective programs that open those files. If you want to suggest edits or updates about .ASP file formats, example files, or programs that are compatible. Please contact us.