What is a .XAR file?
The .XAR file extension stands for a Xara Xtreme Drawing file. This type of file is a vector format, which means it uses lines and shapes to create images, making it ideal for editing photos, creating illustrations, and developing web graphics. Vector files are great because they can be resized without losing quality. The .XAR file was originally used by several versions of Xara software, including Xara Xtreme, Xara X, CorelXARA, and Xara Photo & Graphic Designer. It's also compatible with Xara Designer Pro. Before it was known as .XAR, this file format was referred to as the Flare file format.
If you have a .XAR file, you can open it using specific programs like Xara Xtreme for Linux, Xara Designer Pro, or Xara Photo & Graphic Designer. These programs are designed to work with .XAR files, allowing you to edit or view the contents of the file.
Interestingly, there's a bit of confusion because the .XAR extension is also associated with a feature in Microsoft Excel. Starting from Excel 2003 and in later versions like Excel 2016, 2019, and 365, Excel uses an Auto-Recover feature that can create files with a .XAR extension. These are not related to Xara Xtreme Drawings but are instead temporary files Excel generates to recover unsaved work in case of a crash. You can adjust how often Excel saves these recovery files and where they are stored through the program's options menu. Once you save your work, close the spreadsheet, or quit Excel, these .XAR files are automatically deleted to avoid clutter. However, if you find them taking up space on your computer, you can safely delete them without affecting your Excel spreadsheets.
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