What Is a CDE File Extension?

The .CDE file extension typically signifies files made in CADKEY, a computer aided design package. CADKEY, which made two-dimensional and later three-dimensional wire-frame models, was very prevalent in the 1990s but is much less widely-used now. Later versions of CADKEY were released under the name KeyCreator, which can also read CDE files.

File Extensions

• File extensions or filename extensions are suffixes, typically around three characters long, which are separated from the main filename by a period. File extensions are used to indicate the type of file, both for the benefit of the user and so that the computer knows which program to use when opening the file. The CDE file extension stands for CADKEY Dynamic Extension.

CADKEY

• CADKEY was once very widely used in the field of computer-aided design. One version of the program produced two-dimensional wire-frame drawings, and this was commonly used during the 1990s. Later, CADKEY produced a three-dimensional version. CADKEY was the first three-dimensional computer aided design package for personal computer users. Files created on CADKEY were saved with the extension ".cde". In 2003, CADKEY was acquired by Kubotek USA, which marketed the software under the name KeyCreator.

Reading CDE Files

• Software other than CADKEY/KeyCreator may not be able to read files with the CDE extension. Kubotek USA provides a way around this problem: the official CADKEY website (kubotekusa.com/products/cadkey.html) features a downloadable CDE file reader that lets you open CDE files to view them. If you would like to edit CDE files as well as viewing them, you can download a trial version of the CADKEY/KeyCreator software from the same site.

Converting CDE Files

• While files in the CDE format can typically only be read by CADKEY/KeyCreator, more standard file formats such as DWG, DXF, IGES or STEP can be opened by various different packages. Therefore it may be useful to convert your existing CDE files into one of these formats. KeyCreator, the updated version of CADKEY, allows you to do this.