An ARH file isn’t governed by one universal format, making context crucial; in industrial automation it often belongs to Siemens ProTool as a compressed HMI project used for storage and backups, especially when found with Siemens- or PLC-related terms, while in archaeological workflows it may instead be an ArheoStratigraf project containing stratigraphy documentation and Harris Matrix diagrams, commonly appearing in excavation folders labeled layers, contexts, trenches, or matrix.

To determine what kind of ARH file you’re dealing with, the quickest approach is opening it in 7-Zip or WinRAR, since certain ARH formats are archive containers; if it opens and reveals directories or internal files, you can extract and inspect items like project folders, config data, images, or database files—usually pointing toward a packaged project format such as Siemens/ProTool—whereas if 7-Zip reports an error, the ARH may still be intact but proprietary and meant for its original program, with an extra trick being to duplicate the file and rename it to `.zip` or `.rar` to see if it decompresses, and ultimately if your aim is just retrieving assets the extracted contents may suffice, but full viewing or editing requires the software that created it.

Because many ARH files are essentially compressed bundles, tools like 7-Zip or WinRAR are worth trying early, since they can instantly confirm whether the ARH is a browseable archive; if it opens, the internal files—project directories, configs, images, logs—usually reveal what software it belongs to, and you can extract items without needing the original app, while an inability to open typically means the format is proprietary, and renaming a copy to `.zip` or `.rar` can expose hidden archives, making this a simple way to identify the ARH and recover content.

An ARH file cannot be reliably identified by extension alone since ".ARH" is a reused, non-standard extension; determining its type depends on its origin—industrial automation environments use ARH for packaged HMI/PLC projects, and archaeology uses it for ArheoStratigraf data—and checking whether it extracts in 7-Zip helps confirm if it’s an archive or proprietary.

If you cherished this article and also you would like to collect more info pertaining to ARH file recovery generously visit the webpage. In practice, ".ARH" marks the file without specifying its format, because unrelated software may use the same extension for different purposes; automation-derived ARH files may be Siemens/ProTool HMI packages with screens, alarms, tags, and configs, while archaeology-derived ARH files may be ArheoStratigraf projects containing stratigraphy, context links, and diagram layouts, meaning files named similarly can differ completely, and proper identification depends on finding the source, checking adjacent files, and running neutral tests like 7-Zip to see if it opens as an archive or requires proprietary software.

You can typically pinpoint the type of ARH file by examining the *surrounding clues*—folder names, companion files, and the workflow source—since the extension itself is not definitive; in automation contexts with Siemens, ProTool, WinCC, STEP7/S7, PLC, HMI, tags, or alarms present, the ARH is likely a Siemens ProTool project package, whereas in archaeology folders labeled trench, context, stratigraphy, matrix, layers, or site and bundled with excavation documents or images, it is probably ArheoStratigraf, and if uncertain, attempting to open it with 7-Zip will reveal whether it behaves like an archive or needs its original software.