An ARH file is a rare extension with multiple meanings, so the best way to identify it is by checking context; many ARH files come from Siemens ProTool—older industrial HMI software—where they act as compressed project packages for storing or backing up HMI work, making this likely if the file came from factory equipment, PLC/HMI technicians, or folders mentioning Siemens, ProTool, WinCC, STEP7, S7, or HMI, while in other cases ARH refers to an ArheoStratigraf project used in archaeology for documenting stratigraphy and building diagrams like a Harris Matrix, which fits if the file came from excavation records or folders labeled contexts, trench, stratigraphy, matrix, or layers.

To identify your ARH file correctly, the most immediate method is opening it with 7-Zip or WinRAR because some ARH files function as archives; if it opens and lists files or folders, you can extract and examine items like images, configs, project data, or databases—often indicating a Siemens/ProTool package—while if it doesn’t open, the file may still be valid but proprietary to ProTool or ArheoStratigraf, and you can further test by copying the file and renaming it to `.zip` or `.rar` to see if it extracts, with the proper approach depending on your goal: extracted assets may be all you need, but full project access requires the original software.

Because many ARH files function similarly to ZIP-based bundles, tools like 7-Zip and WinRAR are handy even when you don’t know the program yet; if they open, the internal files—configs, images, logs, databases—instantly reveal the file’s nature and let you extract assets, but if they can’t, the ARH may just be a proprietary project format, and renaming a copy to `.zip` or `.rar` can sometimes expose a normal archive underneath, making this quick test a simple, low-effort way to understand the ARH and extract anything useful.

An ARH file isn’t a single-purpose file type because ".ARH" isn’t controlled by a global standard and is reused across unrelated software, meaning two files with the same extension may contain totally different structures; context is the key—Siemens automation projects typically use ARH as a compressed HMI package, whereas archaeological setups use it as an ArheoStratigraf project—and proper identification comes from examining its origin, surrounding files, and whether it behaves like an extractable archive.

In real use, ".ARH" functions more as a label than a format, allowing different software to assign it to unrelated data; thus an automation-sourced ARH might be a Siemens/ProTool HMI package containing screens, configurations, alarms, and tag databases, while an archaeology-sourced ARH could be an ArheoStratigraf project with stratigraphy links and diagram information, and similar filenames may mask these differences, so identifying it requires checking context and testing with tools like 7-Zip to distinguish between an archive and a proprietary project.

You can determine an ARH file’s nature by checking the *context around it*—folder names, neighboring files, and workflow—since ".ARH" can mean different things; when it sits in automation-related folders with Siemens, ProTool, WinCC, STEP7/S7, PLC, or alarm/tag references, it’s likely a Siemens ProTool compressed project, but when stored in archaeology folders referencing trench, stratigraphy, layers, or context numbers and surrounded by drawings, photos, or excavation spreadsheets, it’s probably ArheoStratigraf, and if still unclear, trying 7-Zip helps: archive-like behavior suggests a packaged project, and failure to open implies proprietary software is needed Here's more information in regards to universal ARH file viewer stop by our web-site. .