An ARH file isn’t a standardized single-format extension, so determining its purpose requires examining where it came from; frequently it’s linked to Siemens ProTool in industrial automation, where it’s a compressed HMI project package used for backups or transfers—likely if seen alongside Siemens or PLC-related terms—whereas in archaeological work an ARH file may be an ArheoStratigraf project capturing stratigraphy data and Harris Matrix diagrams, often found in folders related to contexts, trenches, layers, or site documentation.

To identify the ARH type accurately, the fastest trial is opening it with 7-Zip or WinRAR, because some ARH files are essentially archives; if the tool opens it and displays internal folders or files, you can extract them and inspect elements like images, configs, or database items—usually signaling a packaged Siemens/ProTool-style project—while a failure to open means the file might still be valid but proprietary, requiring ProTool or ArheoStratigraf, and you can also try copying and renaming the file to `.zip` or `. If you adored this write-up and you would like to receive even more information pertaining to ARH file format kindly see our own website. rar` in case it’s a simple archive under another name, with the real "correct" method depending on your needs: extraction works if you only want assets, but full project editing needs the original software.

Because many ARH files function as bundled project containers, they’re sometimes stored as compressed containers similar to ZIP files, which is why trying 7-Zip or WinRAR is useful even before you know the source program; if 7-Zip opens it, you’ll usually see folders and files—configs, databases, images, logs—that reveal the file’s purpose and let you extract assets without the original software, while a failure to open simply suggests a proprietary format, and a good trick is renaming a copy to `.zip` or `.rar` to test whether it extracts, making this quick archive test an easy way to identify the ARH type and possibly recover what you need right away.

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.

Practically speaking, ".ARH" tells you almost nothing about the file’s structure, so an ARH from industrial automation might be a Siemens/ProTool HMI project with screens, tags, alarms, and configurations, whereas one from archaeology may be an ArheoStratigraf file holding context relationships and diagram setups; even identical filenames can hide totally different data, making context and archive tests (like opening with 7-Zip) the safest way to determine whether it’s an extractable package or a proprietary project.

You can often figure out an ARH file’s identity by looking at the *surrounding context*—its folder, adjacent files, and the work environment—because the extension itself doesn’t specify the format; ARH files found in machine/HMI backups with keywords like Siemens, ProTool, WinCC, STEP7/S7, PLC, panel, or alarms are usually Siemens ProTool packages, while ARH files in archaeology directories marked trench, context, stratigraphy, layers, matrix, or site and accompanied by drawings, photos, or spreadsheets generally indicate ArheoStratigraf projects, and if uncertain, testing with 7-Zip will show whether it’s an extractable archive or a proprietary file.