File Extension TMP

File type: Temporary File

About the TMP file type:

If Windows cannot find the appropriate program associated with .TMP files, then your registry may have errors. Check your Windows registry for errors (includes file association errors).

Temporary (ie .TMP) files are usually generated by software for one of two reasons: either as a backup file or as a cache. In the case of cache files these can be generated automatically by programs that run out of memory space to allocate for tasks. Although innovations in systems architecture and software design have reduced the need for the generation of .TMP files some software will still need them. Temporary files should be deleted by the program that generated them, however sometimes, due to a software crash or poor software design the .TMP files arent removed and, potentially can take up a substantial amount of room on your hard-drive.

Additional Information:
TMP files can only properly be opened using the software that created them. If it isnt immediately obvious which program generated the file there are a few tricks you can use to identify the software. Firstly you can search through the file using a text editor looking for any hints about the original generator. Alternatively the folder in which the file is sits might also give an indication, as well as the time and date the file was created. Since the text editor will only show you the contents of the file, but will not necessarily restore the formatting correctly, be careful not to save the opened .TMP file since this might render the file unreadable to the program that created it. Specific software that can open .TMP files include the program that created the file (if known), and any text editor.