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 what type of ARH file you have, the quickest real test is to try opening it with 7-Zip or WinRAR, because some ARH files are just container-style archives; if 7-Zip opens it and shows folders or files, you can extract them and look for clues like project structures, databases, images, or configs—often indicating a packaged project (commonly the Siemens/ProTool type), but if 7-Zip can’t open it, the ARH may still be valid yet proprietary, requiring the original software such as ProTool or ArheoStratigraf, and a helpful trick is copying the file and renaming it to `.zip` (or `.rar`) to see if it’s simply an archive under a different name, with extraction possible if it opens, while the correct opening method depends on your goal: if you only need assets and it extracts cleanly you may avoid using the original tool, but to view or edit the full project you’ll usually need the application that created it.

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 may represent unrelated formats despite the same suffix because ".ARH" lacks a universal definition, so the most reliable way to identify it is by context—automation workflows (Siemens/HMI/PLC) typically mean a packaged project, while archaeological workflows mean ArheoStratigraf—and by observing whether it behaves like an archive in tools such as 7-Zip before choosing the proper software to open it.

In practice, ".ARH" only tells you the label, not the internals, 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.

In case you have any kind of issues with regards to exactly where along with the best way to use ARH file format, you are able to e mail us in our own web-page. 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.