.PDE File Extension
Arduino Sketch
| Developer | Arduino |
| Popularity |
4.4 | 77 Votes |
What is a PDE file?
A PDE file is a software program created for use with Arduino, an open-source electronics prototyping platform. It contains source code written in the Arduino programming language. PDE files were used to control Arduino circuit boards, but have since been replaced by .INO files.
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The Arduino electronics prototyping platform allows developers to create and install basic programs, called sketches, on a variety of specialized circuit boards. Sketches can perform simple functions, such as making an LED installed on a circuit board blink, or complex functions, such as transmitting data over the Internet. Developers create Arduino sketches in the Arduino Integrated Development Environment (IDE), which previously saved sketches as PDE files.
To avoid internal file association conflicts, Arduino began saving sketches as .INO files with the release of Arduino 1.0. The Arduino IDE can still open PDE files, but it now saves all sketches as INO files.
How to open a PDE file
PDE files are meant to be opened and edited in the Arduino Integrated Development Environment (cross-platform) To open a PDE file in Arduino, select File → Open from the program's menu bar.
Because PDE files are plain text files, you can also open them in any text editor, including:
- Notepad++ (Windows)
- Apple TextEdit (Mac)
- GitHub Atom (cross-platform)
Programs that open PDE files
Processing Development Environment Source Code File
| Developer | Processing |
| Popularity |
2.4 | 25 Votes |
Source code file written in the Processing programming language; may contain functions, variables, and other programming constructs; used for storing Processing programs, called "sketches," and running them within the Processing IDE; can be used for programming images, animations, and interactions.
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Each PDE file is stored in its own folder when saved from the Processing IDE. It is saved with any other program assets, such as images. The project folder and PDE filename prefix have the same name. When the PDE file is run, it is opened in a Java display window, which renders and runs the resulting program.
Processing is commonly used in educational settings for teaching basic programming skills in a visual environment.
Programs that open or reference PDE files
ProntoDoc for Excel Document Template
| Developer | Step Function |
| Popularity |
1.3 | 13 Votes |
File used by ProntoDoc for Excel (PDE), a Microsoft Excel plug-in used for authoring and auto-filling document templates; saves a document template and includes the page layout structure as well as template fields that are filled by data from one or more source databases (SQL Server, SharePoint, and Oracle are supported); used for generating .XLSX, .PDF, and .XPS documents using data from small to enterprise-level databases.
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ProntoDoc for Excel, a companion product of ProntoDoc for Word(PDW), is used in business environments for generating reports and other business documents.