Programming is one of the most important elements that we find within the world of computing, as it is a basic pillar for both web pages and application development. For this, there is a wide variety of languages, among which we can highlight the JSON format, which we will talk about next.
Today we are going to talk about JSON formatted files. We will learn what exactly they are, what they are used for and what advantages their use can provide us. We will also talk about programs that are designed to help us open and view the content of these files, as well as their editing. Finally, we will refer to the main problems due to which these types of files do not open correctly.
What is a JSON file format
JSON is the abbreviation for JavaScript Object Notation (JavaScript Object Notation) and is just one of many simple texts that were created as a subset of JavaScript, but given its versatility, it was quickly considered as an independent language, positioning itself as a alternative to the classic XML. Although there are many applications that use this format to exchange data, not all of them are capable of saving it, since the exchange takes place between computers connected to the Internet.
why use them
This type of file format is text-based , so they are not executable like an EXE file. Therefore, both people and computers can easily read and write to this file.
It is also compact and lightweight, and can be opened with most text editors, although not all allow editing. It contains a .json file extension that is quite similar to the XML file format, making it its main alternative.
This format maps easily to data structures used by most programming languages. And it is that almost all languages contain libraries or some function that can be read and written with JSON structures.
Main advantages
In their early days they were used to store simple data structures and objects, as well as to exchange data between web servers and web applications. However, nowadays they are used for other purposes as there are websites or search engines that use them.
For example, Mozilla Firefox uses them to save backup copies of your bookmarks, Google+ to save profile data, and NoSQL databases use it to store unstructured data. Also, compatible with different programming APIs, and is commonly used for AJAX web application programming.
In addition, it is used for web applications , since this file format is responsible for sending notifications to a web server from web applications, as well as for downloading the state of the web application.
Programs to open JSON files
JSON files are simple plain text files, so you can open them with any text editor. Windows does not automatically assign a raw editor to open this type of file, so we will have to choose the program manually. The tools that we will talk about next are designed so that we can use them to view and open JSON files , and some will even allow us to edit them.
memo pad
It is possibly the easiest way to be able to open a JSON file, being available in both Windows 11 and Windows 10 and other older versions of the Microsoft operating system, so everyone can access them without problems.
To do this, simply right-click on our file. This will open the context menu where we must select the “Open with” option. Here we must click on the “More applications” button so that they show us all the available programs that we can use. Here we choose Notepad and click OK. We can also run Notepad directly, click on the “File” tab and then on “Open” and select the desired file.
From this point on, we can read the file, edit it , and save any changes we need to make.
MozillaFirefox
It is one of the most popular and customizable open source web browsers. As we have mentioned before, Firefox uses this type of file to create a copy of its bookmarks, so it is possible to use this browser to open a JSON file, not only on Windows, but also on other operating systems such as Linux or macOS. We can download it for free from its website.
To do this, simply run it and open a new window where you can drag and drop the file. Alternatively, we can also use the previous method, by right-clicking on the file and choosing Firefox from the list of applications that appear in the context menu.
Mozilla’s browser takes care of interpreting the data for us, displaying it in a more readable way. The main drawback that we are going to find is that we can only see the file in Firefox, but in this case we will not be able to edit it.
Atom
It is one of the most popular free and open source editors and it can be used in a coding environment as it is compatible with languages like C++, Java, YAML, PASCAL and HTML etc, a plain text editor or a simple JSON or XML file reader . It has an intuitive interface with which you can compare and edit code between files.
To use it, simply download it from the developer’s website and install it. Once executed, click on the “File” tab in the upper left and select “Open File”. Now we only have to select the and open JSON file.
Notepad++
It is one of the most popular alternatives to Notepad as a plain text editor, greatly improving Microsoft’s, since it has many more functions since it is really used as a source code editor. It supports multiple programming languages and the ability to read and edit JSON files .
To do this, simply download Notepad++ for free from its website and install it. Once executed, we click on the “File” tab that we find in the upper left, we click on “Open” and select our file so that it opens and displays in the program interface. In addition, with this program it not only allows us to see them, but we can also edit them.
WordPad
Another program that we can find by default in Windows and that is a mix between Notepad and Microsoft Word from Office, with more functions than the first but less than the second. WordPad is a simple text editor capable of offering rich formatting options where you can choose different fonts, insert objects, set line spacing, etc. In addition, it is compatible with JSON, XML and DOCX formats, so it allows you to both open and edit these formats.
Since it is found by default in both Windows 10 and Windows 11, just search for it in the Start menu search box and run it. Once started, click on the File tab, located at the top left and click on open and select the file.
Microsoft Excel
If Excel is known for anything, it is for being the best-known and most used spreadsheet application worldwide, both by home users and professionals. Beyond creating tables, mathematical formulas or graphs, this popular Microsoft tool also allows you to read programming languages , such as JSON.
In order to use Excel, we need to buy its license through the Office office suite or through a subscription to Microsoft 365, available from 69 euros per year for personal use. Once we have it installed, we run it and open a spreadsheet. Then click on the “Data” tab. Here we locate the “Get and transform data” section on the left. Then we click on “Get data”, move the pointer over “From a file” and click on “From JSON” . All that remains is to locate it and select Open so that it appears in the spreadsheet.
JSON files are not opening, why?
JSON files not opening in Windows is a common problem faced by many users. There are different reasons why this can happen. The main reason is that we do not use the correct program. Therefore, if we do not have a suitable application on our PC that offers compatibility with this format, it will not be impossible to open it.
Thus, we must check if we have programs associated with the following JSON files:
- Firefox bookmark backups.
- Google gear manifest files.
- JavaScript target notation.
If we have problems opening this type of file, it may be due to its size . If we use Notepad, given its limitations, it only supports files of up to 100 kilobytes, so if it weighs more, we may have blocking problems or it may not be displayed correctly. For large files, other programs seen above such as WordPad, Atom, etc. are better.
Another way around this is to set a default application for this type of format, so that it opens JSON files by default. To do this, we access the Windows Settings menu by pressing the keyboard shortcut “Windows + I”. Then click on “Applications” and “Default applications”. Now in “Set a default file or link type” we write .json and click on “Choose a default value”. Finally, we will get a pop-up window that will ask us what program we want to use. We select it and leave the “Always use this application to open .json files” box checked.
