Boardview files come in a dozen formats, and the extension alone does not always tell you which one you have. The good news is that a handful of formats cover almost every laptop board, and two viewers open nearly all of them. This guide compares the formats you will actually meet, so you know what to expect before you download.
Why there are so many formats
Boardviews are exported from board layouts for test equipment and service tools. Each test system and each service tool had its own file format, and ODMs exported to whatever their customer's service network used. Some formats are plain text, some binary, some compressed or encoded. Over time the repair community wrote viewers that read most of them — but support is never complete, and variants of the same format exist.
The formats at a glance
The table below summarises what we see across the catalog. In our files, .BDV is by far the most common laptop boardview format, followed by .CAD, .FZ, .BRD and .TVW.
| Format | Where you usually meet it | Typical viewer | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
.BDV | Many laptop boards from Compal, Quanta and Wistron designs | OpenBoardView, FlexBV | The most common laptop format; usually opens without trouble |
.BRD | Laptop, desktop and Apple boards | OpenBoardView, FlexBV | Several unrelated formats share this extension |
.FZ | Asus boards | OpenBoardView, FlexBV | Often compressed or encoded; some need a key |
.CAD | Laptop and desktop boards | FlexBV; some variants in OpenBoardView | Generic extension, text-based in most cases |
.TVW | Gigabyte desktop boards, recent LCFC (Lenovo) boards | FlexBV, dedicated TVW viewer | Rich data, often several layers |
.ASC | Some Asus and other boards | OpenBoardView, FlexBV | Often a set of several text files that belong together |
.GR, .BV, .BVR, .CST, .F2B | Less common | Varies | Try FlexBV first; support varies by version |
.PCB | Mixed | Varies | Sometimes a boardview export, sometimes a design file |
Viewer support changes between versions. Check the release notes of your viewer if a format matters to you.
Format by format
BDV
.BDV files are compact and well supported. If a board in the catalog has a BDV boardview, it is usually the easiest file to work with. Problems are rare and usually mean the download is incomplete or the archive was damaged.
BRD
.BRD is the most confusing extension. It covers at least three different things:
- Boardview BRD — the classic text or binary boardview formats used by service tools, opened by OpenBoardView and FlexBV.
- Apple-related BRD variants — used for many MacBook logic boards, supported by the main viewers.
- Cadence Allegro
.brd— a full PCB design file, not a boardview at all. It needs the design software or a dedicated converter.
If a .BRD file refuses to open and is several megabytes larger than you would expect, it may be a design file. More in How to Open .BRD Boardview Files (and Which BRD You Have).
FZ
.FZ is the usual Asus format. Files are often packed in a way that a viewer must decode first. OpenBoardView and FlexBV open most of them; some builds need a decoding key set in the configuration. Asus FZ files are named by the model and main board revision, which makes matching them to a board easy. Step-by-step help is in How to Open .FZ Boardview Files.
CAD
.CAD is a generic extension used by several older boardview tools, mostly for text-based exports. FlexBV opens the common variants; OpenBoardView reads some. Because the extension is generic, an occasional .CAD file is a design export rather than a boardview.
TVW
.TVW is the Tebo-ICT View format. These files often contain more than the usual boardview data — several layers and complete net names — which makes them excellent for tracing. In our catalog they appear mostly for Gigabyte desktop boards and recent LCFC (Lenovo) laptops. OpenBoardView does not handle most of them; FlexBV or the matching TVW viewer does. See the TVW boardview list.
ASC
.ASC boardviews are text exports that often come as a set of files describing the format, the pins and the test pads. Keep every file of the set in the same folder; opening only one of them gives an empty or broken view.
PCB
.PCB is used by several unrelated tools. Some .PCB files in repair archives are boardview exports that FlexBV can read; others are native design files from PCB design software. If the file is large and no boardview viewer recognises it, treat it as a design file.
How to tell what a file really is
When the extension does not help, a few checks do:
- Look at the size. Boardviews for a laptop board are usually from a few hundred kilobytes to a few megabytes. Much larger files are often design files or contain several boards.
- Open it in a text editor. Text-based formats (many BRD variants, CAD, ASC) show readable headers, part names and net names in the first lines. Binary or encoded formats show unreadable characters.
- Check the archive contents. Archives sometimes contain several files of a set, a readme naming the tool, or both a boardview and a schematic.
- Try both main viewers. A file that fails in one often opens in the other.
If none of that works, Boardview File Won't Open: Common Errors and Fixes lists the usual causes and fixes.
Which format to prefer when you have a choice
Many boards in the catalog have boardviews in more than one format. When you can choose:
- Pick the one matching your board revision first. A file in a convenient format for the wrong revision is worse than an awkward format for the right one.
- Prefer formats with net names and diode readings for diagnosis — TVW and some BDV and BRD files carry more information than bare exports.
- Prefer formats your main viewer handles for day-to-day work, and keep the others as backup.
- Keep the original archive. Re-saving or converting can lose data.
Organising boardview files on your own drive
Formats multiply quickly once you collect files for many boards. A simple structure keeps them usable:
- one folder per board code, named exactly as printed on the PCB (
LA-D312P,DA0R63MB6F1,X540MB); - inside it, the original archives untouched, plus an
unpackedfolder with the files you actually open; - a short text note listing the revision of each file, which viewer opens it and anything odd you noticed.
When the same board comes back months later, that note saves you from re-testing every file.
Converting between formats
Converting boardviews is possible in some tools but rarely necessary. Conversion can drop information such as part values, diode readings or layer data, and errors in conversion can mislead you. It is usually better to install a viewer that reads the original format.
FAQ
Which boardview format is the best?
There is no best format in general — the best file is the one for your exact board revision that opens in your viewer. Among common formats, TVW and BDV files tend to be the most complete.
Can one viewer open every format?
No single viewer opens everything. OpenBoardView and FlexBV together cover the vast majority of laptop boardviews; a few rare formats need the tool they were made for.
Why does the same board have boardviews in three formats?
Different service networks and test systems received exports in different formats, and all of them leaked over time. They usually describe the same layout.
Is a file with a .BRD extension always a boardview?
No. Cadence Allegro design files also use .brd. They are much more detailed and need different software.
Bottom line
Expect .BDV, .BRD, .FZ, .CAD and .TVW on most laptop boards, keep both OpenBoardView and FlexBV within reach, and remember that the extension is only a hint. Match the revision first, the format second, and use a text editor to identify any file that refuses to open.