What is a BOM file?
A .BOM file is a Bill of Materials file. It contains a list of items, components, or files needed for a project or installation. Because the .BOM extension has multiple possible meanings, it is most frequently a Mac OS X Bill of Materials File created by Apple. These files act as a BOMStore to track which specific components and scripts are deployed by the macOS Installer.
Alternatively, a .BOM file can be an Electronic Bill of Materials exported by EDA and CAD software like Altium Designer, Autodesk EAGLE, or OrCAD. Engineers use these files to list required electronic parts for circuit boards. It can also act as a structural steel list from Tekla Structures or a simple spreadsheet for Microsoft Excel.
How to open BOM files?
Because .BOM files come from very different systems, viewer.online/bom can analyze .BOM files to identify the exact format and creator software, inspect the file structure, extract readable text, and check whether an online preview is available. We recommend using viewer.online/bom to identify the actual format of your file before attempting to edit it.
Best practices and troubleshooting
If you want to view the contents of an Apple .BOM file locally on a Mac, you can use the `lsbom` command-line tool in the Terminal. If you have a plain-text electronics .BOM, you typically open it with a text editor, spreadsheet software, or the original CAD program.
To share electronics or spreadsheet .BOM files with others, you can convert them. We recommend file conversion to sensible target formats on convert.guru. Common target formats for data sharing include .CSV, .XLSX, and .PDF.
Summary
viewer.online/bom is useful for identifying, inspecting, and understanding .BOM files without installing software or dealing with compatibility problems.