What is a BPM file?
A .BPM file is primarily a Business Process Model created by Bizagi Process Modeler. Businesses use these files to map, design, and document their internal workflows and procedures. Internally, a standard Bizagi .BPM file uses the common ZIP compression format to bundle XML data, images, and configuration settings into a single package.
Because the .BPM file extension is used by multiple applications, it can contain different types of data. It may represent a standard BPMN file stored in XML format by the Object Management Group, an Illumina BeadChip manifest used for genomic microarray research, an SDL Trados AutoSuggest dictionary, or a Sybase PowerDesigner business model.
How to open BPM files
To open a standard Bizagi Process Modeler file on your computer, you need to install the free Bizagi software for Windows. If you work in genomic research, you must use Illumina GenomeStudio to read a .BPM manifest file.
Because a .BPM file has multiple possible meanings, viewer.online/bpm analyzes .BPM files to identify their exact format and creator software, shows which programs can open the file, and usually previews it. This helps you figure out exactly what kind of file you have without guessing.
Best practices and troubleshooting
If your computer does not recognize a .BPM file, do not force it open in a basic text editor unless you know it is a pure XML file. If the file is a Bizagi process model, opening it in a text editor will display unreadable characters. Instead, you can inspect the file manually by renaming the file extension from .BPM to .ZIP and extracting the inner contents with an archive tool like 7-Zip or WinRAR.
For sharing process models with colleagues who do not have the native software installed, we recommend file conversion to sensible target formats like .PDF, .PNG, or .DOCX on convert.guru.
Summary
Because .BPM files use the known ZIP format, viewer.online/bpm can safely open and display them online, eliminating compatibility problems.