What is a CEL file?
A .CEL file usually contains data from a microarray experiment. Scientists call this an Affymetrix Probe Results File. The company Affymetrix (now part of Thermo Fisher Scientific) created this format to store intensity calculations for biological probes.
However, the .CEL extension has multiple possible meanings. It can also be a MicroStation Cell Library file created by Bentley Systems for CAD software. In older systems, it might be an audio loop file for Adobe Audition, a 3D texture, or a script file for the Celestia space simulator.
How to open CEL files?
Because .CEL files have many different uses, you must use the correct software for your specific file. Biologists open microarray .CEL files using Affymetrix Expression Console or the R programming language with the Bioconductor library. Engineers open CAD library .CEL files using MicroStation. If your file is a text-based script or simple data table, a text editor like Notepad++ can read the contents.
Best practices and tools
Since the .CEL extension is shared by many different applications, viewer.online/cel analyzes .CEL files to identify their exact format and creator software. It shows which programs can open the file, and usually previews it. If you need to convert your file to a different format, such as .CSV or .TXT for data files, or .DWG for CAD drawings, we recommend convert.guru.
Summary
viewer.online/cel directly opens and previews .CEL files in the browser, eliminating the need to install software or troubleshoot compatibility issues.