# Get the data format of a file

Get the data format of a file by using the [GuessFileType method](https://help.qlik.com/en-US/sense-developer/November2025/Subsystems/EngineJSONAPI/Content/service-doc-guessfiletype.htm).

Recognized file formats are:

* CSV for Delimited

* FIX for Fixed Record

* DIF for Data Interchange Format

* EXCEL\_BIFF for Microsoft Excel (XLS)

* EXCEL\_OOXML for Microsoft Excel (XLSX)

* HTMLfor HTML

* QVD for QVD file

* XML for XML

* QVX for QVX file

* JSON for JSON format

* KML for KML file

## Example

The goal is to get the data format of a file. The name of the file is books.xml.

The client sends:

```
{
  "jsonrpc": "2.0",
  "id": 12,
  "method": "GuessFileType",
  "handle": 1,
  "params": [
    "AB8A2202-B853C624-22FCF5E7-8E28162D-DF4B5E8C",
    "E:\\TFS\\Ver12.00\\dev\\ft-core\\test\\Platform\\qlikviewTests\\ProtocolTester4Net\\TestData\\Util\\books.xml"
  ]
}
```

The engine returns:

```
{
  "jsonrpc": "2.0",
  "id": 12,
  "result": {
    "qDataFormat": {
      "qType": "XML",
      "qDelimiter": {
        "qNumber": 0
      },
      "qCodePage": 0,
      "qHeaderSize": 0,
      "qRecordSize": 0,
      "qTabSize": 0
    }
  }
}
```

The data format of the file books.xml is returned. The type of the file is XML.