Amateur Data Interchange Format (ADIF)

The Amateur Data Interchange Format (ADIF) is a file format that describes the structure of a file for storing or exchanging logbooks in the amateur radio service. A common practice among Amateur Radio operators is to maintain logs of all contacts made during an operating session. These logs can be kept in a paper logbook, but the typical practice is to use an automated logbook software application. Logbook information is frequently sent to related applications and on-line services for additional processing. It is de facto the standard for storing and exchanging general logbook information between amateur radio software applications.
The file name extensions for these files are .adi and .adx. The .adi format is more commonly used and supported by many applications. The .adx format, based on XML, is a new emerging format for ADIF files. It supports international characters using Unicode with UTF-8. 
== File structure ==
=== ADI (.adi file extension) ===
The ADI format consists of these elements:
* Physical structure: Each log entry consists of a series of Data Type Indicator tags followed by the associated data value. The tags are case insensitive . The tag consists of the field name and the character length of the attribute, separated by a colon. The end of a data record<eor>completes a log entry.
: Example:
: <call:5>KG0KG<band:3>80M<mode:3>SSB<qso_date:8>20200311<time_on:4>1904<eor>
: Each log entry contains mandatory information such as the callsign of the remote station, amateur radio band, operating mode (AM/FM/SSB/CW/RTTY etc.), date and time of contact. Additional information can include additional location information such as Country (defined by the numerical DXCC entity) and special Amateur radio operating award program references (such as US state or county) as well as other variants.
* Data Format Attributes: Some fields are required to conform to strict standards. Examples include Date (format YYYYMMDD) and time (format HHMMSS), which must be in UTC. Amateur band (format NNM, where N is an integer wavelength and M is a Metric system|metric unit of measure (example: <band:4>70cm).
* File structure: An optional header with information about the ADIF version and any software used to generate the file can be included, this entry is terminated with an End-of-Header <eoh>, followed by data records as defined in the physical structure.
: Example:
: <adif_ver:5>3.0.6<programid:5>MyLog<eoh>
=== ADX (.adx file extension) ===
The ADX format uses XML with UTF-8. The hierarchical structure consists of the root tag <ADX>, which contains a <HEADER> tag and at least one <RECORDS> tag with zero or more <RECORD> elements. The tag names and attributes are identical to those of the ADI format. 
Example of an ADX file:
 <? xml version = "1.0" encoding = "UTF-8"?> 
 <ADX> 
 <HEADER> 
 <ADIF_VER> 3.0.6 </ADIF_VER> 
 <PROGRAMID> MyLog </PROGRAMID> 
 <USERDEF FIELDID = "1" TYPE = "N" > EPC </USERDEF> 
 </HEADER> 
 <RECORDS> 
 <RECORD> 
 <QSO_DATE> 20200311 </QSO_DATE> 
 <TIME_ON> 1904 </TIME_ON> 
 <CALL> KG0KG </CALL> 
 <BAND> 80M </ BAND > 
 <MODE> SSB </MODE>
 <USERDEF FIELDNAME = "KPP" > 01234567 </USERDEF>
 </RECORD> 
 </RECORDS> 
 </ADX>
== Use ==
In addition to the use of the ADIF standard by logbook software, it is also used by other amateur radio applications, such as programs for coding and decoding digital operating modes (e.g. WSJT-X). Amateur Radio contest logging software also offers the possibility of importing and exporting data records in ADI format, but the Cabrillo format is typically used to submit logs for evaluation by contest organizers.
Partial list of applications using ADIF:
* American Radio Relay League Logbook of the World
* DXLab
* Ham Radio Deluxe
* ADIF2CABR
* K1JT WSJT-X
* Log4OM
== References ==
== External Links ==
*Official website
Category:Lists of file formats
Category:Computer file formats
Category:Filename extensions
Category:Amateur radio software
Category:Character encoding