LDIF, stands for Lightweight Directory Interchange Format, is a plain-text file extension used for storing LDAP (Lightweight Directory Access Protocol) directory data as a set of records and LDAP update requests which includes Add, Modify, Delete, and Rename. LDAP is a software protocol which determine the location of files, devices, organization etc. over TCP/IP network.

Different utilites for LDIF File:

• OpenLDAP: Tools of this utility are used to export/import data from LDAP servers to LDIF content records and vice versa.
• LDIFDE: Windows Server 2003 & 2000 have command line utility known as LDIFDE which import & export data in Active Directory.
• JXplorer: It is a cross platform and open source application, also referred as LDAP browser & editor, used to perform editing of LDIF files.
• Import & export address book data: Adress Book Compatible with Netscape Communicator & Mozilla Suite LDIF is used to import & export address book data.

LDIF Fields:

• dn: distinguished name
  Name of the entry in the directory.
• dc: domain component
  For instance: www.google.com is written as DC=www,DC=google,DC=com
• ou: organizational unit (or user group)
  For instance: OU= Lawyer, OU= Judge.
• cn: common name
  It can be person's name; meeting room; job title; etc.

The LDIF file belongs to the category of Text Files.

There are various applications that can open LDIF file, for example, Mozilla Thunderbird, OpenOffice Applications, Microsoft Office and Other Document Viewer.