Stores the values of variables in ASCII format. An ASCII data file is different from a typical word processing file. In particular, a typical word processing file has formatting information such as font size, margin information, and header and footer information. An ASCII data file, in contrast, ­contains just the values, not the variable definition information. ASCII data files are known as “raw” data files because they have the data but no variable definition information, in contrast to system files, which contain both. An ASCII data file can be made using the text or the DOS text save options in the word processor. Computer programs designed to collect experimental data often store the information collected in ASCII files.