Characteristics of CDA Files

• All CDA files will have a ".cda" extension and can be accessed by looking at the CD's Audio Track Shortcuts. Since audio CDs store the music files in a specific way, different from other storage forms (such as a floppy disk), the CDA file is automatically created to index the data. All CDA files are 44 bytes and contain the specific track times.
  
  

Why Are CDA Files Used?

• CDA files can be found when you put a CD into your computer, and it might seem as though they are audio files. However, CDA files are actually a file created by Microsoft Windows which contains information about the audio, but not actual audio. The data on a CD is stored in a continuous loop, instead of being stored as single files. CDA tell the computer where the real music is located, but contain no music. The CDA files help the user to view the songs as individual files.
  
  

Uploading CDA Files to a Computer

• CDA files must be converted to another audio file format in order to upload them to your computer. Once the files have been converted, they can simply be saved to the computer in the new file forms. Uploading CDs to your computer is very convenient because you can put the audio on various portable music-playing devices.
  
  

Converting CDA Files to Other File Types

• There are many converters available for free and to purchase, to make your CDA files accessible as audio. The most common formats for conversion are WAV and MP3. Both formats play the files as music and are easily saved to your computer.