A `.VRL` file is usually a VRML world file written in plain text that describes a 3D scene much like HTML describes a webpage, and you can confirm this by opening it in a text editor to check for a `#VRML V2.0 utf8` header and keywords such as `Transform`, `Shape`, or `IndexedFaceSet`, since some tools use `.vrl` instead of `.wrl`, and once identified you can view it with a VRML/X3D viewer, edit it in Blender, and avoid display issues by keeping textures in the same folder, while a binary-looking file may mean it’s compressed or not VRML at all, in which case 7-Zip or the file’s origin usually provides the clue.

Inside a VRML/VRL file you’re essentially reading a text-based scene graph made of nodes that describe what exists in 3D space and how it’s arranged, with structural nodes organizing objects, visual nodes drawing geometry, and other nodes shaping navigation or interaction, and because it’s plain text you can usually see objects placed, transformed, and textured, often wrapped in `Transform` groups and reused through `DEF`/`USE` so the same geometry appears multiple times with different placements.

The “things you see” in a VRML/VRL file are usually defined by `Shape` nodes that merge geometry and appearance, where geometry may be basic shapes or `IndexedFaceSet` meshes driven by coordinate and index arrays, and surface style is set through `Material` settings and optional textures, which rely on file paths that must stay intact or the model loses its mapped images and appears gray.

Here’s more about VRL file software take a look at our own web site. VRML files often include camera and environmental settings such as `Viewpoint`, `NavigationInfo`, `Background`, and `Fog`, plus lighting nodes like `DirectionalLight`, `PointLight`, or `SpotLight`, which don’t model geometry but shape how the world looks and how users navigate it, and VRML adds interactivity through event-driven nodes like `TimeSensor` and various sensors, with interpolators animating values and `ROUTE` links wiring events so actions like clicks or proximity can trigger movement, rotation, or color changes.

For more sophisticated effects, VRML/VRL introduces `Script` nodes that run JavaScript-like code to manage calculations and event handling beyond the reach of basic sensors, while its `Inline` and `PROTO`/`EXTERNPROTO` mechanisms allow pulling in separate VRML files and defining custom node types, making scenes modular and reusable.