A CV file is a data file created by CodeView, a debugger utility shipped with Microsoft C 4.0 and later. It contains debugging information such as frame pointer omission (FPO) records, variables, and line numbers.

The CodeView format is used to help locate problems in an application. The format supports FPO records, variables, and line numbers. An FPO record is is used to locate the next function information on the stack without frame pointers. Variables are global, local, and static variables. Line numbers are addresses that represent the lines in the C/C++ source files. CodeView was created by David Norris of Microsoft in 1985 and was designed for 16-bit Real-mode programs. It was originally packaged with Microsoft C 4.0, along with Microsoft Basic PDS and Visual Basic for MS-DOS. The program consists of several windows including a code window, watch window, data window, locals window, assembly window, and command window. CodeView eventually was integrated into an IDE as part of Microsoft Visual Studio.