3 Converter

Extract text from 3 files

Select File
Drop or upload your .3 file

Online File Converter

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How to extract text from your 3 file

Click the "Select File" button above, and choose your 3 file.
You’ll see a preview, if available.
Click the "Convert file to..." button to extract text information.

Convert 3 to another file type

To convert your 3 file to another format, you need groff or other Developer software.

3 to SYS
3 to DLL
3 to EXE
3 to DRV
3 to VXD
3 to 386
3 to COM
3 to BAT
3 to CMD
3 to SCR
3 to PIF
3 to LNK

Convert a file to 3

To convert other file formats to the "Documentation Source" file type, you need software like groff or a similar tool.

MSI to 3
EXE to 3
REG to 3
MST to 3
LNK to 3
CAB to 3
CAT to 3
DRV to 3
INF to 3
SYS to 3
MSU to 3
DLL to 3

About 3 files

The .3 file extension represents a convergence of three distinct technical workflows, creating confusion for users without the correct context.

Unix Manual Pages (Section 3): Most commonly, a .3 file is a source documentation file for the Unix/Linux man command, specifically covering Library Calls (e.g., C function libraries). These are text files formatted with troff or groff macros. The disadvantage is that they are illegible raw text on Windows or macOS systems lacking a terminal pager, containing distracting markup tags.
Split Archives & Backups: The extension is frequently used for multi-volume archives (e.g., backup.zip.3 or data.003) created by utilities like WinRAR or Norton 360. These files are useless individually; they are fragments of a larger dataset that require all numbered parts to be present for extraction.
CAD Versioning: Engineering software like PTC Creo (formerly Pro/ENGINEER) appends numerical extensions to save file iterations (e.g., gear.prt.3). These are high-value proprietary 3D formats that cannot be opened by standard viewers.

Conversion Solutions:

For Documentation: Convert .3 man pages to PDF, HTML, or plain TXT to render the formatting into a readable document.
For CAD: Convert older versioned files to standard STEP, IGES, or PDF for sharing without expensive licenses.

Convert.Guru analyzes your 3 file, detects the exact format, and lets you read the text inside.

Users also converted 2, 4, 1, 5, PRT, DRW, BLOB, VLC, 6, 9, KB, ASM and DIP files.

The 3 Converter Story

The history of Convert.Guru began over 25 years ago in California with Tom Simondi’s file-format database. A former contributor to Space Shuttle development and a software pioneer of the 1980s, Simondi established a trusted resource for file type analysis that was even referenced by Microsoft Windows XP. Today, we use modern technology to process and convert thousands of file formats while continually improving our 3 converter.