Extract text from Windows Live Mail emails (_EML)
To convert _EML emails to another format, you need Windows Live Mail or other Text software.
To convert other file formats to the "Email Message File" file type, you need software like Windows Live Mail or a similar tool.
The ._EML file format is primarily associated with Microsoft Windows Live Mail. It either functions as a temporary file generated during email synchronisation or, more commonly, as a macOS AppleDouble shadow file that stores extended attributes for a standard EML message.
Working with ._EML files is frustrating. If it is a temporary Windows Live Mail file, it is tied to an outdated, discontinued email client. It cannot be opened by web browsers or modern cloud email providers like Gmail or Outlook.com without external tools. If the file was generated by macOS on a FAT32 or exFAT external drive, it is an AppleDouble resource fork. These shadow files are typically only 4KB in size, contain no actual email text, and confuse standard software.
To preserve your email records, we recommend converting standard EML data to PDF for permanent archiving or TXT for basic text extraction. However, because ._EML files are often system-hidden or fragmented, standard online converters fail to process them. Even if the file is a difficult or proprietary format, we can inspect the binary data. If our analysis detects supported underlying text or embedded email headers, viewing or conversion may still be possible.
Convert.Guru analyzes your _EML file, detects the exact format, and lets you read the text inside.
Users also converted EML files.
If you want to convert _EML file to [% faq_exts_to %], you can use Windows Live Mail or similar software from the "Email Message Storage" category. In the File menu, look for Save As… or Export….
To convert [% faq_exts_from %] files to _EML, try Windows Live Mail or another comparable tool in the "Email Message Storage" category.
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 _EML converter.