Extract text from Approach and ArcView files (APR)
To convert APR files to another format, you need Lotus Approach & ArcGIS or other Database software.
To convert other file formats to the "Multi-format Application File" file type, you need software like Lotus Approach & ArcGIS or a similar tool.
The .APR file extension is heavily fragmented across different industries. The three most common variants are legacy Lotus Approach database application files, ESRI ArcView GIS project files, and Gerber aperture lists used in printed circuit board (PCB) design. To natively open these files, you typically need obsolete software like IBM Lotus SmartSuite, GIS platforms like ArcGIS, or CAD/PCB tools like Altium Designer.
Users frequently try to convert .APR files because the original software is either defunct (Lotus Approach) or the specific format version is heavily deprecated (ArcView 3.x). The primary disadvantage of the .APR format is its proprietary lock-in and high dependency on local environments. A critical limitation for ArcView GIS and ActivePresenter variants is that the .APR is strictly a project file. It does not contain the actual map data, shapefiles, or video assets. It only stores file paths, layout settings, and relational structures. If you share an .APR file without bundling the linked assets, the file is virtually useless to the recipient.
For Lotus Approach databases, the best migration targets are standard CSV or SQL dumps, though you will lose all UI forms and reports. For ArcView, you must upgrade the project to MXD or modern .APRX formats using ESRI's ecosystem.
Because these are complex, often closed-ecosystem formats, standard online converters usually fail to process them. Often, only the original software can properly read or export the structured data. However, just drag and drop your file into convert.guru to identify the format, view it, and convert it when possible. Our analyzer checks the file's internal signature - whether it uses a legacy Microsoft Compound structure, a ZIP archive, or plain JSON - to extract raw text or embedded data whenever supported.
Convert.Guru analyzes your APR file, detects the exact format, and lets you read the text inside.
Users also converted BOT, ARP, LDP, GBR, ZIP, RAR, ABR, XLSX, PDF, WFP, RFA, APK and XAPK files.
If you want to convert APR file to EAR, SHP, KML, KMZ, GPX, GEOJSON, TOPOJSON, TIF, TIFF, ECW, SID or IMG, you can use Lotus Approach & ArcGIS or similar software from the "Database or GIS Project File" category. In the File menu, look for Save As… or Export….
To convert LAZ, KMZ, DTM, CSV, DEM, PRJ, LAS, GPX, DSM, SHP, DBF or KML files to APR, try Lotus Approach & ArcGIS or another comparable tool in the "Database or GIS Project File" 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 APR converter.