Extract text from Visual C++ resource files (APS)
To convert APS resource files to another format, you need Microsoft Visual Studio or other Developer software.
To convert other file formats to the "Binary Resource File" file type, you need software like Microsoft Visual Studio or a similar tool.
The .APS file extension is primarily a Visual C++ Binary Resource file used by Microsoft Visual Studio. It stores a compiled, binary version of the resource script (RC) included in a Windows software project. This caching mechanism allows the compiler to load interface elements like dialog boxes, icons, and menus much faster. The .aps extension is also utilized as an AVR Studio Project File (formatted in XML) by Microchip's Atmel AVR Studio, and occasionally for N64 game patches in the Project64 emulator or preference sets for Autodesk Alias.
The main disadvantage of the .APS file is its proprietary, environment-dependent nature. For Visual C++ projects, it is a closed binary format that is not designed to be opened directly or edited manually. If you lose the original RC text script, recovering the data from the .APS file is notoriously difficult. It requires the original Microsoft Visual C++ ecosystem to be read correctly. For Atmel projects, while the file is XML-based, it remains heavily tied to specific hardware configurations and IDE settings.
Because of these limitations, standard online converters consistently fail to process .APS files. The most realistic conversion targets are RC (Resource Script), TXT (Plain Text), or XML (Extensible Markup Language), but achieving this usually requires exporting the data directly from within the native IDE.
This file format is difficult to open or convert because often only the original software can properly read or export the developer data. If our analysis detects a supported underlying or embedded format (such as plain XML text in the case of AVR projects), viewing or conversion may still be possible.
Convert.Guru analyzes your APS file, detects the exact format, and lets you read the text inside.
Users also converted EPS, DOCX, ASPX, XPS, ASP, PDF, XLSX, WEBP, PNG, RES, SLN and O files.
If you want to convert APS file to JS, TS, PY, JAVA, CPP, C, CS, PHP, RB, GO, RS or SWIFT, you can use Microsoft Visual Studio or similar software from the "Developer Resource Cache File" category. In the File menu, look for Save As… or Export….
To convert SH, PY, KT, PS1, SWIFT, LUA, PL, JAVA, SCALA, JS, VBS or TS files to APS, try Microsoft Visual Studio or another comparable tool in the "Developer Resource Cache 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 APS converter.