Extract text from PGP keys and raster files (ASC)
To convert ASC keys and rasters to another format, you need GnuPG or other Text software.
To convert other file formats to the "ASCII Encoded File" file type, you need software like GnuPG or a similar tool.
The .ASC file extension is primarily used for plain text files containing either PGP (Pretty Good Privacy) armored keys and messages, or Geospatial ASCII raster grids. In engineering and science, it is also used to store LTspice electronic circuit schematics, PADS PCB designs, and raw spectroscopy or X-ray diffraction data.
To open security-focused .ASC files, users typically rely on GnuPG or similar OpenPGP-compliant software. For mapping and GIS professionals, ArcGIS by ESRI or the open-source QGIS are the standard tools to process the spatial data grids.
The main disadvantage of the .ASC format is its pure text nature. When used for GIS data, these files frequently exceed gigabytes in size, causing standard text editors to freeze or crash instantly. When used for PGP, the file requires a specific private key and passphrase to be useful; otherwise, it is just a block of unreadable characters. Furthermore, sending raw .ASC files to non-technical users often results in confusion, as standard operating systems lack a default viewer capable of interpreting the specific internal data.
For easy sharing and archiving, convert readable text or decrypted .ASC messages to PDF or TXT. If you are handling tabular scientific data or geospatial grids, convert the file to CSV for spreadsheet analysis or TIF (GeoTIFF) for more efficient map rendering.
Convert.Guru analyzes your ASC file, detects the exact format, and lets you read the text inside.
Users also converted ACS, PGP, ZIP, TXT, ROZ, SP, RAS, KEY, ASC 2, PDF, RAW, XML and NGB-ST9 files.
If you want to convert ASC file to CSV, PDF, GPG, STL, PEM, PPK, TXT, PGP, DWG, DXF, DGN or RVT, you can use GnuPG or similar software from the "Encrypted Text or Spatial Data" category. In the File menu, look for Save As… or Export….
To convert SLDASM, DGN, PRT, IAM, X_B, CATPRODUCT, SLDPRT, RVT, ASM, DWG, CATPART or DXF files to ASC, try GnuPG or another comparable tool in the "Encrypted Text or Spatial Data" 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 ASC converter.