Extract text from BDB files
To convert your BDB file to another format, you need Microsoft Works or other Database software.
To convert other file formats to the "Legacy Database Backup" file type, you need software like Microsoft Works or a similar tool.
The .BDB file extension is a multi-purpose container primarily associated with database backups and embedded data stores. Most commonly, users encounter this as a Microsoft Works Database Backup file (legacy) or an Oracle Berkeley DB file (key-value store).
Because .BDB is used by over a dozen different software vendors - including Milestone Systems XProtect for video management, CSiBridge for structural models, and Buensoft Socios for backups - the primary challenge is identification. Users often cannot open these files because the creating software is either discontinued (like Microsoft Works) or the file is a raw binary dump not meant for human reading. Attempting to open a Berkeley DB file in a standard text editor results in garbled binary data, while legacy Works files require specific converters no longer included in modern Microsoft Office.
For data recovery and migration, the best approach is converting the file content into open formats. For Microsoft Works or Buensoft backups, converting to CSV (Comma Separated Values) or XLSX allows immediate viewing in Microsoft Excel. For Berkeley DB or SQLite variants, exporting to a SQL dump or JSON format is essential for importing data into modern database systems like MySQL or PostgreSQL.
Convert.Guru analyzes your BDB file, detects the exact format, and lets you read the text inside.
Users also converted DBD, WDB, TXT, BCM, XLR and UPS files.
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 BDB converter.