Extract text from Rich text documents (BEAN)
To convert BEAN documents to another format, you need Bean or other Text software.
To convert other file formats to the "Mac Word Processing Document" file type, you need software like Bean or a similar tool.
A .bean file is a rich text document package created by Bean, a lightweight word processor built exclusively for macOS. It is primarily used to store formatted text, paragraph styles, and embedded media such as images.
The main disadvantage of the .bean format is its strict platform dependency. Under the hood, a .bean file is actually a macOS bundle (similar to an RTFD file) - a hidden directory disguised as a single file. Because it relies heavily on the Apple Cocoa text engine, opening a .bean file natively on Windows or Linux is impossible. Sharing these files with non-Mac users often results in broken attachments or unreadable data. Furthermore, Bean is largely a legacy application with halted active development, making its native format a poor choice for modern, long-term archiving.
To guarantee cross-platform compatibility, you should convert .bean files to universal formats like DOCX for collaborative editing in Microsoft Word, PDF to lock the visual layout, or RTF for basic text styling. Be aware that complex macOS-specific formatting may be altered during this transition.
Because a .bean file is a proprietary OS-level folder structure rather than a traditional flat file, standard online converters usually fail to process it. Often, only the original software can properly read or export the complete data. If our analysis detects a supported underlying or embedded format, viewing or conversion may still be possible.
Convert.Guru analyzes your BEAN file, detects the exact format, and lets you read the text inside.
Users also converted MAP files.
If you want to convert BEAN file to MAP, TXT, RTF, DOC, DOCX, ODT, PAGES, TEX, LATEX, MD, MARKDOWN or LOG, you can use Bean or similar software from the "Rich Text Document Storage" category. In the File menu, look for Save As… or Export….
To convert PDF, DOC, ASC, TODO, NFO, MEMO, README, DOCX, JPG, TXT, NOTE or RTF files to BEAN, try Bean or another comparable tool in the "Rich Text Document 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 BEAN converter.