BLA Converter

Extract text from EPLAN sheets and archives (BLA)

Select File
Drop or upload your .BLA file

Online File Converter

✈

How to extract text from your BLA file

Click the "Select File" button above, and choose your BLA file.
You’ll see a preview, if available.
Click the "Convert file to..." button to extract text information.

Convert BLA to another file type

To convert BLA files to another format, you need EPLAN Electric P8 or other Cad software.

Convert a file to BLA

To convert other file formats to the "Electrical Schematic" file type, you need software like EPLAN Electric P8 or a similar tool.

About BLA files

The .BLA extension represents a collision of three distinct file types, creating a common headache for users trying to open one without context.

Most significantly, it is an EPLAN drawing sheet or cable list file generated by EPLAN Electric P8. These are proprietary industrial engineering files used to document electrical schematics and automation projects. Because EPLAN uses a complex database structure, these files are effectively locked to the software; you cannot simply edit them in standard CAD tools or text editors without conversion. This creates friction when sharing technical documentation with clients who do not own expensive EPLAN licenses.

Secondly, .BLA is frequently used as a disguised ZIP archive, particularly by utilities like XMouseButtonControl for language packs or skin definitions. Developers rename the extension to prevent users from accidentally unpacking the contents.

Lastly, it may be a compiled Lua script, containing bytecode that is machine-readable but not human-editable.

Recommendation:

For Engineering: If the file is from an electrical project, convert it to PDF for universal viewing or DXF/DWG for AutoCAD compatibility.
For General Use: If you suspect it is an archive, rename the file extension from .BLA to ZIP and try extracting it.
For Developers: Compiled Lua scripts generally require a decompiler or the original source code to edit.

Convert.Guru analyzes your BLA file, detects the exact format, and lets you read the text inside.

Users also converted EOX, CPJ and EPJ files.

FAQ

If you want to convert BLA file to CSV, JSON, XML, YAML, YML, TOML, INI, CFG, CONF, DAT, DB or SQL, you can use EPLAN Electric P8 or similar software from the "Electrical Engineering Schematics" category. In the File menu, look for Save As… or Export….

To convert DBF, XML, SQLITE, XLSX, SQL, TSV, ACCDB, YAML, MDB, CSV, ODS or JSON files to BLA, try EPLAN Electric P8 or another comparable tool in the "Electrical Engineering Schematics" category.

The BLA Converter Story

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 BLA converter.