Extract text from BRI files
To convert your BRI file to another format, you need Microsoft SQL Server or other Data software.
To convert other file formats to the "Bridge Game Hand" file type, you need software like Microsoft SQL Server or a similar tool.
The .BRI extension is a notoriously fragmented format with four distinct, incompatible uses. Historically, the most common type (approx. 18%) is a Microsoft SQL Server tape backup, a binary archive used by older server versions for disaster recovery. These files are designed for restoration via enterprise tools, not direct conversion.
However, users today frequently encounter .BRI files in two other convertible contexts: as Bridge card game data (compatible with software like Bridge Baron or Q-Plus Bridge) and Bryce 3D plugin files used by DAZ 3D. The Bridge game files contain hand records that players often wish to convert to PBN (Portable Bridge Notation) or LIN for analysis in modern engines.
Less commonly, the file may be a Corel WordPerfect printer resource or a Braille document. The primary difficulty is this ambiguity; a .BRI file intended for 3D modeling will fail to open in Bridge software, and SQL backups often exceed 100MB, confusing standard text editors. To determine your conversion path, open the file in a text editor like Notepad++ first - if you see readable card distributions, it is a Bridge file; if it is unreadable binary code, it is likely a legacy backup or plugin.
Convert.Guru analyzes your BRI file, detects the exact format, and lets you read the text inside.
Users also converted BRL, SIT, GRM, BACKUP and RBC 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 BRI converter.