Extract text from academic articles (CAA)
To convert CAA articles to another format, you need CAJViewer or other Data software.
To convert other file formats to the "Link File / Application Archive" file type, you need software like CAJViewer or a similar tool.
The .CAA file extension is primarily associated with two distinct, proprietary formats: a Chinese Academic Article Link File and a CleanApp Archive. In the academic realm, a .CAA file functions as a shortcut or descriptor used by the China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI). Researchers use these link files to locate and download academic papers exclusively via CAJViewer. Alternatively, macOS users may find .CAA files created by Synium CleanApp, a discontinued system utility that generated these archives to back up uninstalled application data.
Both versions of the .CAA format come with severe usability limitations. The CNKI variant is highly restricted; it rarely contains the actual document text. Instead, it acts as a pointer to a remote server, requiring an active internet connection, institutional database access, and a proprietary Windows-centric reader to open. The CleanApp variant is tied to obsolete Mac software that is unsupported on modern macOS architectures, essentially locking user data inside a dead archive format.
To overcome these hurdles, the recommended conversion target for CNKI documents is a standard PDF, which guarantees universal readability without proprietary viewers. For CleanApp archives, extracting the raw data into a standard ZIP file is the best path for data recovery.
Because these file formats are obscure and closed-source, standard online converters almost always fail to process them. Often, only the original legacy software can properly read or export the data. However, there is a pragmatic workaround. If our analysis detects a supported underlying or embedded format - such as standard compression headers hidden inside the archive - extraction or conversion may still be possible.
Convert.Guru analyzes your CAA file, detects the exact format, and lets you read the text inside.
Users also converted AMA files.
If you want to convert CAA file to AMA, OBJ, FBX, DAE, 3DS, MAX, BLEND, MA, MB, C4D, STL or PLY, you can use CAJViewer or similar software from the "Academic Links or App Archives" category. In the File menu, look for Save As… or Export….
To convert DWG, DAE, X3D, IGES, WRL, JT, SKP, 3DS, 3DM, OBJ, STEP or FBX files to CAA, try CAJViewer or another comparable tool in the "Academic Links or App Archives" 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 CAA converter.