Extract text from Configuration and data files (CDK)
To convert CDK Data files to another format, you need ABB Control Builder or other Data software.
To convert other file formats to the "System Configuration File" file type, you need software like ABB Control Builder or a similar tool.
The .CDK file extension serves multiple distinct purposes across different industries. Most commonly, it is a ControlLogix Drive Kernel file used by Rockwell Automation or an ABB PLC configuration file managed by ABB Control Builder M Professional. These files contain critical industrial automation data and system configurations. Alternatively, older systems use .CDK for Calamus DTP (Desktop Publishing) documents, a legacy software originally built for Atari ST, or as encrypted game data archives for the DotEmu engine running Neo Geo CD games.
Because .CDK files are highly specialized, they suffer from severe interoperability disadvantages. An industrial configuration file requires an expensive, proprietary software license to open, read, or deploy. You cannot view them in a web browser or edit them in standard text editors. Similarly, legacy Calamus documents are essentially obsolete, trapping data in an unsupported 1990s format.
Standard online converters usually fail to process these files because they are proprietary, closed binary formats. Often, only the original software can properly read or export the data. However, just drag and drop your .CDK file onto convert.guru to identify the format, view its structure, and inspect it. We can analyze the file to show internal text or embedded content. If our analysis detects a supported underlying format, viewing or conversion may still be possible.
Convert.Guru analyzes your CDK file, detects the exact format, and lets you read the text inside.
Users also converted XDC, EPB and SVB files.
If you want to convert CDK file to , you can use ABB Control Builder or similar software from the "PLC Configuration Data" category. In the File menu, look for Save As… or Export….
To convert files to CDK, try ABB Control Builder or another comparable tool in the "PLC Configuration Data" 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 CDK converter.