Extract text from Crescendo or CADSTAR files (CDO)
To convert CDO Crescendo/CADSTAR files to another format, you need NCH Crescendo or other Data software.
To convert other file formats to the "Music Notation Score" file type, you need software like NCH Crescendo or a similar tool.
A .CDO file is primarily a music notation project file created by NCH Crescendo. It stores musical scores, including staves, time signatures, notes, and lyrics. Alternatively, a .CDO file can contain plain text ChordPro chord sheets, Zuken CADSTAR Printed Circuit Board (PCB) layout data, or diagnostic readouts from Midtronics battery analyzers.
The main disadvantage of a .CDO file is its proprietary nature. Whether it contains sheet music, circuit layouts, or battery diagnostics, you generally cannot open it natively on Windows, macOS, or standard web browsers. Sharing a raw .CDO music file is highly ineffective because the recipient must download and install specific, potentially paid software just to view the score. Standard music players cannot play it, and standard image viewers cannot print it.
To make this file usable, you must convert it. Music notation .CDO files should be exported to PDF for easy printing, or to MID (MIDI) and MP3 for audio playback. ChordPro files can be converted to standard TXT. CADSTAR files are best exported to Gerber (GBR) or DXF for manufacturing.
Because .CDO formats are closed and proprietary, standard online converters frequently fail to read their complex binary structures. Often, only the original software can properly read or export the data. However, just drag and drop your file into convert.guru to identify the exact format, view its internal text, and convert it when possible. If our analysis detects a supported underlying structure like ChordPro text, viewing or conversion may still be seamlessly achieved.
Use Convert.Guru to open and convert your CDO file.
Users also converted PDF, MUSICXML, JPG, CRD, CHOPRO and CHORDPRO files.
If you want to convert CDO file to PDF, MP3, WAV, AAC, FLAC, OGG, WMA, M4A, AIFF, OPUS, ALAC or APE, you can use NCH Crescendo or similar software from the "Music Notation Storage" category. In the File menu, look for Save As… or Export….
To convert MIDI, AAC, TTA, AU, WV, DTS, MID, FLAC, RA, MP3, PCM or WAV files to CDO, try NCH Crescendo or another comparable tool in the "Music Notation 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 CDO converter.