CIS Converter

Extract text from CIMsteel data files (CIS)

Select File
Drop or upload your .CIS file

Online File Converter

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How to extract text from your CIS file

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

Convert CIS to another file type

To convert CIS data files to another format, you need Tekla Structures or other Cad software.

Convert a file to CIS

To convert other file formats to the "Structural Engineering Data" file type, you need software like Tekla Structures or a similar tool.

About CIS files

The .cis extension represents a duality in technical file management, most critically serving as a CIMsteel Integration Standard (CIS/2) file used in structural engineering. These files function as the backbone for data exchange between steel detailing software like Tekla Structures and Autodesk Advance Steel. Unlike standard 3D formats, a CIS/2 file contains semantic metadata - material grades, beam profiles, and fabrication logic - which simple 3D viewers often fail to render, leaving you with an unreadable text block or an empty viewport.

Alternatively, a .cis file may be a Compressed InstallShield file (or script) managed by Revenera InstallShield. In this context, it acts as a container or configuration map for software installers, often frustrating users who simply want to extract the content inside without running a potentially obsolete .exe. Less commonly, it appears as a configuration file for CheckInbox, a legacy email utility.

Best Conversion Targets:

For Engineering & Review: Convert CIS/2 files to IFC (Industry Foundation Classes) or 3D PDF to allow architects and clients to view the structure without expensive BIM licenses.
For CAD Editing: Convert to STP (STEP) or DWG to import geometry into AutoCAD or SolidWorks.
For Installers/Archives: If the file is related to InstallShield, converting (extracting) to ZIP allows you to inspect the payload safely.

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

Users also converted CSI, ICS and TRANS files.

FAQ

If you want to convert CIS file to TRANS, JPG, PDF, PNG, GIF, BMP, TIFF, TIF, WEBP, ICO, CUR or PSD, you can use Tekla Structures or similar software from the "Structural Steel Data Exchange" category. In the File menu, look for Save As… or Export….

To convert RAW, PNG, AI, NEF, PSB, DNG, SVG, GIF, EPS, JPG, ARW or PDF files to CIS, try Tekla Structures or another comparable tool in the "Structural Steel Data Exchange" category.

The CIS 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 CIS converter.