CLE Converter

Extract text from Locked files (CLE)


Drop or upload your .CLE file
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How to extract text from your CLE file

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

Convert CLE to another file type

To convert CLE files to another format, you need Icon Lock-iT or other Encoded software.

Convert a file to CLE

To convert other file formats to the "Encrypted File" file type, you need software like Icon Lock-iT or a similar tool.


About CLE files

A .CLE file is an encrypted file or a locked file indicator originally created by Icon Lock-iT, a legacy Windows security application developed by Moon Valley Software. In the early 2000s, this software was used to securely lock individual files or directories by encrypting the contents, appending the .CLE extension, and visibly changing the desktop icon to a padlock. The primary disadvantage of this format is its aggressive closed-ecosystem design. Because it utilizes proprietary encryption, it is incredibly restrictive. The software is largely defunct and officially unsupported on modern operating systems like Windows 10 or 11. Without the original software and the correct user-defined password, the data inside is completely inaccessible. Furthermore, modifying the extension manually will only result in a corrupted, unreadable file. You cannot directly convert a .CLE file into standard target formats like PDF, JPG, or DOCX using conventional tools. The file must first be decrypted using the original application to restore its base format. This file format is notoriously difficult to open or convert because the data is intentionally obfuscated, meaning only the original software can properly read or export the data. If our analysis detects a supported underlying or embedded format, viewing or conversion may still be possible.

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


FAQ

If you want to convert CLE file to , you can use Icon Lock-iT or similar software from the "File Encryption and Locking" category. In the File menu, look for Save As… or Export….

To convert files to CLE, try Icon Lock-iT or another comparable tool in the "File Encryption and Locking" category.



The CLE 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 CLE converter.