Extract text from Help content files (CNT)
To convert CNT Content files to another format, you need Google Chrome or other Data software.
To convert other file formats to the "Temporary Cache Data" file type, you need software like Google Chrome or a similar tool.
The .CNT file extension is a multi-purpose format primarily used by applications to store temporary cache data or by legacy systems to map documentation content. Statistically, the most frequent creators of these files are web browsers and mobile apps like Google Chrome, Android OS, and WhatsApp Messenger. In these cases, the file typically contains cached thumbnails, stickers, or video fragments.
Another major use case is the legacy Windows Help Contents format. Before Microsoft transitioned to CHM and modern web-based help, .CNT files acted as the table of contents and navigation tree for HLP (WinHelp) documents. Other specialized systems, such as Compumedics Neuroscan (for continuous EEG data), Adobe Photoshop (color profiles), and MarkAny Content SAFER (DRM containers), also rely on this extension.
The main disadvantage of the .CNT format is its extreme ambiguity. Because the extension is shared across entirely different software ecosystems, the files are notoriously difficult to process. Standard online converters fail because they rely on the file extension to dictate the conversion path. Furthermore, DRM-protected files require proprietary decryption keys, and legacy WinHelp files are entirely unsupported on modern operating systems.
Because a .CNT file could be raw EEG data or simply a disguised JPG, generic conversion is impossible. However, convert.guru can still identify the file format, inspect the file, and show text or internal content. Just drag and drop your file onto convert.guru to identify the format, view it, and convert it when possible. If our analysis detects standard media signatures (like a cached PNG or MP4) or a ZIP archive structure, viewing or conversion may still be possible.
Convert.Guru analyzes your CNT file, detects the exact format, and lets you read the text inside.
Users also converted HCD, HLP, GID, JPG, DBT, PRM, CRYPT14, PAT, GIF, PDF, MP4, EXE and ZIP files.
If you want to convert CNT file to SYS, DLL, EXE, DRV, VXD, 386, COM, BAT, CMD, SCR, PIF or LNK, you can use Google Chrome or similar software from the "Application Cache & Help Contents" category. In the File menu, look for Save As… or Export….
To convert MSI, EXE, REG, MST, LNK, CAB, CAT, DRV, INF, SYS, MSU or DLL files to CNT, try Google Chrome or another comparable tool in the "Application Cache & Help Contents" 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 CNT converter.