Extract text from Ribbons color mappings (COLOUR)
To convert COLOUR color mappings to another format, you need Ribbons or other Settings software.
To convert other file formats to the "Color Palette Configuration" file type, you need software like Ribbons or a similar tool.
A .COLOUR file primarily functions as a Ribbons Color Mapping configuration file. Originally developed for the Ribbons scientific software application, these files are used to store custom color palettes and visual parameters for interactively displaying 3D molecular models and crystallographic data. In some modern contexts, the extension also appears in Linux desktop environments due to a locale quirk that renames standard colors theme files to the British English spelling.
To open these files natively, you typically need legacy scientific rendering software. However, because they are essentially plain text or XML-based data containers, you can also inspect them using a standard code editor like Notepad++ to view the raw HEX or RGB values.
The main disadvantage of the .COLOUR format is its extreme lack of portability. It is an obscure, proprietary configuration file that modern operating systems cannot natively recognize. Attempting to open it usually triggers a frustrating "unsupported format" system error. Furthermore, sharing these files with graphic designers or colleagues is useless unless they also use the exact same specialized software, creating severe bottlenecks in collaborative workflows.
To overcome these limitations, converting the file to standard, widely supported palette formats like ASE (Adobe Swatch Exchange), JSON, or plain TXT is the most practical solution. Exporting to these formats strips away the proprietary wrapper while preserving the core HEX and RGB codes, allowing the palette to be imported seamlessly into modern design software.
Because .COLOUR is a closed and highly specialized settings format, standard online image or document converters will immediately fail to process it. Only the original software can natively export the internal data perfectly. If our analysis detects a supported underlying text or XML structure, viewing or conversion may still be possible.
Convert.Guru analyzes your COLOUR file, detects the exact format, and lets you read the text inside.
Users also converted PNG, PDF, CYL, HEX, RGB, CMYK and RAL files.
If you want to convert COLOUR file to HEX, RGB, CMYK, RAL, JPG, PDF, PNG, GIF, BMP, TIFF, TIF or WEBP, you can use Ribbons or similar software from the "Color Mapping Configuration Settings" 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 COLOUR, try Ribbons or another comparable tool in the "Color Mapping Configuration Settings" 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 COLOUR converter.