Extract text from CON files
To convert your CON file to another format, you need Notepad++ or other Settings software.
To convert other file formats to the "Game & System Config" file type, you need software like Notepad++ or a similar tool.
The .CON file extension is a generic container used by dozens of unrelated applications, most notably for Configuration scripts, Construction data, or Connectivity settings. Because developers often use .con as an abbreviation for these terms, the format varies wildly - ranging from simple plain text scripts in games like Battlefield 1942 and Microsoft Train Simulator, to complex proprietary binary data used in Pimkie fashion catalogs and Dentsply Sirona dental CAD systems.
This ambiguity is often frustrating: users cannot simply double-click to open a .CON file because Windows does not know which application created it. For gamers and developers, the primary need is to edit settings or tweak engine scripts, which requires accessing the underlying text. However, opening these files in standard editors can risk formatting errors or encoding issues (e.g., UTF-16 vs ASCII). For industrial users (CNC/Medical), the file is often strictly locked to expensive hardware.
To access the content, the best workflow is identifying the source and converting accordingly. For game configurations and scripts, converting to TXT allows for safe viewing and editing in standard text editors. For structured data like Pimkie or contact lists, converting to CSV or XML makes the data usable in spreadsheets like Microsoft Excel. Users encountering Sirona dental files or Delcam post-processor files generally cannot convert them without the original proprietary software, though export to STL or DXF is sometimes possible within the native application.
Convert.Guru analyzes your CON file, detects the exact format, and lets you read the text inside.
Users also converted ENT, BAK, CONF, TXT, PLAN, SKS, ZONE, BBC and STL files.
If you want to convert CON file to STL, HTML, HTM, CSS, JS, PHP, ASP, ASPX, JSP, JSPX, PY or RB, you can use Notepad++ or similar software from the "Application Configuration File" category. In the File menu, look for Save As… or Export….
To convert RSS, CSS, CGI, SITEMAP, PL, WEBMANIFEST, JSON, JS, XML, HTML, ICO or HTM files to CON, try Notepad++ or another comparable tool in the "Application Configuration File" 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 CON converter.