Click the "Select File" button above, and choose your CR5 file.
You’ll see a preview, if available.
Click the "Convert file to..." button to extract text information.
Convert CR5 to another file type
To convert CR5 coordinate files to another format, you need Carlson SurvCE or other GIS software.
Convert a file to CR5
To convert other file formats to the "Survey Data File" file type, you need software like Carlson SurvCE or a similar tool.
About CR5 files
The .CR5 file extension is a proprietary survey data format created by Carlson Software. It primarily stores raw field measurements and coordinate data collected using Carlson SurvCE or Carlson Survey. Surveyors use these files to record points, elevations, and descriptions during land surveying operations. The main disadvantage of the .CR5 format is its proprietary nature. It requires specialized, expensive surveying software to open and process. You cannot view the coordinate data in standard spreadsheet tools or basic text editors without exporting it first. Field crews often face issues when they need to share raw data with clients or engineers who do not own a Carlson license. To make the data usable, you must convert the .CR5 file to universal formats. The best conversion targets are CSV (Comma Separated Values) or TXT for raw coordinate tables, or DXF to import the points into CAD software like AutoCAD. Because .CR5 is a closed binary format, standard online converters usually fail to process it. Often, only the original Carlson software can accurately read the geodetic metadata and export the coordinates. However, you can use convert.guru. Just drag and drop your file to identify the format, view its internal structure, and extract text data if available. If our analysis detects standard embedded tables, viewing or conversion may still be possible.
Convert.Guru analyzes your CR5 file, detects the exact format, and lets you read the text inside.
If you want to convert CR5 file to , you can use Carlson SurvCE or similar software from the "Survey Coordinate Data Storage" category. In the File menu, look for Save As… or Export….
To convert files to CR5, try Carlson SurvCE or another comparable tool in the "Survey Coordinate Data Storage" category.
The CR5 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 CR5 converter.