Extract text from CVD files
To convert your CVD file to another format, you need Canvas GFX or other Vector Image software.
To convert other file formats to the "Legacy Technical Illustration" file type, you need software like Canvas GFX or a similar tool.
The .CVD extension serves two distinct and unrelated purposes, creating frequent confusion. Primarily, it functions as a ClamAV Virus Database, containing the compressed virus signatures used by the open-source ClamAV engine (often named daily.cvd or main.cvd). These are binary archives designed for automated system updates, not human readability. Users attempting to 'open' these often find themselves staring at unintelligible code unless they use specific unpacking utilities like sigtool to extract the signatures into a text format.
Alternatively, in the design world, a .CVD file is a legacy technical illustration created by older versions of Canvas GFX (formerly ACD Systems Canvas). These files store high-precision vector graphics, text, and raster images used in engineering and scientific visualization. The major drawback for .CVD drawings is proprietary lock-in; they are virtually impossible to open without purchasing expensive, specialized software. Most modern image viewers and web browsers simply cannot render them. To make these files usable again, the best practice is converting them to PDF for archival and printing, or SVG and DXF if you need to edit the vectors in tools like Adobe Illustrator or Inkscape.
Convert.Guru analyzes your CVD file, detects the exact format, and lets you read the text inside.
Users also converted CDR, CSV, CDW, HDB, ANKI and DHT files.
If you want to convert CVD file to SVG, AI, EPS, PDF, JPG, CDR, WMF, EMF, SWF, FLA, XFL or SKETCH, you can use Canvas GFX or similar software from the "Vector Drawing & Virus Database" category. In the File menu, look for Save As… or Export….
To convert AFPUB, EPS, FIG, VSD, SKETCH, VDX, AFPHOTO, PDF, AFDESIGN, SVG, VSDX or AI files to CVD, try Canvas GFX or another comparable tool in the "Vector Drawing & Virus Database" 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 CVD converter.