Extract text from DESKTOP files
To convert your DESKTOP file to another format, you need freedesktop.org or other System software.
To convert other file formats to the "Configuration File" file type, you need software like freedesktop.org or a similar tool.
A .desktop file is a standard configuration file used in Linux and Unix-like environments to define how an application is launched and integrated into system menus. Governed by the freedesktop.org Desktop Entry Specification, these plain text files determine the application's name, icon, executable path, and categories within environments like GNOME and KDE.
While essential for Linux users, .desktop files present significant compatibility hurdles for Windows and macOS users. Because the format is strictly INI-style text designed for XDG-compliant systems, attempting to double-click a .desktop file on Windows typically results in an "Open With" error or, worse, the operating system treating it as an unknown binary. Users frequently need to convert these files to inspect the underlying Exec= commands for security verification or to port the configuration logic. For inspection and editing without risking execution, the best practice is converting .desktop to TXT. For documentation or archiving system setups, converting to PDF preserves the layout. Advanced users migrating scripts may convert the logic within the file to a standard SH shell script.
Convert.Guru analyzes your DESKTOP file, detects the exact format, and lets you read the text inside.
Users also converted P7S, PKG, PDF, ZIP, TRASH_DATABASE, DIA, HTA, QBO, TV, NAS and SERVER files.
If you want to convert DESKTOP file to QBO, TV, NAS, SERVER, TMP, TEMP, CACHE, LOG, BAK, OLD, NEW or PART, you can use freedesktop.org or similar software from the "Linux Application Launcher" category. In the File menu, look for Save As… or Export….
To convert DEVICE, CACHE, SOCK, SYMLINK, PID, MOUNT, FIFO, LOG, PIPE, TMP, JUNCTION or TEMP files to DESKTOP, try freedesktop.org or another comparable tool in the "Linux Application Launcher" 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 DESKTOP converter.