Extract text from X-ray diffraction files (DQL)
To convert DQL Diffraction files to another format, you need PANalytical X'Pert or other Data software.
To convert other file formats to the "XRD Raw Data File" file type, you need software like PANalytical X'Pert or a similar tool.
A .DQL file is a proprietary raw data file generated by X-ray diffraction (XRD) instruments. These files store scientific measurement data, specifically the diffraction angle (2-theta) and the corresponding X-ray intensity. Material scientists, chemists, and geologists use this data to identify crystalline phases and analyze the structural properties of solid materials.
You can typically open these files using specific proprietary diffractometer software, such as PANalytical X'Pert, Thermo Scientific XRDWizard, or the software suite for the Bruker D8 Discover X-ray diffractometer.
The primary disadvantage of the .DQL format is extreme vendor lock-in. It restricts your raw data to specific, often expensive, equipment-tied software. You cannot open these files natively in general-purpose data analysis and graphing tools like OriginLab, Microsoft Excel, or custom Python and MATLAB scripts. Sharing these files with external researchers who lack the exact vendor license is a constant frustration, as the file will be unreadable to them.
To make your crystallographic data usable, you need to convert it. For broad compatibility with plotting software and custom scripts, convert to CSV or TXT. For archiving in standard crystallographic formats, convert to XRDML or UXD. Note that converting to plain text will discard proprietary machine calibration metadata, but it safely preserves the critical raw 2-theta and intensity numeric values.
Convert.Guru analyzes your DQL file, detects the exact format, and lets you read the text inside.
Users also converted RAW, XRDML, UXD, BRML and SQL files.
If you want to convert DQL file to SQL, DB, SQLITE, SQLITE3, MDB, ACCDB, DBF, ODB, FDB, GDB, MYD or FRM, you can use PANalytical X'Pert or similar software from the "X-ray Diffraction Data Storage" category. In the File menu, look for Save As… or Export….
To convert NDF, SQLITE3, BAK, RDB, SQL, DB4, MDF, MDB, LDF, DB, DB3 or SQLITE files to DQL, try PANalytical X'Pert or another comparable tool in the "X-ray Diffraction Data Storage" 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 DQL converter.