Extract text from archival description files (EAD)
To convert EAD archival descriptions to another format, you need ArchivesSpace or other Data software.
To convert other file formats to the "Archival XML Document" file type, you need software like ArchivesSpace or a similar tool.
The .EAD file extension stands for Encoded Archival Description. It is a standardized XML format used heavily by museums, libraries, and special collections to encode "finding aids" - detailed, hierarchical catalogs of historical documents, manuscripts, and physical archives. Maintained by the Society of American Archivists in partnership with the Library of Congress, EAD files allow institutions to share rich archival metadata globally. They are typically managed using specialized archival collection management systems like ArchivesSpace.
While .EAD is an open standard, sharing these files directly with researchers or the general public is problematic. Because the file is raw XML code, opening it in a standard text editor or web browser without a proper XSLT stylesheet results in a confusing wall of structural tags (such as <archdesc>, <c01>, and <did>). The dense, machine-readable formatting makes it very difficult for average users to digest the actual historical information. Furthermore, general document viewers cannot parse EAD's unique hierarchical structure natively.
To make the data accessible, users almost always need to convert .EAD files into human-readable formats like PDF, HTML, or plain TXT. Converting to HTML allows for easy web publishing, while PDF is ideal for researchers who want to print or save the finding aid. However, standard online document converters often fail to process .EAD files because they do not recognize the specialized XML schema, either throwing an error or stripping away essential context.
This is where our platform steps in. EAD files can be frustrating to read, but they rely on standard text encoding.
Convert.Guru analyzes your EAD file, detects the exact format, and lets you read the text inside.
Users also converted XML, DOCX, TX and FM files.
If you want to convert EAD file to TXT, RTF, DOC, DOCX, ODT, PAGES, TEX, LATEX, MD, MARKDOWN, LOG or NFO, you can use ArchivesSpace or similar software from the "Archival Metadata XML Storage" category. In the File menu, look for Save As… or Export….
To convert PDF, DOC, ASC, TODO, NFO, MEMO, README, DOCX, JPG, TXT, NOTE or RTF files to EAD, try ArchivesSpace or another comparable tool in the "Archival Metadata XML 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 EAD converter.