Extract text from Earthwork, CAD and embroidery files (ESW)
To convert ESW files to another format, you need AGTEK Earthwork 4D or other Cad software.
To convert other file formats to the "Earthwork Modeling File" file type, you need software like AGTEK Earthwork 4D or a similar tool.
The .ESW file extension is a highly fragmented extension used for multiple proprietary, heavily siloed formats. Its primary use is as an Earthwork Takeoff and Modeling file in civil engineering software like AGTEK Earthwork 4D and Carlson Survey to calculate site excavation volumes and grade elevations. Secondarily, it functions as a CAD reinforcement schedule in Nemetschek Allplan, an embroidery design file in Wilcom, and a UTF-16 metadata or SAPscript text file in ELO Digital Office.
Users frequently need to convert .ESW files because these formats trap data inside expensive ecosystem bubbles. Earthwork modeling software requires industry-specific licensing - often costing thousands of dollars - just to open the file. Without the native application, sharing grading plans, structural steel schedules, or embroidery stitches with clients or external contractors is nearly impossible. Furthermore, these proprietary binary structures are entirely unsupported by web browsers or standard operating system previewers.
Converting an .ESW file directly is extremely challenging due to its closed nature. For civil engineering and CAD data, you must rely on the original software to export the model into standard, interoperable target formats like DWG, DXF, or PDF. If you are dealing with the Wilcom embroidery variant, the best target formats are standard stitch files like DST or PES. If the file is an ELO metadata document, it can be easily saved out to plain TXT or CSV.
Because this file format relies heavily on proprietary algorithms for things like volumetric calculations and reinforcement modeling, it is notoriously difficult for third-party tools to read or convert accurately. Often, only the original software can properly render or export the geometry. However, convert.guru can still identify the file format, inspect the binary or text payload, and extract any readable internal content. Just drag and drop your file to see what it is and convert it if supported. If our analysis detects an underlying text-based metadata structure, direct extraction or conversion may still be possible.
Convert.Guru analyzes your ESW file, detects the exact format, and lets you read the text inside.
Users also converted SIG, WFP, RVT and SB files.
If you want to convert ESW file to CSV, JSON, XML, YAML, YML, TOML, INI, CFG, CONF, DAT, DB or SQL, you can use AGTEK Earthwork 4D or similar software from the "Earthwork Modeling and CAD" category. In the File menu, look for Save As… or Export….
To convert DBF, XML, SQLITE, XLSX, SQL, TSV, ACCDB, YAML, MDB, CSV, ODS or JSON files to ESW, try AGTEK Earthwork 4D or another comparable tool in the "Earthwork Modeling and CAD" 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 ESW converter.