Extract text from FAN files
To convert your FAN file to another format, you need MakeMusic Finale or other Font software.
To convert other file formats to the "Music Font Annotation" file type, you need software like MakeMusic Finale or a similar tool.
The .fan extension is shared by two distinct proprietary formats, creating frequent confusion for users.
Primarily, a .fan file is a configuration file used by MakeMusic Finale (discontinued in 2024). These files do not contain audio or sheet music; instead, they store spacing and kerning metrics that tell Finale how to align specific characters within a music font. They are typically found alongside TTF or OTF fonts in your system's font directory. Because Finale has been sunsetted and users are migrating to Dorico, these files are largely becoming legacy artifacts. You cannot "convert" a Finale .fan file to PDF or MP3 because it contains no content - only font metadata. To save your music, you must locate the original MUS or MUSX project file.
Less frequently, a .fan file is an animation project created by AutoDesSys Form•Z, a 3D modeling application. These files store timeline data, camera paths, and view sequences. Unlike the Finale variant, these can be converted to viewable media. Users typically need to export them to standard video formats like MP4, MOV, or AVI to share the animation with clients or view it outside the Form•Z environment.
Convert.Guru analyzes your FAN file, detects the exact format, and lets you read the text inside.
Users also converted MP4, MYR, ASV, MUSX and AC files.
If you want to convert FAN file to AC, DWG, DXF, DGN, RVT, RFA, SKP, 3DM, STEP, IGES, SAT or X_T, you can use MakeMusic Finale or similar software from the "Font Spacing Metadata" category. In the File menu, look for Save As… or Export….
To convert SLDASM, DGN, PRT, IAM, X_B, CATPRODUCT, SLDPRT, RVT, ASM, DWG, CATPART or DXF files to FAN, try MakeMusic Finale or another comparable tool in the "Font Spacing Metadata" 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 FAN converter.