Extract text from Family Tree Maker backups (FBC)
To convert FBC backups to another format, you need Family Tree Maker or other Backup software.
To convert other file formats to the "Genealogy Backup Archive" file type, you need software like Family Tree Maker or a similar tool.
The .FBC file extension is predominantly used as a Family Tree Maker Backup file. These specialized archives are generated by Family Tree Maker, a major genealogy software platform originally developed by Ancestry.com and currently managed by Software MacKiev. Genealogists and hobbyists use these files to safely pack and back up their entire family history database, which includes relational trees, text notes, media files, and historical records.
In a completely unrelated industrial use case, .FBC files also function as Welding System Backup Files for Fronius welding hardware. In this scenario, the file is simply a standard GZIP archive containing machine configurations and RCU data.
The massive disadvantage of the genealogy .FBC format is its rigid, proprietary nature. These files are not meant to be opened directly; they act exclusively as restore points. You cannot view them in a web browser, open them in a standard text editor, or import them into competitor genealogy software. Users are functionally locked into a software ecosystem, requiring a paid, compatible installation of Family Tree Maker just to access their own family data. Because the structure is closed, standard online converters routinely fail to process it.
For long-term preservation or sharing, users desperately need to convert this locked data into a GED (GEDCOM) file, which is the universal, open standard for genealogy data. Unfortunately, direct conversion is extremely difficult because only the original software can properly read, rebuild, and export the proprietary database structure embedded inside the backup.
Despite these severe limitations, our platform can assist you. If our deep analysis detects a supported underlying format - such as the GZIP compression utilized by Fronius systems - extraction, viewing, and conversion remain entirely possible.
Convert.Guru analyzes your FBC file, detects the exact format, and lets you read the text inside.
Users also converted FTW, FBK, FPC, PDF, FTMB and FTM files.
If you want to convert FBC file to BAK, BACKUP, OLD, TMP, TEMP, ARC, ZIP, TAR, GZ, 7Z, RAR or ISO, you can use Family Tree Maker or similar software from the "Genealogy Database Backup" category. In the File menu, look for Save As… or Export….
To convert SNAPSHOT, OLD, IMG, RESTORE, ISO, COPY, VMDK, TMP, VHD, BAK, ARCHIVE or BACKUP files to FBC, try Family Tree Maker or another comparable tool in the "Genealogy Database Backup" 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 FBC converter.