Extract text from Compression catalogs or configuration files (FCI)
To convert FCI Configuration files to another format, you need Microsoft Windows or other System software.
To convert other file formats to the "Catalog and Configuration File" file type, you need software like Microsoft Windows or a similar tool.
The .FCI file extension primarily represents a File Compression Interface Catalog used by Microsoft Corporation. These files store indexing data for compressed archives. A secondary use case is for Fire alarm panel configuration files utilized by Honeywell Fire Control Instruments. These files contain system logic, zone mapping, and hardware definitions for commercial fire alarm systems.
To open the Microsoft catalog variant, you typically rely on native Windows command-line tools or legacy Cabinet SDK utilities. The Honeywell variant is opened using proprietary fire life safety software, though the underlying architecture is often a standard JetDB (similar to MDB databases). You can learn more about the Jet Database Engine on Wikipedia.
Users often need to convert .FCI files because both variations pose significant usability challenges. The Microsoft format is obsolete and unsupported by modern web browsers. The Honeywell configuration files are entirely proprietary; viewing the programmed logic typically requires an expensive software license and restricted access. Sharing these files with clients or auditors who lack the specific software is impossible.
When dealing with .FCI data, the best target formats are TXT or CSV for raw text extraction, or MDB if treating the file as a Jet Database. Converting to these standard formats allows you to audit system settings without specialized tools. Be aware that converting a fire panel database to CSV will break its functionality - it is strictly for data review, not reprogramming.
Because .FCI files are either legacy system catalogs or strictly closed, proprietary configuration databases, they are difficult to open or convert. Standard online converters fail to process them. Often, only the original software can properly read or export the data. If our analysis detects a supported underlying JetDB or embedded text format, viewing or conversion may still be possible.
Convert.Guru analyzes your FCI file, detects the exact format, and lets you read the text inside.
Users also converted PSD, JPG, GED, PWB and LSF files.
If you want to convert FCI file to TMP, TEMP, CACHE, LOG, BAK, OLD, NEW, PART, DOWNLOAD, CRDOWNLOAD, LOCK or PID, you can use Microsoft Windows or similar software from the "Data Catalog and Panel Configuration" category. In the File menu, look for Save As… or Export….
To convert DEVICE, CACHE, SOCK, SYMLINK, PID, MOUNT, FIFO, LOG, PIPE, TMP, JUNCTION or TEMP files to FCI, try Microsoft Windows or another comparable tool in the "Data Catalog and Panel Configuration" 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 FCI converter.