Extract text from InDesign flattener presets (FLST)
To convert FLST flattener presets to another format, you need Adobe InDesign or other Settings software.
To convert other file formats to the "Adobe Preset File" file type, you need software like Adobe InDesign or a similar tool.
The .FLST format is an Adobe InDesign Flattener Presets file used primarily by Adobe InDesign and Adobe Illustrator. It stores exact instructions on how to handle overlapping transparent objects (like drop shadows or opacity masks) when exporting layouts to older formats like EPS or legacy PDF versions that do not support live transparency.
Because .FLST is a proprietary settings format, it requires an expensive Adobe Creative Cloud subscription to open and utilize. A major disadvantage for regular users is that this file is completely useless on its own. It contains no actual document data, text, or images, which frustrates users who receive it expecting a readable document.
Users often try to convert .FLST files because they mistake them for image or layout files. However, converting .FLST to standard visual formats like JPG or PDF is impossible because there is no visual content to extract. If you need to see the settings without Adobe software, your best workaround is viewing the raw file data.
Standard online converters fail to process .FLST files because they are closed, proprietary configuration formats, not media files. Often only the original software can properly read or export the data. We can identify the format, show the internal text or XML content, and if our analysis detects a supported embedded format, viewing or conversion may still be possible.
Convert.Guru analyzes your FLST file, detects the exact format, and lets you read the text inside.
If you want to convert FLST file to INI, CFG, CONF, CONFIG, JSON, XML, YAML, YML, TOML, ENV, PROPERTIES or RC, you can use Adobe InDesign or similar software from the "Transparency Flattening Settings" category. In the File menu, look for Save As… or Export….
To convert ZSHRC, CONF, RCFILE, GITCONFIG, RC, PLIST, BASHRC, CONFIG, PROFILE, INI, PREFS or CFG files to FLST, try Adobe InDesign or another comparable tool in the "Transparency Flattening Settings" 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 FLST converter.