Extract text from FM3 files
To convert your FM3 file to another format, you need Lotus 1-2-3 or other Spreadsheet software.
To convert other file formats to the "Legacy Formatting File" file type, you need software like Lotus 1-2-3 or a similar tool.
The .FM3 file extension is most commonly associated with Lotus 1-2-3 Release 3, serving as a sidecar formatting file. Unlike standard spreadsheets, an .FM3 file does not contain any data (numbers, text, or formulas). Instead, it stores only the visual styling attributes - such as fonts, cell borders, colors, and shading - for a corresponding WK3 spreadsheet file.
Users typically encounter these files when recovering data from legacy floppy disks or archives from the 1990s. The key problem is that an .FM3 file is useless in isolation. Attempting to open it directly in modern software like Microsoft Excel often results in an error or a blank screen because the software expects the parent WK3 file to be present in the same directory. Furthermore, support for Lotus 1-2-3 formats has been deprecated in newer Office versions, making access difficult without specific legacy import filters.
To "convert" an .FM3 file, you must actually locate and convert the accompanying WK3 file. When you open the WK3 in a compatible tool like LibreOffice Calc, the software automatically applies the styles found in the .FM3. From there, you can save the complete spreadsheet as a modern XLSX for editing or PDF for archiving. A secondary, niche use for this extension is a project file for the FCEUX NES emulator's TAS (Tool-Assisted Speedrun) Editor, which should be exported to video (MP4) for sharing.
Convert.Guru analyzes your FM3 file, detects the exact format, and lets you read the text inside.
Users also converted WK3, WK4, MP4, WK1 and FM2 files.
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 FM3 converter.