FTS to TXT Converter

FTS to TXT Conversion Explained

Converting an .FTS file to a .TXT file changes how the data is stored and viewed. The .FTS extension is shared by two completely different formats: Flexible Image Transport System (astronomical images) and FastTrack Schedule (project management files).

When you convert an .FTS image to plain text, you extract the human-readable ASCII header (metadata like telescope coordinates and exposure times) while discarding the binary pixel data. When converting an .FTS schedule, you export the project tasks, dates, and resources into a flat, tab-separated or comma-separated text list. People do this to make the data universally readable and searchable. The main trade-off is severe data loss: you gain text accessibility but permanently lose the actual visual image or the graphical Gantt chart layout. This conversion is a bad idea if you need to preserve visual fidelity.

Typical Tasks and Users

• Astronomers and Data Scientists: Extracting FITS header metadata to catalog observations, verify instrument parameters, or feed data into machine learning pipelines.
• Project Managers: Migrating legacy FastTrack Schedule data into modern project management tools (like Jira, MS Project, or Excel) by exporting the schedule as structured text.
• Archivists and System Administrators: Converting proprietary files into plain text to enable full-text search indexing across large databases.

Software & Tool Support

Different tools are required depending on the original .FTS file type:

• For FTS Images: SAOImageDS9 (free) can view and export headers. Programmers use the Astropy Python library (astropy.io.fits) or NASA's CFITSIO library to parse the files. Command-line tools like fitshdr extract text directly.
• For FTS Schedules: FastTrack Schedule (paid/legacy) is the native application used to open and export these files to text or CSV.
• For TXT: Any standard text editor like Notepad++, Visual Studio Code, or Vim can open the resulting .TXT file.

Pros and Cons of the Conversion

• Pros:

  • Universal Compatibility: .TXT files open on any operating system without specialized software.
  • Scripting and Automation: Plain text is easy to parse with Python, Bash, or AI systems.
  • File Size: Extracting only the text metadata reduces file size from gigabytes down to a few kilobytes.

• Cons:

  • Total Visual Loss: The raster image data (stars, galaxies) or the Gantt chart graphics are completely destroyed.
  • Structure Flattening: Hierarchical project data or multi-dimensional image arrays are flattened into linear text.
  • Encoding Risks: If binary data is accidentally read as text, it produces unreadable mojibake (gibberish characters).

Conversion Difficulties & Why Convert.Guru

The main technical problem in this conversion is separating the text from the binary data. FITS image files use a strict 2880-byte block structure where ASCII headers are followed immediately by raw binary pixel arrays. If a basic script tries to read the entire file as text, it will crash or output corrupted characters. Schedule files use proprietary binary structures that require exact layout mapping to extract tasks and dates accurately.

Convert.Guru handles this pipeline safely. It detects the specific type of .FTS file, parses the internal structure, and isolates the text. For images, it extracts the 80-character ASCII header records while ignoring the binary arrays. For schedules, it maps the proprietary tables into clean, UTF-8 encoded plain text. This prevents encoding errors and ensures you get a readable .TXT file without manual hex editing.

FTS vs. TXT: What is the better choice?

Which format should you choose?

Choose .FTS when you are actively processing astronomical data, analyzing scientific images, or managing a project timeline in FastTrack Schedule. The original format is required to retain the binary arrays and visual layouts.

Choose .TXT only when you need to archive metadata, migrate schedule data to a different platform, or feed parameters into a script. Avoid converting to .TXT if your goal is to view the image or share the project timeline with a client; in those cases, convert the .FTS to .JPG, .PNG, or .PDF instead.

Conclusion

Converting .FTS to .TXT makes sense for data extraction and legacy migration, allowing users to pull readable metadata or task lists out of specialized files. The biggest limitation is the absolute loss of all visual and binary data, meaning the resulting text file serves as a data reference rather than a visual document. Convert.Guru provides a reliable solution for this exact conversion by correctly identifying the file type, safely bypassing binary blocks, and delivering clean, accurately mapped text without encoding errors.