Extract text from GDS files
To convert your GDS file to another format, you need Cadence Virtuoso or other Cad software.
To convert other file formats to the "Integrated Circuit Layout" file type, you need software like Cadence Virtuoso or a similar tool.
The .GDS file extension primarily refers to the GDSII Stream format (Graphic Data System II), the legendary industry standard for Integrated Circuit (IC) layout data exchange. These binary files contain hierarchical planar geometric shapes, text labels, and layer information essential for photolithography masks. While universal in chip design, .GDS files are notoriously difficult to access without specialized Electronic Design Automation (EDA) software like Cadence Virtuoso or LayoutEditor, which often come with steep licensing costs and steep learning curves. Users frequently face compatibility friction when trying to view layouts in general-purpose CAD tools, necessitating conversion to DXF for use in AutoCAD or OASIS for more efficient handling of massive datasets. For documentation and reviewing layer stacks without editing, converting to PDF is the standard workflow.
A secondary but notable use of the .GDS extension is for event video recordings generated by dashcams using Generalplus chipsets. These proprietary video files often fail to open in standard media players due to specific encoding wrappers. To share footage of accidents or road events, users must typically convert these .GDS videos to universally supported formats like MP4 or AVI.
Convert.Guru analyzes your GDS file, detects the exact format, and lets you read the text inside.
Users also converted GDS5, DXF, GDS2, GTD, OAS, MS26_GDS FILE FOR CUT, PNG, CIF, GTE, TDB, PDF, DGS and JPG files.
If you want to convert GDS file to DXF, PNG, DEF, SVG, PDF, STL, DWG, DGN, RVT, RFA, SKP or 3DM, you can use Cadence Virtuoso or similar software from the "Integrated Circuit Design Layout" category. In the File menu, look for Save As… or Export….
To convert SLDASM, DGN, PRT, IAM, X_B, CATPRODUCT, SLDPRT, RVT, ASM, DWG, CATPART or DXF files to GDS, try Cadence Virtuoso or another comparable tool in the "Integrated Circuit Design Layout" 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 GDS converter.