Extract text from Global Makefiles (GLOBAL)
To convert GLOBAL Makefiles to another format, you need GNU Make or other Developer software.
To convert other file formats to the "Makefile Include" file type, you need software like GNU Make or a similar tool.
A .global file typically functions as a Global Makefile or an include file used by build automation tools like GNU Make. Developers use it to define shared variables, file paths, and compilation rules across multiple software projects. You can open and edit these files using standard code editors such as Visual Studio Code or Notepad++. For more context on build automation, see the Makefile Wikipedia page.
The main disadvantage of the .global format is its strict formatting rules and lack of native operating system association. Makefiles notoriously require hard tab characters for command indentation. Opening this file in a standard word processor like Microsoft Word often ruins the code by replacing tabs with spaces, which completely breaks the software build process. Furthermore, non-developers will find the raw syntax confusing and difficult to read natively.
If you need to share the contents of a .global file with non-technical users, converting it to a standard text format like TXT or a document format like PDF is highly recommended. If you need it recognized by standard build systems, converting or renaming it to MK is the best path.
Because .global files contain highly specific build logic tailored to a single software project, standard online converters often fail to process or translate them into modern build scripts (like CMake or Ninja).
Convert.Guru analyzes your GLOBAL file, detects the exact format, and lets you read the text inside.
Users also converted MAKE, MAKEFILE and SED files.
If you want to convert GLOBAL file to TMP, TEMP, CACHE, LOG, BAK, OLD, NEW, PART, DOWNLOAD, CRDOWNLOAD, LOCK or PID, you can use GNU Make or similar software from the "Build Automation 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 GLOBAL, try GNU Make or another comparable tool in the "Build Automation 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 GLOBAL converter.