Extract text from graphic object bitmaps (GROB)
To convert GROB bitmaps to another format, you need HP Connectivity Kit or other Raster Image software.
To convert other file formats to the "Calculator Bitmap Image" file type, you need software like HP Connectivity Kit or a similar tool.
A .grob (Graphic Object Bitmap) file is a proprietary raster image format developed by Hewlett-Packard specifically for their graphing calculators, including the legendary HP 48, HP 49, and HP 50g series. These files store monochrome or extremely low-color bitmaps that represent on-screen calculator graphics, complex math equations, user interface elements, or game sprites.
To interact with .grob files natively, users typically rely on specific hardware transfers or software like the official HP Connectivity Kit and calculator emulators such as Emu48.
The main disadvantage of the .grob format is its highly specialized and obsolete nature. It is a strictly proprietary format. Standard operating systems, web browsers, and modern image editors like Adobe Photoshop cannot open these files. Outside the enclosed ecosystem of retro HP calculators and specific emulators, these files are completely inaccessible without conversion.
Users primarily need to convert .grob files to standard raster formats like PNG or BMP to view, archive, or share calculator screenshots on modern devices. Converting to PNG is highly recommended because it perfectly preserves the sharp, pixelated monochrome data without introducing the compression artifacts you would get with a JPG.
Because this is a closed, proprietary format from a niche hardware era, standard online converters almost always fail to process it. Often, only the original HP software or community-built emulator tools can properly read or export the graphic data. If our analysis detects a supported underlying or embedded format, viewing or conversion may still be possible.
Convert.Guru analyzes your GROB file, detects the exact format, and lets you read the text inside.
Users also converted VFS, SWI and CVA files.
If you want to convert GROB file to JPG, PDF, PNG, GIF, BMP, TIFF, TIF, WEBP, ICO, CUR, PSD or PSB, you can use HP Connectivity Kit or similar software from the "Calculator Graphic Storage" category. In the File menu, look for Save As… or Export….
To convert RAW, PNG, AI, NEF, PSB, DNG, SVG, GIF, EPS, JPG, ARW or PDF files to GROB, try HP Connectivity Kit or another comparable tool in the "Calculator Graphic Storage" 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 GROB converter.