Extract text from GWS files
To convert your GWS file to another format, you need GeoMedia or other GIS software.
To convert other file formats to the "Geospatial Project File" file type, you need software like GeoMedia or a similar tool.
The .GWS extension typically serves two very different technical roles, creating confusion for users trying to open them. Most frequently, it acts as a GeoMedia Workspace, a proprietary GIS file format used by Hexagon GeoMedia (formerly Intergraph). These files function similarly to project files; they do not contain the actual geospatial map data (raster or vector) but rather the references, layer styling, query definitions, and map window layouts. A common drawback is that a .GWS file is useless without the linked database connections (.MDB, Oracle, SQL Server) or source files. Users often need to convert these workspaces into static formats like PDF for printing, JPG for presentations, or flatten them into standard GeoTIFF images to share map views without requiring the recipient to have a costly GeoMedia license.
Alternatively, a .GWS file may be a Router Configuration Backup generated by D-Link hardware. In this context, the file is a binary or XML-based snapshot of network settings (SSID, passwords, port forwarding rules). The primary limitation here is proprietary lock-in; these files are designed to be restored to the specific router model that created them, not opened on a PC. Users often attempt to convert these to TXT or XML to recover forgotten ISP credentials or document network configurations without resetting the hardware. Less common uses include measurement data from Mitutoyo GEOPAK-WIN software.
Convert.Guru analyzes your GWS file, detects the exact format, and lets you read the text inside.
Users also converted VMT, PCG and RDM files.
If you want to convert GWS file to SHP, KML, KMZ, GPX, GEOJSON, TOPOJSON, TIF, TIFF, ECW, SID, IMG or DEM, you can use GeoMedia or similar software from the "GIS Workspace Storage" category. In the File menu, look for Save As… or Export….
To convert LAZ, KMZ, DTM, CSV, DEM, PRJ, LAS, GPX, DSM, SHP, DBF or KML files to GWS, try GeoMedia or another comparable tool in the "GIS Workspace 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 GWS converter.