Extract text from Data files (HAL)
To convert HAL Files to another format, you need WinUAE or other Game software.
To convert other file formats to the "Amiga Game Archive" file type, you need software like WinUAE or a similar tool.
The .HAL file extension is primarily associated with Amiga game data files. These files were notably used in the classic 1993 game Hired Guns, developed by DMA Design (the studio that later became Rockstar North). These archives were often compressed using the Amiga Power Packer utility to save disk space on low-capacity floppy disks. Alternatively, the .HAL extension is used as a HansaWorld Application Language File by the enterprise ERP provider HansaWorld, or as a HotDocs Answer Library by HotDocs document automation software.
Opening these files today presents significant challenges. The Amiga game files are obsolete binary archives that require an Amiga emulator like WinUAE or specialized extraction tools to read. The HansaWorld and HotDocs variations are locked behind expensive, proprietary enterprise software. You cannot simply open these files in modern web browsers or standard text editors. They are closed formats, which means standard online converters fail to process them because they lack the specific parsing logic required for each distinct .HAL variation.
Depending on the exact file type, your conversion targets will vary. A HansaWorld script might ideally be converted to a standard TXT or XML file for code review. A HotDocs library might export data to XML or DOCX. Amiga game archives are rarely converted directly, but internal assets might be extracted as MOD audio or standard raster images.
Because this file format is difficult to open or convert, you usually need the original software to properly read or export the data. However, you can use our platform to bypass these restrictions. Just drag and drop your file into convert.guru to identify the format, inspect the raw binary or text content, and extract embedded data. If our analysis detects a supported underlying or embedded format, viewing or partial conversion may still be possible.
Convert.Guru analyzes your HAL file, detects the exact format, and lets you read the text inside.
Users also converted PL, DPP and FRT files.
If you want to convert HAL file to JS, TS, PY, JAVA, CPP, C, CS, PHP, RB, GO, RS or SWIFT, you can use WinUAE or similar software from the "Legacy Game Data Storage" category. In the File menu, look for Save As… or Export….
To convert SH, PY, KT, PS1, SWIFT, LUA, PL, JAVA, SCALA, JS, VBS or TS files to HAL, try WinUAE or another comparable tool in the "Legacy Game Data 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 HAL converter.