Extract text from Haiku vector icons (HVIF)
To convert HVIF vector icons to another format, you need Haiku OS or other Vector Image software.
To convert other file formats to the "System Icon Format" file type, you need software like Haiku OS or a similar tool.
The .HVIF (Haiku Vector Icon Format) is a highly optimized vector graphics format native to the Haiku operating system (the open-source continuation of BeOS). It stores scalable system icons using a specialized binary encoding designed to keep file sizes incredibly small, often under 1 kilobyte. The native tool for creating and viewing these files is Icon-O-Matic.
Because .HVIF is a proprietary-style, system-specific binary format, it poses major compatibility issues outside the Haiku environment. It is not supported by web browsers, and standard vector editors like Adobe Illustrator or Inkscape cannot open it natively. This lack of cross-platform support means that designers and developers working on Windows, macOS, or Linux cannot view or edit these assets without specialized environments.
To use these icons elsewhere, you must convert .HVIF files to SVG to retain vector scalability, or to PNG for basic raster compatibility. However, this file format is notoriously difficult to open or convert. Its rendering logic is tied directly to Haiku's native API. Often, only the original Haiku environment can properly read or export the path data to SVG. Standard online converters usually fail to process the binary encoding.
Convert.Guru analyzes your HVIF file, detects the exact format, and lets you read the text inside.
If you want to convert HVIF file to SVG, AI, EPS, PDF, JPG, CDR, WMF, EMF, SWF, FLA, XFL or SKETCH, you can use Haiku OS or similar software from the "Vector Icon Storage" category. In the File menu, look for Save As… or Export….
To convert AFPUB, EPS, FIG, VSD, SKETCH, VDX, AFPHOTO, PDF, AFDESIGN, SVG, VSDX or AI files to HVIF, try Haiku OS or another comparable tool in the "Vector Icon 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 HVIF converter.