Extract text from InCopy documents (ICML)
To convert ICML documents to another format, you need Adobe InCopy or other Text software.
The converter also works in reverse, so you can convert other "InCopy Markup Document" formats to ICML without using software like Adobe InCopy or a similar tool.
The .ICML file extension represents an InCopy Markup Language document. It is primarily used in professional editorial environments where writers use Adobe InCopy to edit text, while designers build the page layout using Adobe InDesign simultaneously.
The main disadvantage of the .ICML format is its strict dependency on the proprietary Adobe Creative Cloud ecosystem. You cannot natively open these files in standard word processors like Microsoft Word or Google Docs. If a client or external freelancer lacks an active, expensive Adobe subscription, the file is virtually useless. While it is technically an XML-based file, opening it in a standard text editor reveals complex metadata and structural tags that make the actual paragraph content extremely difficult to read.
To share this content outside the Adobe environment, you must convert the .ICML file to standard text formats like DOCX, RTF, or plain TXT. However, this format is highly proprietary. Standard online converters usually fail to process .ICML files because they lack the specific parsing engine required to understand Adobe's internal layout logic and styling schemas.
Fortunately, convert.guru provides a pragmatic workaround. Just drag and drop your file to identify the format, view the internal XML structure, extract the readable text content, and convert it to common document formats when possible.
Use Convert.Guru to open and convert your ICML file.
Users also converted FB2 and IDML files.
If you want to convert ICML file to INDD, QXP, PUB, PMD, PM6, PM7, PM8, PM9, PM10, PM11, OMP or P65, you can use Adobe InCopy or similar software from the "Editorial Publishing Workflow" category. In the File menu, look for Save As… or Export….
To convert MDI, PUB, PDP, PM4, P65, COMIC, WEBTEMPLATE, PMD, SPUB, INDD, PM5 or QXP files to ICML, try Adobe InCopy or another comparable tool in the "Editorial Publishing Workflow" 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 ICML converter.