Extract text from IFD files
To convert your IFD file to another format, you need FormScape or other Page Layout software.
To convert other file formats to the "Form Template" file type, you need software like FormScape or a similar tool.
The .IFD file extension is primarily associated with legacy FormScape software (now part of Bottomline Technologies), functioning as a Form Design Definition. These files serve as templates for generating high-volume enterprise documents like invoices, delivery notes, and purchase orders. Because they are proprietary 'intermediate' files meant for a specific processing engine, they are virtually impossible to open with standard office software like Microsoft Word or web browsers. This proprietary lock-in is a common source of problems when you need to view old archives or migrate data.
A secondary but common use of the extension is for Image File Directories within TIFF container streams, often generated by Océ (now Canon) high-speed scanners or printers. In this context, the file contains raster image data that standard image viewers might fail to decode independently.
For FormScape files, the best approach is converting to PDF to preserve the layout for archiving and printing. For TIFF-based variants, converting to standard TIFF, PNG, or JPG ensures compatibility with modern image editors like Adobe Photoshop. Less frequently, you may encounter .IFD files related to TecDoc automotive data or Windows Search indexing; these are raw data files and generally should not be manually edited.
Convert.Guru analyzes your IFD file, detects the exact format, and lets you read the text inside.
Users also converted IDF, BRIDGESORT, IDENTIFIER and TRASHINFO files.
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 IFD converter.