Extract text from Game data files (INPUT)
To convert INPUT Data files to another format, you need MAME or other Developer software.
To convert other file formats to the "Configuration Source File" file type, you need software like MAME or a similar tool.
The .INPUT file extension is a versatile, generic container primarily used in two distinct environments: software development and retro gaming. In the context of MAME (Multiple Arcade Machine Emulator), these files store "Default game controller inputs," mapping physical hardware buttons to emulated arcade actions. Outside of gaming, .INPUT files are frequently used by developers (working with Python, C++, or LaTeX) as raw text sources to feed data into algorithms or scripts.
The primary problem for users is that operating systems like Windows and macOS do not assign a default application to .INPUT files, treating them as unknown binaries. This forces users to manually select a program every time they wish to view the contents. Furthermore, because the format is plain text or XML-based but lacks a standard header, opening them in rich editors like Microsoft Word can cause formatting errors or character encoding issues.
For most users, the best course of action is converting the file to a standard text format.
Convert.Guru analyzes your INPUT file, detects the exact format, and lets you read the text inside.
Users also converted SHAPES, DEAD, BOP and INT files.
If you want to convert INPUT file to INT, CSV, JSON, XML, YAML, YML, TOML, INI, CFG, CONF, DAT or DB, you can use MAME or similar software from the "Configuration & Data Input" category. In the File menu, look for Save As… or Export….
To convert DBF, XML, SQLITE, XLSX, SQL, TSV, ACCDB, YAML, MDB, CSV, ODS or JSON files to INPUT, try MAME or another comparable tool in the "Configuration & Data Input" 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 INPUT converter.