Extract text from Joystick configurations (JOY)
To convert JOY Joystick configs to another format, you need X-Plane or other Settings software.
To convert other file formats to the "Hardware Configuration File" file type, you need software like X-Plane or a similar tool.
The .JOY file extension is primarily a Joystick Configuration file used by the X-Plane flight simulator. It stores custom hardware mappings for flight yokes, rudder pedals, and throttle quadrants. A smaller percentage of .JOY files are generated by CryENGINE as Facial Editor Joystick files to map facial rigging controls.
These files are highly proprietary and game-specific. A major disadvantage of this format is that you cannot simply copy a .JOY file from X-Plane and use it in another program like Microsoft Flight Simulator. The hardware mappings are tied directly to the internal variables of the specific software engine. Furthermore, without the original software installed, the file is functionally useless for gaming. If the file becomes corrupted, you lose hours of complex hardware calibration.
If you need to share your axis curves or button mappings on forums, or back them up safely, you will often need to convert the data. The best target formats are standard text files like TXT or XML. Converting to these formats allows other users to read your configuration parameters without needing the simulator installed.
Because .JOY files are closed, proprietary formats, standard online converters usually fail to process them. Often, only the original software can properly read or export the control data. However, just drag and drop your file to convert.guru to identify the format, inspect the file, and show text or internal content. If our analysis detects a supported underlying plain text structure, viewing or conversion to TXT may still be possible.
Convert.Guru analyzes your JOY file, detects the exact format, and lets you read the text inside.
Users also converted DOCX and JPEG files.
If you want to convert JOY file to INI, CFG, CONF, CONFIG, JSON, XML, YAML, YML, TOML, ENV, PROPERTIES or RC, you can use X-Plane or similar software from the "Joystick Hardware Configuration" category. In the File menu, look for Save As… or Export….
To convert ZSHRC, CONF, RCFILE, GITCONFIG, RC, PLIST, BASHRC, CONFIG, PROFILE, INI, PREFS or CFG files to JOY, try X-Plane or another comparable tool in the "Joystick Hardware Configuration" 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 JOY converter.