Extract text from LIA files
To convert your LIA file to another format, you need Altium_Designer or other Cad software.
To convert other file formats to the "PCB Library File" file type, you need software like Altium_Designer or a similar tool.
The .LIA file extension represents a P-CAD ASCII Library, a legacy format originally generated by P-CAD, a widely used Electronic Design Automation (EDA) suite now owned by Altium. These files store collections of electronic component definitions, including their schematic symbols, PCB footprints, and pattern attributes, encoded in a human-readable ASCII text structure rather than binary code.
While the ASCII format theoretically allows .LIA files to be viewed in any text editor like Notepad++, the raw data is practically useless for design work without the original rendering engine. A common issue for users is software obsolescence; P-CAD was discontinued in 2006, making these files difficult to open without maintaining legacy hardware or purchasing an expensive license for Altium Designer, which includes a specific P-CAD importer. Users attempting to migrate to open-source tools like KiCad often face compatibility hurdles, as direct import support for .LIA libraries is limited or buggy.
For active design projects, the best course of action is converting .LIA files into modern Altium formats (IntLib, SchLib, or PcbLib) to preserve component intelligence. For archiving, documentation, or reviewing component lists without EDA software, converting the text content to PDF or a structured CSV is recommended to ensure the data remains accessible independent of proprietary CAD tools.
Convert.Guru analyzes your LIA file, detects the exact format, and lets you read the text inside.
Users also converted ZIP, PCB, DDB and DRL files.
If you want to convert LIA file to DWG, DXF, DGN, RVT, RFA, SKP, 3DM, STEP, IGES, SAT, X_T or X_B, you can use Altium_Designer or similar software from the "PCB Component Library Storage" category. In the File menu, look for Save As… or Export….
To convert SLDASM, DGN, PRT, IAM, X_B, CATPRODUCT, SLDPRT, RVT, ASM, DWG, CATPART or DXF files to LIA, try Altium_Designer or another comparable tool in the "PCB Component Library 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 LIA converter.