Extract text from localization and location files (LOC)
To convert LOC files to another format, you need Notepad++ or other Data software.
To convert other file formats to the "Localization or GPS File" file type, you need software like Notepad++ or a similar tool.
The .loc file extension serves multiple completely different purposes depending on the software that created it. Primarily, it functions as a Game Localization File used by companies like Electronic Arts, Blizzard, and Creative Assembly to store translated text strings. Alternatively, it is widely used as a GPS Location Data File by mapping software like TopoGrafix or surveying platforms like Carlson SurvCE to store waypoints.
Because the .loc extension is not standardized, opening it is a major challenge. A .loc file might be formatted as human-readable XML, UTF-8 or UTF-16 (LE) text, a zlib-compressed binary, or even a Microsoft Compound document. If you open a binary .loc file in a standard text editor, you will only see garbled gibberish. Furthermore, proprietary localization files often require dedicated game engine plugins to parse the strings properly.
To overcome these hurdles, you must analyze the file's internal structure. For localization editing, convert text-based .loc files to CSV or JSON to manage strings easily in spreadsheet software. For geospatial tracking, convert GPS .loc data to GPX or KML for compatibility with Google Earth. Drop your file here to analyze and convert it securely right in your browser.
Convert.Guru analyzes your LOC file, detects the exact format, and lets you read the text inside.
Users also converted LOCX, FILELOC, LOCKED, LOCS, MP4, EPUB, PNG, PDF, ZIP, TOC and PAGES files.
If you want to convert LOC file to PAGES, SHP, KML, KMZ, GPX, GEOJSON, TOPOJSON, TIF, TIFF, ECW, SID or IMG, you can use Notepad++ or similar software from the "Localization Data or GPS Waypoints" category. In the File menu, look for Save As… or Export….
To convert LAZ, KMZ, DTM, CSV, DEM, PRJ, LAS, GPX, DSM, SHP, DBF or KML files to LOC, try Notepad++ or another comparable tool in the "Localization Data or GPS Waypoints" 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 LOC converter.