Extract text from MAF files
To convert your MAF file to another format, you need GDC Data Portal or other Data software.
To convert other file formats to the "Bioinformatics Data File" file type, you need software like GDC Data Portal or a similar tool.
The .MAF extension primarily refers to the Mutation Annotation Format, a tab-delimited text file standard used in bioinformatics to store somatic mutation data from genome sequencing projects like The Cancer Genome Atlas. These files are essential for identifying distinct mutation types but are often unwieldy due to their large size and strict column requirements defined by the GDC Data Portal. Researchers often face friction when attempting to open raw .MAF files in standard spreadsheet software like Microsoft Excel because the row count exceeds limits or the tab separators are not automatically recognized. For analysis and visualization, the best workflow is to convert these files to CSV or XLSX format.
A secondary, distinct use of the .MAF extension is for Microsoft Access Form Shortcuts. These small files serve as pointers to specific forms within a Microsoft Access database, allowing users to jump directly to a data entry screen. The main limitation here is proprietary lock-in: the file is useless without the installed database and the associated .MDB or .ACCDB file. To archive the layout or data from these forms, users should convert the underlying form data to PDF or export the table data to CSV.
Convert.Guru analyzes your MAF file, detects the exact format, and lets you read the text inside.
Users also converted MAF 2, GZ, BIB, PDF, LDB, ACCDB, MAG, VCF, BCM, MCM, FASTA, MAP and PAF files.
If you want to convert MAF file to VCF, BCM, MCM, FASTA, MAP, PAF, EAF, DB, SQLITE, SQLITE3, MDB or ACCDB, you can use GDC Data Portal or similar software from the "Genomic Mutation Data Storage" category. In the File menu, look for Save As… or Export….
To convert NDF, SQLITE3, BAK, RDB, SQL, DB4, MDF, MDB, LDF, DB, DB3 or SQLITE files to MAF, try GDC Data Portal or another comparable tool in the "Genomic Mutation Data 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 MAF converter.