Extract text from Apple Maps data files (MAPSDATA)
To convert MAPSDATA map files to another format, you need Apple Maps or other GIS software.
To convert other file formats to the "Map Cache Data" file type, you need software like Apple Maps or a similar tool.
A .mapsdata file is a proprietary data container used by Apple Maps on iOS and macOS to store user-specific geospatial information, such as bookmarked locations, search history, and route caches. Under the hood, these files are frequently structured as binary Property Lists (.PLIST), rendering them unreadable in standard text editors like Notepad or TextEdit. Users typically encounter these files when attempting to extract their saved "Favorites" or "Guides" from an iPhone backup or the macOS ~/Library/Containers/ directory.
The primary problem is that .mapsdata is an internal system format designed for the application's exclusive use, not for data interchange. It is not natively supported by third-party GIS tools like Google Earth or ArcGIS, effectively locking your navigation data within the Apple ecosystem. To migrate your pinned locations or route history, you must convert the file to an open standard. For generic mapping and GPS devices, converting to GPX (GPS Exchange Format) or KML (Keyhole Markup Language) is ideal. For data analysis or viewing coordinates in a spreadsheet, converting to CSV is the most practical solution.
Convert.Guru analyzes your MAPSDATA file, detects the exact format, and lets you read the text inside.
Users also converted MAPDATA, PHO, IMS and CDS files.
If you want to convert MAPSDATA file to , you can use Apple Maps or similar software from the "Geospatial Data Storage" category. In the File menu, look for Save As… or Export….
To convert files to MAPSDATA, try Apple Maps or another comparable tool in the "Geospatial 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 MAPSDATA converter.