Extract text from obsolete Adobe files (MARS)
To convert MARS files to another format, you need Adobe Acrobat or other Page Layout software.
To convert other file formats to the "Experimental XML Document" file type, you need software like Adobe Acrobat or a similar tool.
The .MARS file format is an experimental XML-based document container developed by Adobe Systems. Originally designed under "Project Mars," these files were intended to serve as an open, web-friendly alternative to the standard PDF, storing page layouts, text, and vector graphics using XML and SVG standards.
Historically, these files could only be opened using a specific, now-defunct plug-in for Adobe Acrobat or Adobe Reader. Today, the format is completely obsolete. Users face major challenges because modern web browsers and document viewers do not support the .MARS structure. The format's primary disadvantage is its discontinued status, meaning there is no modern official software that can natively render the document as originally intended.
The best conversion targets for a .MARS file are ZIP (for extraction), SVG (for vector assets), and PDF (if rendering is possible). Because a .MARS file is essentially a compressed archive containing raw XML and image files, standard online converters usually fail to process it as a unified document.
This file format is difficult to open or convert because only the original, discontinued Adobe software can properly interpret the layout data. Our analysis can detect the supported underlying ZIP structure, allowing you to extract and salvage the embedded text and images even without the original software.
Convert.Guru analyzes your MARS file, detects the exact format, and lets you read the text inside.
Users also converted ASM files.
If you want to convert MARS file to INDD, QXP, PUB, PMD, PM6, PM7, PM8, PM9, PM10, PM11, OMP or P65, you can use Adobe Acrobat or similar software from the "XML Document Storage" category. In the File menu, look for Save As… or Export….
To convert MDI, PUB, PDP, PM4, P65, COMIC, WEBTEMPLATE, PMD, SPUB, INDD, PM5 or QXP files to MARS, try Adobe Acrobat or another comparable tool in the "XML Document 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 MARS converter.