Extract text from WaterCAD and Madoko files (MDK)
To convert MDK files to another format, you need Bentley WaterCAD or other Database software.
To convert other file formats to the "Engineering Database File" file type, you need software like Bentley WaterCAD or a similar tool.
The .MDK extension is primarily associated with two distinct formats: a WaterCAD Model Database File and a Madoko Markdown Processor Source File. The WaterCAD variant utilizes the legacy JetDB engine to store complex hydraulic modeling data for water distribution systems. The Madoko variant is a plain-text scholarly document source file containing advanced markdown metadata and formatting syntax.
You can open WaterCAD databases natively with Bentley WaterCAD, a highly specialized engineering application. For Madoko files, the Madoko markdown processor or command-line tools like mdk2pdf are required to render the documents into readable formats.
The WaterCAD .MDK file presents significant challenges. It is a proprietary, closed-ecosystem database requiring an expensive enterprise license to access. Sharing these files with clients or contractors who lack the specific Bentley software is impossible. Madoko files, while technically plain-text, contain specialized formatting syntax that confuses standard text editors and prevents proper rendering in web browsers.
Users typically need to convert WaterCAD data into CSV, XLSX, or DXF to share hydraulic tabular data or schematics with non-engineers. Madoko files should be converted to standard PDF or HTML for universal distribution and reading.
Because the WaterCAD format is a closed, proprietary database, standard online converters often fail to process it. Often, only the original Bentley Systems software can properly read or export the data. However, just drag and drop your file to identify the format, view it, and convert it when possible. convert.guru can still identify the file format, inspect the file, and show text or internal content. If our analysis detects a supported underlying or embedded format - like plain text from a Madoko file or accessible tables from a JetDB database - viewing or conversion may still be possible.
Convert.Guru analyzes your MDK file, detects the exact format, and lets you read the text inside.
Users also converted MKV and SCD files.
If you want to convert MDK file to EXE, ISO, BIN, CUE, PAK, WAD, PK3, PK4, BSP, MAP, SAV or DAT, you can use Bentley WaterCAD or similar software from the "Hydraulic Modeling Database" category. In the File menu, look for Save As… or Export….
To convert MOD, BIN, CFG, SCX, DAT, MPQ, LOG, CUE, INI, EXE, SCM or ISO files to MDK, try Bentley WaterCAD or another comparable tool in the "Hydraulic Modeling Database" 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 MDK converter.