MDW Converter

Extract text from MDW files

Select File
Drop or upload your .MDW file

Online File Converter

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How to extract text from your MDW file

Click the "Select File" button above, and choose your MDW file.
You’ll see a preview, if available.
Click the "Convert file to..." button to extract text information.

Convert MDW to another file type

To convert your MDW file to another format, you need Microsoft Access or other Database software.

Convert a file to MDW

To convert other file formats to the "Access Security File" file type, you need software like Microsoft Access or a similar tool.

About MDW files

The .MDW file extension primarily represents the Workgroup Information File used by legacy versions of Microsoft Access. Acting essentially as a digital keychain, this binary file stores the user names, passwords, and group permissions required to open secured Access databases (MDB format).

The Problem: While effective in the 90s, this security model is now a major liability. If you lose the specific .MDW file associated with a database, the data inside the MDB becomes permanently inaccessible; you cannot simply open the database with a different workgroup file. Furthermore, modern versions of Access (2007+) using the ACCDB format have deprecated user-level security, making these files a compatibility nightmare. Attempting to open them in modern environments often triggers cryptic "Not a valid account name or password" errors.

The Solution:

For Access Users: The goal is usually migration, not direct conversion. You must use the .MDW to authenticate and open the legacy database, then "convert" the security model by exporting the data to a standard SQL dump, CSV, or a modern ACCDB file.
For CAD Users: A secondary, distinct use of the .MDW extension is for drawings created by MEDUSA (2D/3D CAD software) or Mitsubishi Design Works. These proprietary engineering files are difficult to share with clients who don't own the specific CAD suite. For collaboration, the best workflow is converting these vector drawings to widely supported formats like DXF or DWG for editing in AutoCAD, or to PDF for static archiving and print.

Convert.Guru analyzes your MDW file, detects the exact format, and lets you read the text inside.

Users also converted ACCDB, JET and MAG files.

FAQ

If you want to convert MDW file to TMP, TEMP, CACHE, LOG, BAK, OLD, NEW, PART, DOWNLOAD, CRDOWNLOAD, LOCK or PID, you can use Microsoft Access or similar software from the "Database Security Configuration" category. In the File menu, look for Save As… or Export….

To convert DEVICE, CACHE, SOCK, SYMLINK, PID, MOUNT, FIFO, LOG, PIPE, TMP, JUNCTION or TEMP files to MDW, try Microsoft Access or another comparable tool in the "Database Security Configuration" category.

The MDW Converter Story

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 MDW converter.