Extract text from Mascot or Minitab files (MGF)
To convert MGF files to another format, you need Mascot or other Data software.
To convert other file formats to the "Spectrometry Data & Graphs" file type, you need software like Mascot or a similar tool.
The .mgf file extension primarily represents a Mascot Generic Format file. These files store mass spectrometry peak lists used by scientific software like Mascot Daemon and MZmine 2 to identify proteins. In a completely different context, the .mgf extension is also used as a proprietary Minitab Graph File generated by Minitab Statistical Software. It can also function as a game graphic archive for the Malie game engine or an HMI/SCADA graphics object for Siemens WinCC.
The major disadvantage of these formats is extreme software dependency. Minitab Graph Files are closed Microsoft Compound binaries that require expensive, paid Minitab licenses to open or edit. They cannot be viewed in standard image viewers or web browsers. Mascot .mgf files, while often plain text, can become massively bloated and difficult to parse without specialized bioinformatics tools like MSnbase or Mascot.
When converting .mgf files, your target format depends strictly on the file type. Mascot peak lists should ideally be converted to standard CSV or TXT for spreadsheet-based data analysis. Minitab graphs need to be exported to standard raster formats like PNG or JPG, or document formats like PDF to ensure easy sharing. Be aware that converting proprietary Minitab graphs to flat images inherently destroys the underlying statistical data linkage.
Because .mgf is shared across multiple, unrelated, closed-source applications, it is notoriously difficult for generic online converters to process. Often, only the original software can properly read, render, or export the data. However, drag and drop your file into convert.guru to identify the true format and inspect the internal content. If our analysis detects a supported underlying or embedded format - like a plain text peak list or a parsable graph container - viewing or conversion may still be possible.
Convert.Guru analyzes your MGF file, detects the exact format, and lets you read the text inside.
Users also converted LC96P, MSP, MSG, PDF, MDF, XLSX, JPG, ZIP, TXT, PNG and SDOCX files.
If you want to convert MGF file to MSP, PDF, OBJ, FBX, DAE, 3DS, MAX, BLEND, MA, MB, C4D or STL, you can use Mascot or similar software from the "Mass Spectrometry & Statistical Graphs" category. In the File menu, look for Save As… or Export….
To convert DWG, DAE, X3D, IGES, WRL, JT, SKP, 3DS, 3DM, OBJ, STEP or FBX files to MGF, try Mascot or another comparable tool in the "Mass Spectrometry & Statistical Graphs" 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 MGF converter.