PAE Converter

Extract text from PowerArchiver encrypted archives (PAE)


Drop or upload your .PAE file
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How to extract text from your PAE file

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

Convert PAE to another file type

To convert PAE encrypted archives to another format, you need PowerArchiver or other Compressed software.

Convert a file to PAE

To convert other file formats to the "Encrypted Archive File" file type, you need software like PowerArchiver or a similar tool.


About PAE files

A .PAE file is primarily a PowerArchiver Encrypted Archive created by ConeXware PowerArchiver. It uses strong encryption (often AES-256) to secure compressed files and folders. In the gaming industry, the .PAE extension is also used by the MMORPG Black Desert Online to store game particle effects or to function as a game patcher executable file (BlackDesertPatcher32.exe). Legacy RenderWare engines also used this extension for particle effects. The main disadvantage of the .PAE archive format is its proprietary nature. It requires a paid software license to create, and users cannot simply open these archives with default OS tools or popular alternatives like 7-Zip. If you forget the password, the data is permanently inaccessible. Furthermore, the Black Desert game files are closed, compiled assets that lack standard editors. To make compressed files accessible, the best workaround is to extract the .PAE contents using the original software and password, then compress the data into an open standard target format like ZIP or 7Z. Game-related engine files generally cannot be converted as they contain strict, proprietary instructions. Because this file format is heavily encrypted or relies on closed engine code, standard online converters usually fail to process it. Just drag and drop your file onto convert.guru to identify the exact format, view its internal structure, and extract or convert it if supported.

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

Users also converted XXE, PAHD and 32 files.


FAQ

If you want to convert PAE file to ZIP, RAR, 7Z, TAR, GZ, BZ2, XZ, LZMA, CAB, ACE, ARJ or LHA, you can use PowerArchiver or similar software from the "Encrypted Archive Storage" category. In the File menu, look for Save As… or Export….

To convert XXE, 7Z, Z, PAK, LHA, DEB, UUE, TAR, LZH, ZIP, PKG or RAR files to PAE, try PowerArchiver or another comparable tool in the "Encrypted Archive Storage" category.



The PAE 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 PAE converter.