PBA Converter

Extract text from HMI application projects (PBA)


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

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

Convert PBA to another file type

To convert PBA projects to another format, you need PanelBuilder32 or other Developer software.

Convert a file to PBA

To convert other file formats to the "HMI Application Project" file type, you need software like PanelBuilder32 or a similar tool.


About PBA files

The .PBA file extension is primarily used for HMI (Human-Machine Interface) application projects created with Rockwell Automation PanelBuilder32 and Proficy Machine Edition by GE. Under the hood, these files use the Microsoft Compound file structure to store UI layouts, automation tags, and device configurations. Another common use is for Playback animation files generated by PTC Pro/ENGINEER for 3D CAD modeling, as well as PocketBook e-books or audiobooks. The main disadvantage of .PBA files is their highly proprietary nature. Opening an HMI project file without an active, often expensive, software license for PanelBuilder32 is practically impossible. Furthermore, these files are often tied to legacy industrial hardware systems that are no longer actively supported. Converting .PBA files to accessible formats like PDF for documentation or XML for code review is difficult because the data is strictly encoded. Standard online converters usually fail because they cannot parse the proprietary Microsoft Compound structures or the CAD animation data without the original rendering engine. This closed format means you typically need the original software to properly read or export the data. If our analysis detects a supported underlying or embedded format, viewing or partial conversion may still be possible.

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

Users also converted PBH, PBTPL and SNMM files.


FAQ

If you want to convert PBA file to BAK, BACKUP, OLD, TMP, TEMP, ARC, ZIP, TAR, GZ, 7Z, RAR or ISO, you can use PanelBuilder32 or similar software from the "HMI Application Project" category. In the File menu, look for Save As… or Export….

To convert SNAPSHOT, OLD, IMG, RESTORE, ISO, COPY, VMDK, TMP, VHD, BAK, ARCHIVE or BACKUP files to PBA, try PanelBuilder32 or another comparable tool in the "HMI Application Project" category.



The PBA 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 PBA converter.