Extract text from PD4 files
To convert your PD4 file to another format, you need DNASTAR Lasergene or other Vector Image software.
To convert other file formats to the "Legacy Graphics & Science Data" file type, you need software like DNASTAR Lasergene or a similar tool.
The .PD4 extension typically serves two distinct, proprietary purposes that often confuse users.
Historically, this format is associated with Microsoft PhotoDraw, a discontinued vector graphics and layout tool released in the late 1990s alongside Microsoft Office 2000. Unlike standard JPEGs, these files function as project containers (similar to PSD or AI), storing a mix of vector paths, raster bitmaps, and text layers.
The Problem: PhotoDraw was abandoned after version 2 (2000), and modern tools like Adobe Illustrator or CorelDRAW generally do not support .PD4 files natively. Users essentially face a "digital lock-out," unable to view old clip art or business designs without converting them to accessible formats like PDF or PNG.
More commonly in research environments, a .PD4 file is a primer design project created by DNASTAR PrimerSelect. These files contain sequences, thermodynamic properties, and primer pair data used in molecular biology.
The Problem: This is raw data, not a visual document. You cannot simply "open" it in Word or Excel. It requires the specific Lasergene suite to interpret the biological metadata. Users often need to convert this data into plain text or FASTA formats for use in other sequencing tools.
Convert.Guru analyzes your PD4 file, detects the exact format, and lets you read the text inside.
Users also converted PNG, PDF, PD1, PD5, UNF and PD3 files.
If you want to convert PD4 file to CSV, JSON, XML, YAML, YML, TOML, INI, CFG, CONF, DAT, DB or SQL, you can use DNASTAR Lasergene or similar software from the "Vector Graphics Storage" category. In the File menu, look for Save As… or Export….
To convert DBF, XML, SQLITE, XLSX, SQL, TSV, ACCDB, YAML, MDB, CSV, ODS or JSON files to PD4, try DNASTAR Lasergene or another comparable tool in the "Vector Graphics Storage" 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 PD4 converter.