Extract text from PLC project files (PDW)
To convert PDW projects to another format, you need WinProladder or other Developer software.
To convert other file formats to the "PLC Project File" file type, you need software like WinProladder or a similar tool.
A .PDW file is primarily a PLC ladder logic project file utilized by Fatek Automation for industrial programming. It contains the operational logic, memory mappings, and hardware configurations required to run programmable logic controllers (PLCs). Secondarily, the extension is used by biologists to store DNA sequences and plasmid maps, or historically by older graphic design programs like Print Shop Deluxe.
To open industrial .PDW files, you must use Fatek WinProladder, the official development environment. If your file contains genetic data, you need pDRAW32, a specialized molecular biology tool.
Users often need to convert these files because they are highly proprietary. The current format suffers from severe disadvantages: it requires a niche Windows-only software to open, is completely unsupported by web browsers, and locks your data into a specific manufacturer's ecosystem. Sharing ladder logic diagrams or DNA maps with colleagues who lack the software is nearly impossible without exporting the data first.
For PLC projects, the best conversion targets are PDF for visual ladder logic documentation or CSV and TXT for memory assignment lists. Note that exporting to plain text will strip away the visual relay diagrams. For biology files, converting to the standard FASTA or GB (GenBank) format is essential for cross-compatibility.
This file format is exceptionally difficult to open or convert because it uses a closed, undocumented binary structure. Standard online converters fail because they cannot interpret proprietary PLC instructions or plasmid rendering algorithms. Often, only the original software can properly read or export the data. If our analysis detects a supported underlying or embedded format, viewing or conversion may still be possible.
Convert.Guru analyzes your PDW file, detects the exact format, and lets you read the text inside.
Users also converted PDF, CDW, JPG, DWG, PRG, LAD and 8XP files.
If you want to convert PDW file to INDD, QXP, PUB, PMD, PM6, PM7, PM8, PM9, PM10, PM11, OMP or P65, you can use WinProladder or similar software from the "PLC Ladder Logic Programming" category. In the File menu, look for Save As… or Export….
To convert MDI, PUB, PDP, PM4, P65, COMIC, WEBTEMPLATE, PMD, SPUB, INDD, PM5 or QXP files to PDW, try WinProladder or another comparable tool in the "PLC Ladder Logic Programming" 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 PDW converter.