PIW Converter

Extract text from PI ProcessBook displays (PIW)


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

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

Convert PIW to another file type

To convert PIW displays to another format, you need PI ProcessBook or other Data software.

Convert a file to PIW

To convert other file formats to the "Process Control Layout" file type, you need software like PI ProcessBook or a similar tool.


About PIW files

A .PIW file is primarily a ProcessBook Display file created by OSIsoft PI ProcessBook (now part of AVEVA). This legacy file format functions as a container or "workbook" that organizes multiple Process Display (PDI) entries into a structured hierarchy for visualizing real-time industrial data.

The main challenge with .PIW files is their reliance on the deprecated Microsoft Compound File format (OLE) and specific ActiveX controls. Since AVEVA has moved towards the web-based PI Vision, users often find themselves locked out of historical process diagrams saved in this format. The files are proprietary, often large due to embedded metadata, and cannot be opened by standard viewers or web browsers.

To access the content without maintaining legacy software installations, users should convert .PIW files based on their needs: use PDF for static archiving of the display layout, SVG to preserve vector scalability for web embedding, or JPG/PNG for quick visual references in reports.

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

Users also converted PDF, TSW, XLW and VBW files.


FAQ

If you want to convert PIW file to JPG, PDF, PNG, GIF, BMP, TIFF, TIF, WEBP, ICO, CUR, PSD or PSB, you can use PI ProcessBook or similar software from the "Industrial Process Visualization" category. In the File menu, look for Save As… or Export….

To convert RAW, PNG, AI, NEF, PSB, DNG, SVG, GIF, EPS, JPG, ARW or PDF files to PIW, try PI ProcessBook or another comparable tool in the "Industrial Process Visualization" category.



The PIW 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 PIW converter.