Extract text from Plot layouts and floor plans (PL1)
To convert PL1 Floor plans to another format, you need ArchiCAD PlotMaker or other Cad software.
To convert other file formats to the "Architectural Layout File" file type, you need software like ArchiCAD PlotMaker or a similar tool.
The .pl1 file extension is a fragmented and chaotic format, used for entirely different purposes depending on the software that created it. Most commonly, it functions as an architectural plot layout or 2D floor plan. These files are typically generated by professional CAD programs like ArchiCAD PlotMaker, AutoCAD, or legacy consumer software like Broderbund 3D Home Architect and Punch! Home Design. Alternatively, the gaming industry uses .pl1 files to store player profiles in SCS Software truck simulators like Euro Truck Simulator 2, packaging the data inside a Microsoft Compound file structure.
Users frequently need to convert .pl1 files to accessible formats like PDF for viewing or DWG and DXF for editing. The primary disadvantage of the current format is its strictly closed, proprietary nature. If you receive a .pl1 floor plan, you usually need an expensive, active subscription to the exact originating software, or a vintage 1990s operating system in the case of Broderbund files. Standard online converters fail completely because they cannot interpret the undocumented binary data.
This format is notoriously difficult to open. Often, only the original software can properly read or export the geometric data. However, standard online tools are not your only option. If our analysis detects a supported underlying or embedded format, viewing or conversion may still be possible.
Convert.Guru analyzes your PL1 file, detects the exact format, and lets you read the text inside.
Users also converted PB1, PL2, PLI, PL, PLAN, BLD, RPD and JAVA files.
If you want to convert PL1 file to JAVA, OBJ, FBX, DAE, 3DS, MAX, BLEND, MA, MB, C4D, STL or PLY, you can use ArchiCAD PlotMaker or similar software from the "Floor Plan and Plot Layout" category. In the File menu, look for Save As… or Export….
To convert DWG, DAE, X3D, IGES, WRL, JT, SKP, 3DS, 3DM, OBJ, STEP or FBX files to PL1, try ArchiCAD PlotMaker or another comparable tool in the "Floor Plan and Plot Layout" 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 PL1 converter.