Extract text from PL2 files
To convert your PL2 file to another format, you need Plexon Offline Sorter or other Encoded software.
To convert other file formats to the "Encrypted Mobile Data" file type, you need software like Plexon Offline Sorter or a similar tool.
The .PL2 extension creates a unique challenge because it serves two completely different, high-friction purposes depending on where you found it. Most commonly, it is an encrypted image container generated by Android privacy tools like Photo Locker (by Handy Apps). These files are standard images (like JPG or PNG) that have been scrambled and renamed to hide them from your phone's gallery.
A common problem here is security: because the file is encrypted, standard image editors like Adobe Photoshop cannot open or convert it. You typically cannot "convert" these to JPEG without the original encryption key, which usually requires restoring the file through the original mobile app using your password.
Alternatively, in scientific research, a .PL2 file is a high-performance neural data recording used by Plexon. These files store massive amounts of spike sorting data and analog signals. They are extremely dense and proprietary, designed solely for analysis in Plexon Offline Sorter or via specific MATLAB/C++ SDKs. Converting these for publication usually involves exporting to NEX or CSV for statistical analysis, or to PDF for visualizing waveforms. Less frequently, .PL2 files may be legacy CAD drawings from 3D Home Architect (representing the Second Level floor plan) or DataCAD.
Convert.Guru analyzes your PL2 file, detects the exact format, and lets you read the text inside.
Users also converted PB1, PL1, PL, PNG, JPG, ZIP, BLD and SCD files.
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 PL2 converter.