PPB Converter

Extract text from Powerproject baseline files (PPB)

Select File
Drop or upload your .PPB file

Online File Converter

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How to extract text from your PPB file

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

Convert PPB to another file type

To convert PPB baseline files to another format, you need Powerproject or other Data software.

Convert a file to PPB

To convert other file formats to the "Construction Scheduling" file type, you need software like Powerproject or a similar tool.

About PPB files

A .ppb file is most commonly associated with Asta Powerproject (now Elecosoft Powerproject), a leading construction project management tool. In this context, the file serves as a Baseline - a snapshot of the original project schedule used to compare against actual progress. Prior to version 15.0.01, these baselines were always saved as separate .ppb files; in newer versions, they can be embedded within the main pp project file. Users often receive this file in isolation and cannot open it without purchasing a Powerproject license, which is a significant limitation for stakeholders who simply need to view the schedule variance.

A secondary but statistically significant use (approx. 31%) is for FAA Air Traffic Control (ATC) data, specifically as a Plot Playback file generated by the Standard Terminal Automation Replacement System (STARS). These are binary data dumps used for accident investigation and radar replay.

Practical Constraints:
1. Proprietary Lock-in: .ppb files are not text-readable. You cannot simply open them in Excel or Notepad.
2. Version Incompatibility: Old .ppb baselines may not load in newer viewers without the parent pp file.
3. Licensing Costs: Opening a baseline typically requires expensive scheduling software.

Conversion Recommendations:

For Project Management: The best workflow is to convert the data to PDF (for static sharing) or XLSX (Excel) for data analysis. If you need to edit the schedule in other software, converting to MPP (Microsoft Project) or XER (Primavera) is the standard path, though this often requires the original Powerproject software to perform the export.
For ATC Data: These files require specialized FAA playback utilities to visualize and are generally not convertible by standard commercial tools.

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

Users also converted PDF, TST, IMS, WF1 and PPM files.

FAQ

If you want to convert PPB file to PPM, TMP, TEMP, CACHE, LOG, BAK, OLD, NEW, PART, DOWNLOAD, CRDOWNLOAD or LOCK, you can use Powerproject or similar software from the "Project Schedule Baseline" category. In the File menu, look for Save As… or Export….

To convert DEVICE, CACHE, SOCK, SYMLINK, PID, MOUNT, FIFO, LOG, PIPE, TMP, JUNCTION or TEMP files to PPB, try Powerproject or another comparable tool in the "Project Schedule Baseline" category.

The PPB 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 PPB converter.