Extract text from Qt translation files (QM)
To convert QM translations to another format, you need Qt Linguist or other Developer software.
To convert other file formats to the "Translation File" file type, you need software like Qt Linguist or a similar tool.
The .QM file is a compiled binary translation file used by software applications built with the Qt framework. It stores localized text strings for the application interface. Developers and localization teams use Qt Linguist to create XML-based TS source files, which are then compiled into the .QM format using the lrelease tool. This compiled state allows the application to load translations extremely fast while using minimal memory.
Because the .QM format is a binary file, it presents a significant disadvantage for translators and everyday users: it cannot be opened or edited in a standard text editor. If you try to open it in Notepad, you will only see unreadable characters. To update or fix a translation, you must convert the file back into a human-readable format.
The best conversion targets for a .QM file are TS (Qt Translation Source), PO (Gettext Portable Object), or XLF (XLIFF). Converting back to these formats usually requires the lconvert utility from the Qt SDK. Note that during the initial compilation to .QM, all developer comments and context data are stripped out to save space. When you decompile it back to TS, that context is permanently lost.
Standard online converters generally fail to process .QM files because it is a closed, highly specialized binary format meant for machine reading, not document exchange. Even when direct conversion is restricted by the proprietary structure, our system can inspect the binary headers and often extract the raw text strings embedded inside.
Convert.Guru analyzes your QM file, detects the exact format, and lets you read the text inside.
Users also converted VPBFDGHIATLKURY, TXT, LIN, TS, CRC, PAK, ZIP, ARSC, TSV, BIN, PPTX, RAR and PNG files.
If you want to convert QM file to TS, MP4, AVI, MOV, WMV, FLV, WEBM, MKV, M4V, 3GP, OGV or ASF, you can use Qt Linguist or similar software from the "Compiled Application Localization" category. In the File menu, look for Save As… or Export….
To convert MTS, MOV, RMVB, DIVX, RM, H264, TS, WMV, VOB, MP4, XVID or AVI files to QM, try Qt Linguist or another comparable tool in the "Compiled Application Localization" 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 QM converter.