Extract text from reference files (REFERENCE)
To convert REFERENCE references to another format, you need Microsoft Notepad or other Data software.
To convert other file formats to the "XML Data File" file type, you need software like Microsoft Notepad or a similar tool.
A .reference file is a specialized data container originally developed for Budget In Brief, a financial software application used to compile enterprise budget documents. The file stores a list of variables and values in an XML structure, which the software historically imported into master BOOK files to automate report generation.
The primary disadvantage of the .reference format today is that Budget In Brief is entirely obsolete and no longer available for download. Users who encounter these files cannot rely on the native application to interpret or export the data. Without the original software, the file behaves like an unrecognized proprietary format, confusing standard operating systems and causing file association errors.
To salvage the data, the best conversion targets are XML, TXT, or CSV. Converting to these formats extracts the raw variable lists and makes them readable in modern tools like Microsoft Excel or Notepad++. You will recover the raw financial values, though the automated formatting logic tied to the original BOOK files will be lost.
This file format is difficult to open or convert because standard converters do not maintain support for obsolete, niche accounting extensions. Emphasize that often only the original software can properly read or export the data. Because our analysis detects the supported underlying XML format, viewing or conversion may still be possible.
Convert.Guru analyzes your REFERENCE file, detects the exact format, and lets you read the text inside.
Users also converted REF, DOCX, TXT, CSV, PDF, APPREF-MS, TR5, APA, BIBTEX and ACS files.
If you want to convert REFERENCE file to APA, BIBTEX, ACS, CSV, JSON, XML, YAML, YML, TOML, INI, CFG or CONF, you can use Microsoft Notepad or similar software from the "Budget Data Storage" category. In the File menu, look for Save As… or Export….
To convert DBF, XML, SQLITE, XLSX, SQL, TSV, ACCDB, YAML, MDB, CSV, ODS or JSON files to REFERENCE, try Microsoft Notepad or another comparable tool in the "Budget Data Storage" 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 REFERENCE converter.