Extract text from Type library files (RIDL)
To convert RIDL Library files to another format, you need RAD Studio or other Developer software.
To convert other file formats to the "Type Library Source File" file type, you need software like RAD Studio or a similar tool.
The .RIDL format contains text-based source code written in Restricted Interface Definition Language. Developers use these files to define Component Object Model (COM) interfaces, classes, and type libraries. They are primarily used within the RAD Studio ecosystem, which includes Delphi and C++Builder.
The main disadvantage of the .RIDL format is its strict dependency on the Embarcadero toolchain. It is a highly specific developer file. You cannot open it natively in standard document viewers, and you cannot run it on its own. Standard online converters fail because processing this file requires compiling the code, not just translating data.
Developers usually need to convert .RIDL to a compiled TLB (Type Library) file. The system also generates PAS (Pascal) or CPP / H (C++) binding files from it. Because the file is plain text, you can also convert it to TXT to simply read the interface structures.
This file format is difficult to convert because only the original ridl2tlb.exe compiler can properly build the binary data. Standard web tools do not have access to this proprietary engine.
Convert.Guru analyzes your RIDL file, detects the exact format, and lets you read the text inside.
If you want to convert RIDL file to , you can use RAD Studio or similar software from the "COM Interface Definition" category. In the File menu, look for Save As… or Export….
To convert files to RIDL, try RAD Studio or another comparable tool in the "COM Interface Definition" 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 RIDL converter.