Extract text from RootsMagic backup files (RMGB)
To convert RMGB backups to another format, you need RootsMagic or other Backup software.
To convert other file formats to the "Genealogy Backup Archive" file type, you need software like RootsMagic or a similar tool.
The .RMGB file is a proprietary backup archive created by RootsMagic, a popular family history and genealogy software. It bundles the main genealogy database, user settings, and optionally embedded media files (like photos and scanned documents) into a single compressed package for safe storage or transfer.
Users typically encounter .RMGB files when moving family history data between computers or receiving research from relatives. However, the format has major disadvantages. It is heavily proprietary and locked to the RootsMagic ecosystem. You cannot directly upload an .RMGB file to web platforms like Ancestry.com or import it into competing software like Family Tree Maker. If you do not own the software or have an active subscription, you are effectively locked out of your family data.
To share genealogy data universally, the best target format is GEDCOM. Because .RMGB files are essentially ZIP archives under the hood, you can rename the extension to ZIP and extract the internal contents. This allows you to manually recover media files (like JPG) and the core database file (often an RMGC or .RMTREE SQLite file), though the database itself remains difficult to read without specific database viewers.
Because this is a closed, proprietary format, standard online converters fail to process it. Often, only the original RootsMagic software can properly restore the backup and export the data to a standard GEDCOM file. However, convert.guru can still help. Just drag and drop your file to identify the format, view it, and convert it when possible. If our analysis detects the supported underlying ZIP container, extracting the embedded media and internal database files may still be possible.
Convert.Guru analyzes your RMGB file, detects the exact format, and lets you read the text inside.
Users also converted PAF, RMGC and RMG files.
If you want to convert RMGB file to BAK, BACKUP, OLD, TMP, TEMP, ARC, ZIP, TAR, GZ, 7Z, RAR or ISO, you can use RootsMagic or similar software from the "Genealogy Database Backup" category. In the File menu, look for Save As… or Export….
To convert SNAPSHOT, OLD, IMG, RESTORE, ISO, COPY, VMDK, TMP, VHD, BAK, ARCHIVE or BACKUP files to RMGB, try RootsMagic or another comparable tool in the "Genealogy Database Backup" 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 RMGB converter.