Extract text from StarCraft 2 map previews (S2MV)
To convert S2MV map previews to another format, you need StarCraft II or other Game software.
To convert other file formats to the "Map Preview File" file type, you need software like StarCraft II or a similar tool.
The .s2mv file is a StarCraft 2 Map Preview file created by Blizzard Entertainment. It is primarily used by the StarCraft II Galaxy Editor to store map thumbnail graphics and basic map parameters. This file allows mapmakers and players to see a visual layout of a custom map before loading it in the game engine.
Because .s2mv is a highly proprietary game asset, it presents significant limitations for everyday use. You cannot open a .s2mv file in standard web browsers or regular image viewers. Sharing map layouts on forums, wikis, or Discord servers is impossible unless you convert the file first. If you want to show your map design to someone without the game, you need to extract the image data into a standard raster format.
The best target formats for conversion are JPG, PNG, or WEBP. These formats are universally supported across the web. However, be aware that converting to an image format will discard all game-specific metadata, leaving only the flat graphical preview.
This file format is notoriously difficult to open or convert because it is a closed, proprietary archive. Standard online converters fail to process it, and typically only the original software can properly read or export the data. If our analysis detects a supported underlying or embedded format inside the .s2mv container, viewing or conversion may still be possible.
Convert.Guru analyzes your S2MV file, detects the exact format, and lets you read the text inside.
If you want to convert S2MV file to JPG, PDF, PNG, GIF, BMP, TIFF, TIF, WEBP, ICO, CUR, PSD or PSB, you can use StarCraft II or similar software from the "Game Map Preview Storage" category. In the File menu, look for Save As… or Export….
To convert RAW, PNG, AI, NEF, PSB, DNG, SVG, GIF, EPS, JPG, ARW or PDF files to S2MV, try StarCraft II or another comparable tool in the "Game Map Preview 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 S2MV converter.