SDLXLIFF Converter

Extract text from SDLXLIFF files

Select File
Drop or upload your .SDLXLIFF file

Online File Converter

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How to extract text from your SDLXLIFF file

Click the "Select File" button above, and choose your SDLXLIFF file.
You’ll see a preview, if available.
Click the "Convert file to..." button to extract text information.

Convert SDLXLIFF to another file type

To convert your SDLXLIFF file to another format, you need Trados Studio or other Text software.

Convert a file to SDLXLIFF

To convert other file formats to the "Translation Memory File" file type, you need software like Trados Studio or a similar tool.

About SDLXLIFF files

The .SDLXLIFF file is the proprietary bilingual interchange format used by RWS Trados Studio, the industry-standard software for professional translation. Technically, it is an XML file based on the XLIFF 1.2 standard, but it is heavily customized with SDL-specific namespaces to store source segments, target translations, match scores, and segment locking status.

Users typically encounter this file when a translation agency or project manager sends a "package" for translation or review. The core problem is that .SDLXLIFF files are designed to be opened only in Trados Studio (a software suite costing hundreds of dollars). They cannot be opened directly in Microsoft Word or Excel, rendering the content inaccessible to clients, subject matter experts (SMEs), or proofreaders who lack the software.

Best Conversion Targets:

For Review/Editing: Convert to XLSX (Excel). This creates a side-by-side view (Source vs. Target) that anyone can edit. Specialized tools can sometimes "round-trip" these Excel edits back into the original .SDLXLIFF.
For Compatibility: Convert to standard XLIFF or XML. This strips proprietary Trados tags, allowing the file to be opened in competing CAT tools like MemoQ or Wordfast.
For Viewing: Convert to HTML or PDF to generate a read-only preview of the translation progress, though this loses the ability to edit the translation memory.

Convert.Guru analyzes your SDLXLIFF file, detects the exact format, and lets you read the text inside.

Users also converted SDL, XLIFF, SDLPROJ, XLF, SDLPPX, SDLRPX, IDML, DOCX, ZIP, PDF, FH11, XML and SDOCX files.

FAQ

If you want to convert SDLXLIFF file to TMX, XLIFF, XLF, TXT, RTF, DOC, DOCX, ODT, PAGES, TEX, LATEX or MD, you can use Trados Studio or similar software from the "Bilingual Translation Document" category. In the File menu, look for Save As… or Export….

To convert PDF, DOC, ASC, TODO, NFO, MEMO, README, DOCX, JPG, TXT, NOTE or RTF files to SDLXLIFF, try Trados Studio or another comparable tool in the "Bilingual Translation Document" category.

The SDLXLIFF Converter Story

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 SDLXLIFF converter.