Extract text from Mech designs (SSW)
To convert SSW designs to another format, you need MegaMekLab or other Game software.
To convert other file formats to the "Mech Design File" file type, you need software like MegaMekLab or a similar tool.
The .ssw file primarily functions as a BattleTech Mech design file created by Solaris Skunk Werks or MegaMekLab. These files store technical specifications, armor values, and weapon loadouts for custom Mechs using a structured XML format. Alternatively, in the engineering and construction sectors, .ssw files act as proprietary CAD reinforcement steel schedules utilized by Nemetschek Allplan, or sometimes linked to SolidWorks welding data.
The main disadvantage of the .ssw format is its highly specific ecosystem dependence. For gaming, the custom XML schema is virtually useless without the exact game engine to interpret the tabletop rules. For CAD engineers, the Allplan steel schedule is a closed, proprietary binary file. It inherently restricts data sharing with contractors or clients who refuse to pay for expensive Nemetschek licenses. Sharing these raw files directly guarantees compatibility roadblocks.
If you are dealing with the BattleTech variant, the best conversion targets are standard XML or TXT for manual editing, or printing directly to PDF to share Mech record sheets. For the CAD version, native export to XLSX or PDF is highly recommended, though complex structural metadata may be lost outside the native software.
Because .ssw files share an extension across drastically different uses - raw XML text vs. proprietary CAD binary - standard online converters frequently fail to parse them. They rely entirely on the file extension and apply the wrong processing logic. Just drag and drop your file into convert.guru to identify its true format, view the internal structure, and convert it when supported. Our analysis inspects the raw underlying code, allowing you to bypass extension confusion and view embedded text regardless of the original software.
Convert.Guru analyzes your SSW file, detects the exact format, and lets you read the text inside.
Users also converted SSWWEB, XWS, MLP and AMD files.
If you want to convert SSW file to TMP, TEMP, CACHE, LOG, BAK, OLD, NEW, PART, DOWNLOAD, CRDOWNLOAD, LOCK or PID, you can use MegaMekLab or similar software from the "Mech Design & CAD Schedule" category. In the File menu, look for Save As… or Export….
To convert DEVICE, CACHE, SOCK, SYMLINK, PID, MOUNT, FIFO, LOG, PIPE, TMP, JUNCTION or TEMP files to SSW, try MegaMekLab or another comparable tool in the "Mech Design & CAD Schedule" 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 SSW converter.