Extract text from ArcGIS map styles (STYLE)
To convert STYLE map styles to another format, you need ESRI ArcGIS Pro or other Settings software.
To convert other file formats to the "Theme and Style Configuration" file type, you need software like ESRI ArcGIS Pro or a similar tool.
The .STYLE file extension is heavily fragmented across multiple software ecosystems. Most commonly, it functions as a map symbol database used by ESRI ArcGIS. These files store colors, icons, line patterns, and map elements using the JetDB (legacy Microsoft Access) database format. Alternatively, the extension is used as a visual style definition file for Trimble SketchUp, which is fundamentally a standard ZIP archive containing XML rules and image textures. Other tools, such as the OBS Input Overlay plugin or JoyToKey, use the extension to store basic JSON text data for keyboard layouts.
Because the extension is shared across entirely different applications, opening a .STYLE file usually fails unless you already have the correct parent software installed. Proprietary formats like ArcGIS symbol databases are closed and notoriously difficult to extract data from. Furthermore, these files store styling rules or database tables rather than flat visual layouts. This means you cannot simply convert them directly to standard document formats like PDF or JPEG.
If you need to extract data out of an ArcGIS .STYLE file, a practical workaround is to rename the extension to MDB and use a database viewer to export the internal tables to CSV or XLSX. If the file belongs to SketchUp, renaming it to ZIP allows you to extract the raw XML files and preview images. For input overlay files, simply open them in any standard text editor to read the JSON code.
Standard online converters fail to process .STYLE files because they rely on file extensions to guess the structure, and cannot handle complex proprietary databases or multi-file archives. Our analysis system will identify the true underlying format, allow you to inspect the file, show embedded text or internal content, and convert it when extraction is possible.
Convert.Guru analyzes your STYLE file, detects the exact format, and lets you read the text inside.
Users also converted STYLX, STY, PNG, JPG, PDF, ZIP, MPD, MDB and MDF files.
If you want to convert STYLE file to SHP, KML, KMZ, GPX, GEOJSON, TOPOJSON, TIF, TIFF, ECW, SID, IMG or DEM, you can use ESRI ArcGIS Pro or similar software from the "Software Theme and Configuration" category. In the File menu, look for Save As… or Export….
To convert LAZ, KMZ, DTM, CSV, DEM, PRJ, LAS, GPX, DSM, SHP, DBF or KML files to STYLE, try ESRI ArcGIS Pro or another comparable tool in the "Software Theme and Configuration" 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 STYLE converter.