Extract text from macOS text clippings (TEXTCLIPPING)
To convert TEXTCLIPPING text clippings to another format, you need macOS Finder or other Text software.
To convert other file formats to the "Mac Text Snippet" file type, you need software like macOS Finder or a similar tool.
A .textclipping file is a proprietary system file created by macOS Finder when a user highlights text in an application like Apple Notes and drags it directly to the desktop or a folder. Under the hood, these files use Apple's Property List (plist) format to store the text and its associated metadata.
The main disadvantage of a .textclipping file is that it is an exclusive Apple ecosystem shortcut. It is not a standard document. If you email a .textclipping file to a Windows or Linux user, they cannot open it natively. Furthermore, most web forms, browsers, and document upload portals will reject this format because they expect standard files like TXT, DOCX, or PDF. They are also inherently read-only; you cannot edit a clipping directly without copying its contents into another app.
To share the text seamlessly, you must convert it to universal target formats like TXT for plain text or RTF if you need to preserve basic formatting.
Because this file format is essentially structured XML data unique to macOS, it is difficult to open or convert correctly on non-Apple systems. Often only the original macOS environment can properly read or export the rich text data. If our analysis detects the supported underlying plist text string, viewing or extraction is still possible.
Convert.Guru analyzes your TEXTCLIPPING file, detects the exact format, and lets you read the text inside.
Users also converted TXT, PDF, TEXT, ZIP, WEBLOC, INETLOC, JPG, GEDCOM, CRDOWNLOAD, DS_STORE, DOCX, PNG and KV files.
If you want to convert TEXTCLIPPING file to PDF, TXT, RTF, DOC, DOCX, ODT, PAGES, TEX, LATEX, MD, MARKDOWN or LOG, you can use macOS Finder or similar software from the "macOS Text Snippet Storage" 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 TEXTCLIPPING, try macOS Finder or another comparable tool in the "macOS Text Snippet 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 TEXTCLIPPING converter.