Extract text from TOP files
To convert your TOP file to another format, you need TopSolid or other Cad software.
To convert other file formats to the "Mechanical Design File" file type, you need software like TopSolid or a similar tool.
The .top extension is a classic example of file format collision, often causing frustration because it serves three entirely different industries: mechanical engineering, land surveying, and molecular dynamics.
Most commonly, a .top file is a TopSolid Design project created by TopSolid (formerly Missler Software). These are complex CAD/CAM files containing 3D geometry, assembly definitions, and machining instructions. The primary problem here is proprietary lock-in; native .top files are notoriously difficult to open without a licensed copy of TopSolid or the specific TopSolid'Viewer. If you need to share this data with users of SolidWorks or AutoCAD, you must convert the file to an interoperable standard like STEP, IGES, or .parasolid.
Alternatively, in civil engineering, a .top file may contain topographical survey data generated by Topcon total stations. These files store point cloud coordinates or mesh data used to map terrain. These are often raw data dumps that require conversion to DXF or CSV to be usable in GIS software or standard CAD environments.
Less frequently, you might encounter a .top file acting as a system topology definition in GROMACS for molecular simulation, or as a "Topic Note" database in e-Sword Bible software. Because of this ambiguity, blindly attempting to open the file can result in errors.
Convert.Guru analyzes your TOP file, detects the exact format, and lets you read the text inside.
Users also converted DFT, GBR, BAK, BIN, TNA, TSY, SKETCH and NZ files.
If you want to convert TOP file to NZ, DWG, DXF, DGN, RVT, RFA, SKP, 3DM, STEP, IGES, SAT or X_T, you can use TopSolid or similar software from the "CAD/CAM Design Project" category. In the File menu, look for Save As… or Export….
To convert SLDASM, DGN, PRT, IAM, X_B, CATPRODUCT, SLDPRT, RVT, ASM, DWG, CATPART or DXF files to TOP, try TopSolid or another comparable tool in the "CAD/CAM Design Project" 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 TOP converter.