Extract text from URL files
To convert your URL file to another format, you need Microsoft Windows or other Web software.
To convert other file formats to the "Internet Shortcut" file type, you need software like Microsoft Windows or a similar tool.
A .URL file is a Windows Internet Shortcut used primarily by Microsoft Windows to link desktop icons directly to specific web pages. Internally, these files utilize a simple INI-style text structure, typically beginning with the header [InternetShortcut] followed by the URL= parameter pointing to the destination.
While .URL files are native to Windows, they present significant compatibility challenges elsewhere. Users on macOS, Linux, or mobile devices often cannot open these files directly, as their operating systems do not recognize the proprietary Windows shortcut format. Additionally, .URL files can clutter file systems and pose security risks, as they can obscure the destination address of malicious sites until executed.
To resolve these compatibility issues, the best approach is conversion. If your goal is to archive the web page content, convert the target of the .URL to PDF or WebP for a permanent visual record. To share the link universally, convert the file to a standard HTML anchor file or extract the address into a plain TXT file.
Convert.Guru analyzes your URL file, detects the exact format, and lets you read the text inside.
Users also converted SHORTCUT, WATCH, BLOB, BIN, EDGE, HTML, VIDEO, VLC, HTM, JYUCIZBSCV4, EXE, LNK and PDF files.
If you want to convert URL file to MP4, PDF, TEXT, IP, IMAGE, PPT, VIDEO, HTML, HTM, CSS, JS or PHP, you can use Microsoft Windows or similar software from the "Webpage Link Shortcut" category. In the File menu, look for Save As… or Export….
To convert RSS, CSS, CGI, SITEMAP, PL, WEBMANIFEST, JSON, JS, XML, HTML, ICO or HTM files to URL, try Microsoft Windows or another comparable tool in the "Webpage Link Shortcut" 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 URL converter.