Extract text from Internet shortcuts (URL)
To convert URL shortcuts to another format, you need Microsoft Windows or other Web software.
To convert other file formats to the "Internet Shortcut File" file type, you need software like Microsoft Windows or a similar tool.
A .URL file is a simple plain text document used by Microsoft Windows to store web page shortcuts. Under the hood, it uses the classic Windows INI file structure. It contains an [InternetShortcut] header followed by the target web address. Users typically create these files by dragging a padlock icon from their web browser address bar onto the Windows desktop.
By default, Windows opens these files using the system's default web browser, historically Internet Explorer or Microsoft Edge. Because they are plain text, you can inspect their contents using standard text editors.
Despite their simplicity, .URL files have major disadvantages. They are strictly native to Windows. If you send a .URL file to a user on macOS or Linux, they cannot click it to open the webpage. macOS relies on WEBLOC files, and Linux uses DESKTOP files. Furthermore, attackers often disguise malicious executable scripts as .URL files, making them a security risk. You must convert these files if you want to share a link reliably across different operating systems or archive the webpage data.
For cross-platform sharing, convert the .URL file to a universal HTML bookmark or a simple TXT file. If you are migrating to macOS, convert it to a WEBLOC file. If you need to preserve the actual content of the linked webpage for archiving, convert it directly to a PDF document. Drag and drop your file here to analyze and convert it - free, online, and without installing software.
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 "Web Page 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 "Web Page 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.