Extract text from VBW files
To convert your VBW file to another format, you need Microsoft Visual Basic or other Developer software.
To convert other file formats to the "IDE Configuration File" file type, you need software like Microsoft Visual Basic or a similar tool.
A .VBW file is a legacy workspace configuration file generated by older versions of Microsoft Visual Basic, specifically Visual Basic 6.0. These files do not contain actual source code or compiled logic; instead, they act as a companion to the main project file (VBP). Their sole purpose is to store the developer's specific environment settings, such as which code windows were open, their screen coordinates, and the layout of the IDE panels when the project was last saved.
Because .VBW files are relics of 1990s development environments, users run into issues when trying to open them on modern systems. A common misconception is that this file contains the application's source code; however, opening it in a standard editor reveals only cryptic coordinate data (e.g., Form1 = 44, 44, 600, 400). Furthermore, these files are generally useless without the accompanying FRM, BAS, and CLS files. For archiving or auditing legacy software, the most practical approach is converting the .VBW to TXT to inspect the configuration data in a human-readable format, or to PDF to document the historical file structure. For active development, these files are typically discarded during migration to modern platforms like Visual Studio.
Convert.Guru analyzes your VBW file, detects the exact format, and lets you read the text inside.
Users also converted VBP, VWB, CTL, SOB and _VBXSLN80 files.
If you want to convert VBW file to JS, TS, PY, JAVA, CPP, C, CS, PHP, RB, GO, RS or SWIFT, you can use Microsoft Visual Basic or similar software from the "IDE Workspace Layout" category. In the File menu, look for Save As… or Export….
To convert SH, PY, KT, PS1, SWIFT, LUA, PL, JAVA, SCALA, JS, VBS or TS files to VBW, try Microsoft Visual Basic or another comparable tool in the "IDE Workspace Layout" 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 VBW converter.