Extract text from communication boards (VOCA)
To convert VOCA boards to another format, you need PhotoVOCA or other Compressed software.
To convert other file formats to the "Communication Board Archive" file type, you need software like PhotoVOCA or a similar tool.
A .VOCA file is a digital communication board archive created by the PhotoVOCA Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) app. These files are used to help people with intellectual disabilities or autism communicate by pointing at digital photos on a screen. Inside, the file is structurally a standard ZIP compressed archive that holds PNG image assets, audio recordings, and an XML manifest file dictating the board's layout.
The biggest disadvantage of the .VOCA format is its reliance on legacy software. The PhotoVOCA app by Cognable is largely discontinued and restricted to older iOS versions. Furthermore, because it is a closed, proprietary layout format, standard converters cannot directly migrate the board to modern AAC software or export it as a clean PDF. Users are often left with trapped data when their old devices fail.
To salvage your data, the best conversion workaround is to target standard archive or media formats. By converting the file to ZIP, you can extract the underlying PNG photos and audio files to rebuild the communication board manually in another program.
This file format is difficult to process as a complete visual layout because only the original app can properly read the internal XML to display the interactive grid. Standard online converters fail to process it because they do not recognize the proprietary extension.
Convert.Guru analyzes your VOCA file, detects the exact format, and lets you read the text inside.
If you want to convert VOCA file to ZIP, RAR, 7Z, TAR, GZ, BZ2, XZ, LZMA, CAB, ACE, ARJ or LHA, you can use PhotoVOCA or similar software from the "Digital Communication Board Archive" category. In the File menu, look for Save As… or Export….
To convert XXE, 7Z, Z, PAK, LHA, DEB, UUE, TAR, LZH, ZIP, PKG or RAR files to VOCA, try PhotoVOCA or another comparable tool in the "Digital Communication Board Archive" 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 VOCA converter.