Extract text from Shader or script files (VSO)
To convert VSO Shaders or scripts to another format, you need Microsoft Direct3D or other Developer software.
To convert other file formats to the "Compiled Shader Object" file type, you need software like Microsoft Direct3D or a similar tool.
A .VSO file is primarily a Compiled Vertex Shader Object used by 3D rendering APIs like Microsoft Direct3D, or by game engines like Unity and Valve's Source 2. These files contain low-level machine code executed by the GPU to calculate 3D vertex positions and lighting. Alternatively, in the architecture and design industry, a .VSO file functions as a Vectorworks Script Object. This format is utilized by Nemetschek Vectorworks to store parametric symbols, plug-ins, and automated CAD scripts.
The major disadvantage of a .VSO file is its compiled, binary nature. Vertex shaders are initially written in human-readable languages like HLSL or GLSL. Once compiled into a .VSO file, you cannot easily edit the code. It is an end-stage format. For Vectorworks users, the proprietary nature locks the object data inside a closed ecosystem, requiring expensive software licenses to access basic 2D and 3D geometry.
Converting a compiled .VSO shader back to HLSL source code requires a dedicated decompiler like the DirectX Shader Compiler, but original variable names and developer comments are permanently lost. For CAD scripts, conversion to standard 3D formats like DWG, DXF, or PDF requires exporting directly from within the Vectorworks application. Standard online converters routinely fail to process these files because they lack the specific engines needed to reverse-engineer these binary blobs.
Because these files are highly specific binary objects, this file format is difficult to open or convert. Emphasize that often only the original software can properly read or export the data. If our analysis detects a supported underlying or embedded format, viewing or conversion may still be possible.
Convert.Guru analyzes your VSO file, detects the exact format, and lets you read the text inside.
Users also converted DDS, FX and X files.
If you want to convert VSO file to OBJ, FBX, DAE, 3DS, MAX, BLEND, MA, MB, C4D, STL, PLY or WRL, you can use Microsoft Direct3D or similar software from the "3D Graphics Rendering Pipeline" category. In the File menu, look for Save As… or Export….
To convert DWG, DAE, X3D, IGES, WRL, JT, SKP, 3DS, 3DM, OBJ, STEP or FBX files to VSO, try Microsoft Direct3D or another comparable tool in the "3D Graphics Rendering Pipeline" 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 VSO converter.