Extract text from mind map files (VYM)
To convert VYM mind maps to another format, you need View Your Mind or other Data software.
To convert other file formats to the "Concept Mapping Document" file type, you need software like View Your Mind or a similar tool.
A .vym file is a specialized mind-mapping document created by View Your Mind (VYM), an open-source concept mapping tool. These files are used to store visual brainstorming sessions, project timelines, and hierarchical task lists. Under the hood, the file functions as a compressed archive containing a structured XML document and embedded image assets.
While excellent for personal organization, sharing a .vym file is a practical nightmare. It is a highly niche format. If the recipient does not have the VYM software installed, they cannot open the file. Standard office applications, web browsers, and even competing mapping tools like XMind or FreeMind lack native support for this specific XML schema. This creates a hard barrier for collaboration and forces users to seek workarounds.
To make the data usable, you need to convert it. Converting the file to a PDF or PNG is the best way to preserve the visual tree structure for non-technical users. Alternatively, extracting the data to TXT, MD (Markdown), or OPML is ideal if you only need to recover the text outline, though you will lose the visual layout and node coloring.
Because this format relies on a unique rendering engine, standard online converters usually fail to process it. Often, only the original View Your Mind software can properly read the layout and export the data visually. If our analysis detects a supported embedded format like standard XML, viewing or extracting the raw outline data may still be possible.
Convert.Guru analyzes your VYM file, detects the exact format, and lets you read the text inside.
If you want to convert VYM file to CSV, JSON, XML, YAML, YML, TOML, INI, CFG, CONF, DAT, DB or SQL, you can use View Your Mind or similar software from the "Mind Map Data Storage" category. In the File menu, look for Save As… or Export….
To convert DBF, XML, SQLITE, XLSX, SQL, TSV, ACCDB, YAML, MDB, CSV, ODS or JSON files to VYM, try View Your Mind or another comparable tool in the "Mind Map Data Storage" 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 VYM converter.