Extract text from WinCatalog databases (W3CAT)
To convert W3CAT databases to another format, you need WinCatalog or other Database software.
To convert other file formats to the "Disk Cataloging" file type, you need software like WinCatalog or a similar tool.
A .w3cat file is the primary database container created by WinCatalog, a comprehensive disk cataloging utility for Windows. This file stores a structured index of your file system, including metadata for photos, music, and documents located on external drives, CDs, or network shares. While efficient for searching within the software, the .w3cat format presents a significant barrier to interoperability: it is a proprietary implementation of an SQL database (specifically SQLite).
Users commonly have issues when attempting to share this catalog with colleagues who do not possess a WinCatalog license, or when migrating to a different operating system where the software is unsupported. You cannot simply open a .w3cat file in a standard text editor or web browser. To utilize this data elsewhere, conversion is the most pragmatic solution. For data analysis and sorting, the best target is CSV or XLSX (Excel), allowing you to manipulate the file list in spreadsheet software. For sharing a read-only list with clients, converting to HTML generates a navigable report. Advanced users may treat it as a DB or SQLITE file for direct query access, though this requires specialized database tools.
Convert.Guru analyzes your W3CAT file, detects the exact format, and lets you read the text inside.
Users also converted WCA, WCAT and W3CA files.
If you want to convert W3CAT file to OBJ, FBX, DAE, 3DS, MAX, BLEND, MA, MB, C4D, STL, PLY or WRL, you can use WinCatalog or similar software from the "Disk Catalog Database" 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 W3CAT, try WinCatalog or another comparable tool in the "Disk Catalog Database" 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 W3CAT converter.