Extract text from macOS website shortcuts (WEBLOC)
To convert WEBLOC shortcuts to another format, you need Safari or other Web software.
To convert other file formats to the "macOS Web Bookmark" file type, you need software like Safari or a similar tool.
A .webloc file is a website shortcut created on Apple macOS. Users typically generate these files by dragging a URL from the address bar of a web browser, such as Safari or Google Chrome, and dropping it onto the macOS Desktop or a Finder folder. Internally, modern versions of this file are formatted as an XML Property List (plist) that stores a dictionary containing the target web address.
While incredibly convenient for Mac users, .webloc files are highly platform-dependent. The primary disadvantage is that they do not natively work on Windows or Linux. If you email a .webloc file to a Windows user, they receive an unrecognizable attachment that cannot be double-clicked to open. This creates severe friction for cross-platform link sharing. Furthermore, older legacy versions of this format stored the link in the Apple file system's resource fork. If transferred over non-Apple file systems (like FAT32 or email) without prior zipping, the link data is permanently lost, leaving an empty 0-byte file.
To ensure universal access, users need to convert .webloc files into standard cross-platform formats. The best target is a Windows URL file, which acts as the direct operating system equivalent. Alternatively, converting it to a plain TXT file, a standard clickable HTML bookmark, or even a PDF capture of the destination webpage guarantees the recipient can access the original information.
Because .webloc relies entirely on the macOS operating system to trigger the default browser, standard online converters often fail to process it correctly. However, convert.guru can easily handle these text-based structures. Just drag and drop your file to identify the format, view it, and convert it when possible. Our analysis detects the embedded XML or plist data, allowing us to display the internal URL or offer direct conversion into universally readable link formats.
Convert.Guru analyzes your WEBLOC file, detects the exact format, and lets you read the text inside.
Users also converted PDF, ZIP, HTML, CRWEBLOC, JPG, URL, TEXTCLIPPING, CRDOWNLOAD, RPMSG, TXT, DOCX, ENC and PAGES files.
If you want to convert WEBLOC file to PDF, URL, JPG, MP3, MP4, HTML, PNG, HTM, CSS, JS, PHP or ASP, you can use Safari or similar software from the "Website Location Shortcut" category. In the File menu, look for Save As… or Export….
To convert RSS, CSS, CGI, SITEMAP, PL, WEBMANIFEST, JSON, JS, XML, HTML, ICO or HTM files to WEBLOC, try Safari or another comparable tool in the "Website Location Shortcut" 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 WEBLOC converter.