Extract text from Oscilloscope waveform files (WFM)
To convert WFM Waveforms to another format, you need Tektronix Waveform Editor or other Data software.
To convert other file formats to the "Test and Measurement Data" file type, you need software like Tektronix Waveform Editor or a similar tool.
The .WFM file is primarily an Oscilloscope Waveform Data file containing raw voltage over time recordings. Digital oscilloscopes from manufacturers like Tektronix, Rigol, and Keysight generate these files when saving signal captures to internal memory or a USB drive.
To interact with these files natively, you usually need proprietary applications like the Tektronix Waveform Editor or vendor-specific analysis suites. Sometimes, users resort to writing custom Python or MATLAB scripts to parse the binary headers.
The biggest disadvantage of the .WFM format is extreme vendor lock-in. It is a closed, proprietary binary format. It is not supported by web browsers, and you cannot open it directly in standard spreadsheet software. Worse, the format varies wildly between manufacturers - a Rigol .WFM file is completely different from a Tektronix .WFM file, making data sharing between different labs a massive headache.
To make your data usable, you must convert .WFM to CSV or TXT. This unlocks your data for analysis in Excel, Python (Pandas), or MATLAB. Note that high-sample-rate captures converted to CSV can easily exceed Microsoft Excel's 1.04-million row limit, requiring specialized data tools to view.
This file format is exceptionally difficult to open or convert because it lacks a universal standard. Often only the original manufacturer's software can properly read or export the data. Standard online converters generally fail to process it. If our analysis detects a supported underlying or embedded format, viewing or conversion may still be possible.
Convert.Guru analyzes your WFM file, detects the exact format, and lets you read the text inside.
Users also converted WMF, PTX, PNG, SLDPRT, DAT, CSV, WFP, WAV, MDJ, ASC, PDF, ZIP and MSO files.
If you want to convert WFM file to CSV, JPG, MP3, WAV, AAC, FLAC, OGG, WMA, M4A, AIFF, OPUS or ALAC, you can use Tektronix Waveform Editor or similar software from the "Oscilloscope Waveform Data File" category. In the File menu, look for Save As… or Export….
To convert MIDI, AAC, TTA, AU, WV, DTS, MID, FLAC, RA, MP3, PCM or WAV files to WFM, try Tektronix Waveform Editor or another comparable tool in the "Oscilloscope Waveform Data File" 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 WFM converter.