Extract text from WiX localization files (WXL)
To convert WXL localization files to another format, you need WiX Toolset or other Developer software.
To convert other file formats to the "WiX Localization File" file type, you need software like WiX Toolset or a similar tool.
A .WXL file is a WiX Toolset Localization File. Software developers use these XML-based files to store translated strings for Windows Installer (MSI) packages, allowing a single installation project to be compiled into multiple languages. You can open and edit them natively using code editors like Visual Studio or Notepad++.
The primary disadvantage of the .WXL format is its strict schema dependency and poor usability for non-developers. While technically just text, modifying a .WXL file without understanding the WiX namespace often breaks the installer build. Translators frequently struggle to work directly with raw .WXL files because the XML tags clutter the interface, and accidental deletion of a closing tag will cause compilation failures.
For professional localization workflows, users usually need to convert .WXL to standard CSV, JSON, or XML formats. This allows the text strings to be imported safely into Translation Memory (TM) software or spreadsheet applications like Microsoft Excel. After translation, the strings must be formatted back into the exact .WXL schema.
Because .WXL is tightly bound to the WiX build ecosystem, standard online document converters fail to parse its specific variables and namespaces. Since the underlying format is standard XML, our analysis engine can extract the text payload, allowing you to view the raw strings safely without breaking the code structure.
Convert.Guru analyzes your WXL file, detects the exact format, and lets you read the text inside.
If you want to convert WXL file to JS, TS, PY, JAVA, CPP, C, CS, PHP, RB, GO, RS or SWIFT, you can use WiX Toolset or similar software from the "Software Installer Localization" category. In the File menu, look for Save As… or Export….
To convert SH, PY, KT, PS1, SWIFT, LUA, PL, JAVA, SCALA, JS, VBS or TS files to WXL, try WiX Toolset or another comparable tool in the "Software Installer Localization" 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 WXL converter.