Extract text from XML form files (XFD)
To convert XFD forms to another format, you need IBM Lotus Forms or other Data software.
To convert other file formats to the "XML Form Data" file type, you need software like IBM Lotus Forms or a similar tool.
The .XFD format is an XML-based electronic form. Organizations use these files to store structured form templates and user-entered data securely. Government agencies and large enterprises relied heavily on this format for standardized digital paperwork.
Originally developed by PureEdge Solutions, the format was later acquired by IBM and integrated into IBM Lotus Forms. It is also supported by enterprise software like Adobe LiveCycle Designer. You can read more about the underlying structure on the XFDL Wikipedia page.
Users need to convert .XFD files because the format is mostly obsolete and heavily proprietary. Opening an .XFD file today is a frustrating challenge. Modern web browsers do not support it natively. It requires a $50/month enterprise subscription or a legacy, outdated viewer to open. This locks your data behind software walls and makes sharing files with regular users impossible.
We recommend converting .XFD to PDF for reading and printing. If you need to extract the raw text or database entries, convert it to XML or CSV. Be aware that complex form logic, digital signatures, and dynamic layout rules will be lost during conversion.
This file format is difficult to open or convert because it relies on specific, proprietary rendering engines. Often only the original IBM or Adobe software can properly read or export the visual layout. If our analysis detects the supported embedded text, viewing the raw data is completely possible.
Convert.Guru analyzes your XFD file, detects the exact format, and lets you read the text inside.
Users also converted XFDL, XFDX, XDF, DXF, PDF, TXT, VXF, DDB and DRL files.
If you want to convert XFD file to PDF, CSV, JSON, XML, YAML, YML, TOML, INI, CFG, CONF, DAT or DB, you can use IBM Lotus Forms or similar software from the "Electronic Form 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 XFD, try IBM Lotus Forms or another comparable tool in the "Electronic Form 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 XFD converter.