XNK Converter

Extract text from Exchange shortcuts (XNK)


Drop or upload your .XNK file
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How to extract text from your XNK file

  1. Click the "Select File" button above, and choose your XNK file.
  2. You’ll see a preview, if available.
  3. Click the "Convert file to..." button to extract text information.

Convert XNK to another file type

To convert XNK shortcuts to another format, you need Microsoft Outlook or other System software.

Convert a file to XNK

To convert other file formats to the "Exchange Shortcut Link" file type, you need software like Microsoft Outlook or a similar tool.


About XNK files

The .XNK file is an obsolete proprietary shortcut used by legacy versions of Microsoft Outlook to jump directly to public folders hosted on a Microsoft Exchange Server. Users frequently encounter severe roadblocks with this format because Microsoft intentionally blocked its execution starting with Outlook 2007. It is proprietary, highly restricted, and poses significant security vulnerabilities if opened directly on modern operating systems. Standard online converters fail to process it because it does not contain actual documents, emails, or images; it contains raw binary routing instructions and server pointers. Converting an .XNK file typically means extracting these hidden server paths and folder IDs into a plain TXT file so the destination can be identified safely. Because this is a closed, proprietary format tied to legacy server architectures, it is exceptionally difficult to open or convert using standard tools. Just drag and drop your file to identify the format, view it, and convert it when possible. Our platform can inspect the internal binary data of the .XNK file, allowing you to read any embedded text strings safely without exposing your computer to legacy code execution risks.

Convert.Guru analyzes your XNK file, detects the exact format, and lets you read the text inside.

Users also converted BAD, EDB and DAT files.


FAQ

If you want to convert XNK file to TMP, TEMP, CACHE, LOG, BAK, OLD, NEW, PART, DOWNLOAD, CRDOWNLOAD, LOCK or PID, you can use Microsoft Outlook or similar software from the "Exchange Server folder shortcut" category. In the File menu, look for Save As… or Export….

To convert DEVICE, CACHE, SOCK, SYMLINK, PID, MOUNT, FIFO, LOG, PIPE, TMP, JUNCTION or TEMP files to XNK, try Microsoft Outlook or another comparable tool in the "Exchange Server folder shortcut" category.



The XNK Converter Story

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 XNK converter.