Extract text from map overlay files (XOL)
To convert XOL overlays to another format, you need swisstopo or other GIS software.
To convert other file formats to the "Proprietary Map Overlay" file type, you need software like swisstopo or a similar tool.
The .XOL file generally serves as a Swiss Map Overlay, originally developed by swisstopo for use in their mapping software. These files contain waypoints, tracks, and extra layers of visual geographic data. In professional enterprise environments, the .XOL extension is also used as an XML Object Language file by SAP PowerDesigner to define syntax and guidelines for object-oriented programming models.
If you are dealing with a swisstopo file, the major disadvantage is its reliance on the proprietary Swiss National Grid (CH-1903) coordinate system. You cannot directly open these tracks in modern mobile apps or web browsers without paying for proprietary Swiss mapping software. Similarly, the PowerDesigner variant is deeply embedded within SAP's enterprise architecture, making the raw configurations difficult to interpret or migrate to other database management systems.
Users typically want to convert the mapping .XOL file into universally supported GPX or KML formats. This allows the hiking tracks and waypoints to be opened seamlessly in Google Earth, Garmin devices, or standard fitness apps. For the SAP version, converting or renaming it to XML or TXT is the standard approach to expose the underlying raw text-based configuration code.
Converting these files is notoriously frustrating. The proprietary coordinate system in the map overlay requires complex mathematical translation, while the SAP file relies on rigid, closed schemas. Standard online converters simply fail to process them. If our analysis detects the supported embedded map coordinates or underlying text schema, viewing or conversion may still be possible without needing an expensive software license.
Convert.Guru analyzes your XOL file, detects the exact format, and lets you read the text inside.
If you want to convert XOL file to SHP, KML, KMZ, GPX, GEOJSON, TOPOJSON, TIF, TIFF, ECW, SID, IMG or DEM, you can use swisstopo or similar software from the "Map Overlays & Object Languages" category. In the File menu, look for Save As… or Export….
To convert LAZ, KMZ, DTM, CSV, DEM, PRJ, LAS, GPX, DSM, SHP, DBF or KML files to XOL, try swisstopo or another comparable tool in the "Map Overlays & Object Languages" 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 XOL converter.