Extract text from Keyboard mapping files (XWK)
To convert XWK Keyboard mappings to another format, you need Crosstalk Communicator or other Settings software.
To convert other file formats to the "Terminal Keyboard Mapping File" file type, you need software like Crosstalk Communicator or a similar tool.
A .xwk file is a Crosstalk Communicator Keyboard Mapping File. These legacy configuration files store keystroke assignments, shortcuts, and macro triggers for terminal emulation software. They were traditionally associated with Intel network architectures and early PC modem communications, allowing users to map standard PC keyboards to specific mainframe terminal layouts.
The main disadvantage of the .XWK format is its extreme obsolescence. It is a proprietary settings file built for MS-DOS and early Windows environments. Modern operating systems do not recognize it, and it requires discontinued, hard-to-find software to open natively. Users cannot directly import these files into modern terminal clients like PuTTY or SecureCRT. Standard online document converters fail to process this format entirely because it does not contain standard text or image data.
To rescue the data locked inside, the best conversion targets are TXT, CSV, or XML. Extracting the mappings to plain text allows you to read the legacy configurations and manually recreate them in modern systems. Be aware that automatic application of these settings will be lost.
Because .XWK is a closed, undocumented format, typical converter tools will just return an error. Our advanced analysis tools inspect the binary structure, extract any embedded ASCII strings, and help you expose the internal mapping data without needing a vintage computer setup.
Convert.Guru analyzes your XWK file, detects the exact format, and lets you read the text inside.
If you want to convert XWK file to , you can use Crosstalk Communicator or similar software from the "Keyboard Layout Configuration" category. In the File menu, look for Save As… or Export….
To convert files to XWK, try Crosstalk Communicator or another comparable tool in the "Keyboard Layout Configuration" 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 XWK converter.