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ETL TXT
File conversion

Convert ETL to TXT

Verified by Adam B.· reviewed by FE Editorial ·updated Aug 23, 2026
QUICK ANSWER
Is it possible to convert ETL to TXT?
Yes - ETL converts to TXT.

Run tracerpt yourfile.etl in an elevated Command Prompt to produce summary.txt and dumpfile.xml; both are immediately readable in any text editor. The output is a decoded report, not a raw line-by-line replica of every event.

Also to TXT: RTF · KKSRC · HVE

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Tested on macOS, Windows & Linux
Last verified Sep 2026

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Why convert ETL to TXT?

ETL is a binary format produced by Event Tracing for Windows (ETW), designed for diagnostic tools rather than human reading. Exporting to .txt makes it possible to search events, paste relevant lines into a support ticket, or run basic text queries without installing specialist ETW software.

How to convert ETL to TXT

tracerpt FREE

Run tracerpt yourfile.etl in an elevated Command Prompt; summary.txt and dumpfile.xml appear in the same folder. Add -of CSV to get a CSV file instead.

PerfView OPEN-SOURCE

Download the free PerfView.exe from Microsoft, open the .etl file, browse the Events view, select rows of interest, and copy them to a text editor.

About these formats

.ETL Event Trace Log

An ETL file is a Windows Event Trace Log produced by Event Tracing for Windows (ETW) -- a binary record of system events such as performance counters, boot activity, driver traces, and…

Open .ETL details →
.TXT Plain Text File

A TXT file is plain, unformatted text - the simplest document format on any computer. Double-click it: Windows opens it in Notepad, macOS in TextEdit, Linux in gedit. Nothing to install. If…

Open .TXT details →

Quality & what to watch

  • The output is a decoded report - summary.txt gives provider names and event counts; dumpfile.xml has one record per event, not a raw binary dump.
  • Events are decoded using provider manifests on the machine running tracerpt; if the trace was captured on a different machine, some fields may appear as GUIDs or numeric codes.
  • Large traces can produce very large output files; tracerpt ships with Windows so no download is needed.

Frequently asked questions

Do I need to install anything to convert ETL to TXT?
tracerpt ships with every version of Windows - open an elevated Command Prompt and run it directly.
Can I get CSV output instead of XML?
Yes - add -of CSV to the command: tracerpt yourfile.etl -of CSV produces dumpfile.csv.
Why are some event descriptions showing as GUIDs?
ETW events decode using provider manifests registered on the local machine; run tracerpt on the same machine that captured the trace for fully named output.
What is PerfView useful for compared to tracerpt?
PerfView lets you browse and filter events interactively before exporting, useful when you want only a subset rather than a full dump.