What is the SPL7 file format?
.spl7 is the native schematic diagram format for sPlan 7, a lightweight commercial circuit drawing application developed by ABACOM GmbH in Germany. The format was introduced with sPlan 7.0 in 2009 and replaced the earlier .spl and .spl6 formats used by previous versions.
.spl7 files store electronic schematic diagrams - component symbols (resistors, capacitors, diodes, transistors, ICs, connectors), wire connections, net labels and sheet annotations. The format supports hierarchical schematics with sub-circuit modules. It is entirely proprietary and binary, with no published specification and no support outside of sPlan 7 itself.
sPlan is aimed at hobbyists and educators rather than professional EDA engineers. It does not generate netlists, simulate circuits or produce PCB layouts - it is strictly a drawing and documentation tool, popular in German-speaking countries. Diagrams can be exported as BMP, JPG or EMF images and printed to PDF, but there is no direct export to formats used by professional EDA tools.
sPlan 7.0 remains the current version as of 2025, available as a perpetual-license purchase from ABACOM.
Security & safety
RISK: LOWSPL7 files are schematic diagram documents and are not executable. They pose no direct security risk. Only sPlan 7 can open them; no scripting or macro execution is possible. Obtain sPlan only from the official ABACOM website or authorized resellers (Saelig in the US) to avoid counterfeit or bundled adware versions.
Format details
in a nutshellPrograms that open SPL7 files
Windows1 app
sPlan 7
Paid The only application that can open .spl7 files. Download the free trial from ABACOM's website to view without purchasing; full version required to save/edit. Technical details
deep spec| Developer | ABACOM GmbH (Germany) |
| Encoding | Binary (proprietary, undocumented) |
| Byte order | Little-endian (Windows x86 application) |
| Compression | None or minimal (undocumented) |
| Specification | No public documentation; fully closed proprietary format |
| Platform | Windows only |
| Typical file size | A few KB to ~1 MB depending on schematic complexity |
| Format compatibility | Incompatible with .spl/.spl6 (sPlan 6); sPlan 7 reads older files but always saves as .spl7 |
| Content | Component symbols, wire connections, net labels, sheet annotations, hierarchical sub-circuits |
| EDA capability | Schematic drawing only - no netlist output, no simulation, no PCB layout |
| Export formats | BMP, JPG, EMF image export; print to PDF |
| Licensing model | Perpetual commercial license (~€39 / ~$48 USD) |
| Released | 2009 (sPlan 7.0 release) |
| Latest version | sPlan 7.0 (current as of 2024; sPlan remains at version 7) |
| Specification | www.abacom-online.de |
SPL7 conversions
Community Q&A
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