Free online DAT to CSV converter

An embroidery machine or design program may require CSV when stitch coordinates need inspection, analysis, spreadsheet editing, or archival as plain text. Converting a DAT design can also make its stitch sequence available to software that documents a compatible CSV layout.

What the DAT format is

In machine embroidery, DAT is a machine- or software-specific stitch format rather than one universal standard. A DAT file may contain stitch coordinates, movement commands, stops, trims, color changes, needle assignments, headers, and machine-specific settings. Different manufacturers and applications can use different record layouts, command values, coordinate units, and binary encodings under the same .dat extension.

DAT files commonly come from digitizing software, commercial embroidery-machine controllers, and production workflows. Renaming .dat to .csv does not convert the stitch data. A file that opens only in its originating embroidery software or machine utility requires that software's export function, such as File → Export or File → Save As.

What the CSV format is

CSV is plain text arranged as rows and fields separated by commas or another delimiter. An embroidery CSV often contains X and Y coordinates plus a stitch command, stop or trim flag, color-change marker, or needle number, but no single CSV column layout is standard across embroidery programs.

CSV can be opened in LibreOffice Calc, Microsoft Excel, text editors, and programming libraries. It is useful for checking stitch sequences, measuring or analyzing coordinates, comparing designs, and importing data into software that specifies the required CSV columns. It usually does not preserve every proprietary DAT feature, and a CSV file should not be sent directly to an embroidery machine unless the machine or its companion software explicitly supports that exact schema.

Convert the file on 101convert.com

1. Keep an unchanged backup of the original DAT file.
2. Open the DAT-to-CSV converter on 101convert.com, which can be used without installing software.
3. Upload the embroidery .dat file and select CSV as the output format.
4. Start the conversion and download the resulting .csv file.
5. Open the CSV in a text editor or spreadsheet and check the headers, coordinate columns, stitch commands, color changes, stops, and trims.

This method works only when the converter recognizes the particular DAT dialect. If it rejects the file or produces missing data or implausible coordinates, identify the originating machine or digitizing program and use its documented export workflow instead.

Convert with embroidery software or Python

A desktop embroidery application that supports the source variant may provide an operation such as File → Import, followed by File → Export or File → Save As. The available CSV fields and options depend on the application; check whether it exports coordinates in millimetres, tenths of a millimetre, or another unit and whether it includes commands as separate records.

For repeatable local conversions, the open-source pyembroidery library can read and write supported embroidery formats, including supported DAT variants and CSV output. Install it with:

python -m pip install pyembroidery

Run:

import pyembroidery

pattern = pyembroidery.read("design.dat")
pyembroidery.write(pattern, "design.csv")

The library selects the output writer from the filename extension. DAT support varies by library version and dialect; if reading fails or the output has unreasonable dimensions or coordinates, do not treat the result as valid. Use software that explicitly supports the originating machine's DAT format.

Quality and compatibility limits

Conversion may discard proprietary speed settings, needle assignments, thread metadata, undocumented trim codes, machine-specific commands, and other information that has no defined CSV equivalent. CSV also does not retain the original binary structure, and two embroidery applications may interpret the same command values differently.

Before using the result, compare the stitch count, stitch order, design width and height, coordinate units, jump movements, trims, stops, and color changes with the source design or a trusted preview. Confirm the target program's required delimiter, decimal notation, sign convention, header row, command names, and encoding. Preserve leading signs and decimal precision when editing coordinates, and keep the original DAT file until the imported CSV has been tested.