PDB to FTS Converter

Fast PDB to FTS conversion — upload and download

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Browser-Based Tool

Everything happens in the browser. Open the page, upload PDB, get FTS — no desktop software or extensions involved.

Batch Conversion

Convert multiple PDB files to FTS at once. Upload a batch and each file is processed independently — efficient and time-saving.

Data Protection Built In

Source PDB files and resulting FTS files are both deleted from servers — uploads immediately, outputs within 24 hours.

How to convert PDB to FTS

Select files from Computer, Google Drive, Dropbox, URL or by dragging it on the page.

Choose fts or any other format you need as a result (more than 200 formats supported)

Let the file convert and you can download your fts file right afterwards

About formats

PDB (Palm Database) is a generic database container format created by Palm, Inc. for the Palm OS platform, first appearing with the original PalmPilot in March 1996. In the ebook context, PDB files most commonly use the PalmDOC or Plucker encoding to store readable text with basic formatting. The format consists of a 78-byte header identifying the database name, creation date, and record count, followed by a record index table and the data records themselves. PalmDOC-encoded PDB files use a simple LZ77-based compression scheme to pack plain text efficiently, while Plucker extends this with HTML rendering, image support, and hyperlink navigation. PDB ebooks powered a thriving mobile reading ecosystem years before dedicated e-readers existed — millions of Palm OS users carried entire libraries on devices like the Palm V, Tungsten, and Treo handhelds. A primary advantage is extreme simplicity: the flat record structure and minimal overhead mean PDB files parse instantly even on severely constrained hardware with limited memory and processing power. The open, well-documented structure is another strength, having spawned numerous reader applications across Palm OS, Windows, and later mobile platforms. Though the Palm platform is long discontinued, PDB ebooks remain accessible through conversion tools and readers like Calibre, and the format holds historical significance as one of the earliest practical mobile ebook solutions.

Developer: Palm, Inc.

Initial release: March 1996

FTS is a file extension for the Flexible Image Transport System (FITS), the standard data format used in astronomy since 1981 when it was defined by Don Wells, Eric Greisen, and R.H. Harten at the National Radio Astronomy Observatory, and subsequently endorsed by the International Astronomical Union in 1982. FITS was designed from the outset as a self-describing archival format: each file begins with one or more 2880-byte header blocks containing ASCII keyword-value pairs that describe the data's dimensions, coordinate system, observation parameters, and provenance, followed by data blocks in a variety of numeric types — 8/16/32/64-bit integers and 32/64-bit IEEE floating-point values. FITS supports multi-dimensional arrays (images, data cubes, hypercubes), binary tables for catalog data, and ASCII tables, with multiple Header/Data Units (HDUs) that can coexist in a single file. The format handles specialized astronomical data: spectral cubes, radio interferometry visibilities, multi-extension mosaic images from CCD arrays, and time-series photometry. One advantage is scientific rigor: FITS mandates that all metadata needed to interpret the data physically — coordinate transformations (WCS), photometric calibration, telescope and instrument parameters — travels with the file, eliminating the metadata-loss problem that plagues general-purpose image formats in scientific contexts. The format's longevity and institutional backing is another strength — virtually every observatory, space telescope (Hubble, James Webb, Chandra), and astronomical software package (DS9, IRAF, Astropy) uses FITS as its primary data format.

Developer: NASA / IAU

Initial release: 1981

Frequently Asked Questions

Why convert PDB to FTS?

Moving from PDB to FTS gives you scientific and astronomical data — essential when you need your legacy Palm data in a widely supported format.

What programs open FTS files?

SAOImage DS9, FITS Liberator, AstroImageJ can handle FTS files. Free alternatives exist for every major operating system as well.

Can I convert multiple PDB files to FTS at once?

Absolutely — queue up multiple PDB files and the converter handles each one, producing FTS outputs for all of them.

Is the PDB to FTS conversion instant?

Yes, for most files the conversion happens almost instantly. Larger PDB images may take a few extra seconds to process.

Do I need to create an account to convert?

Registration is not required. You can convert PDB to FTS immediately — just visit the page and start uploading.

Will I lose image quality converting PDB to FTS?

The conversion preserves the original quality of your PDB file. Any inherent quality limits in PDB carry over, but nothing additional is lost.

Related Conversions

PDB to PDF

PDB to EPUB

PDB to MOBI

PDB to DOC

PDB to JPG

PDB to SVG

PDB to DOCX

PDB to TXT

PDB to FB2

PDB to GIF

PDB to XLS

PDB to PNG

PDB to RTF

PDB to CSV

PDB to XLSX

PDB to JPEG

PDB to DXF

PDB to PPT

PDB to PPTX

PDB to ODT

PDB to HTML

PDB to AI

PDB to PS

PDB to TIFF

PDB to PLT

PDB to AZW3

PDB to WBMP

PDB to BMP

PDB to WEBP

PDB to DDS

PDB to SNB

PDB to DOCM

PDB to PSD

PDB to JP2

PDB to LRF

PDB to PBM

PDB to RB

PDB to TCR

PDB to TGA

PDB to PCX

PDB to ICO

PDB to CUR

PDB to PGM

PDB to PPM

PDB to EXR

PDB to FAX

PDB to FTS

PDB to G3

PDB to HDR

PDB to HRZ

PDB to IPL

PDB to MAP

PDB to MNG

PDB to MTV

PDB to OTB

PDB to PAL

PDB to PALM

PDB to PAM

PDB to PCD

PDB to PCT

Specific converters

JPG to FTS

CR2 to FTS

PNG to FTS

PDF to FTS

JPEG to FTS

PPTX to FTS

ARW to FTS

XLSX to FTS

BMP to FTS

SVG to FTS

ICO to FTS

HTML to FTS

BIN to FTS

TTF to FTS

X3F to FTS

TGA to FTS

WEBP to FTS

PLT to FTS

DXF to FTS

EXP to FTS

GIF to FTS

DOC to FTS

DNG to FTS

ORF to FTS

CSV to FTS

DOCX to FTS

ABW to FTS

DBK to FTS

KWD to FTS

SXW to FTS