People often ask how to open InPage file attachments when InPage is not installed. You are not stuck. Old .inp files, such as articles, books, school papers or office letters, often will not open on a new computer, or copying the text gives you strange symbols. The text is still in the file, and you can get it out in a few seconds.
Why old InPage files are hard to open
InPage was the standard software for Urdu publishing in Pakistan for many years. Its older versions, before InPage 3, stored each Urdu letter using InPage’s own private code instead of Unicode, the international standard every modern computer, phone and website uses.
So when another program opens the file, or when you copy text out of old InPage and paste it elsewhere, it doesn’t know which code means which letter. You see symbols like Ã, Ç or boxes instead of Urdu.
How to open an InPage file in your browser
- Open our InPage to Unicode converter.
- Choose your
.inpfile, or several at once, or drag them onto the page. - Click View to see the Urdu text, then Copy Urdu or Download .txt.
The file never leaves your computer; the conversion happens inside your browser. You don’t need InPage installed.
What you get, and what you don’t
You get the complete text with correct Unicode Urdu letters, diacritics, punctuation, Urdu digits and paragraph breaks. You don’t get the formatting: fonts, colours, columns, images and tables stay behind. For most uses, such as republishing an article, editing a document or searching old text, the text is what matters.
Putting the text back into a document
- Word: paste, set right-to-left direction, and choose an Urdu font. Our Urdu in Word guide explains each step.
- Google Docs: paste, then use the right-to-left button in the toolbar.
- A website or blog: paste into your editor. Unicode Urdu can be found by Google, unlike scanned images of pages.
- Modern InPage: InPage 3 and newer accept Unicode text when pasted.
Saving your archive for the future
If you have many old InPage files, convert them all and keep the .txt copies alongside the originals. Plain Unicode text will open on any computer for decades to come, with no special software.
How to open an .inp file on a phone
There is no InPage app for phones, so a phone cannot open an InPage file by itself. The browser converter works there too. Save the .inp file to your phone (from WhatsApp, email or Google Drive), open the InPage to Unicode converter in your phone’s browser, tap the box and choose the file. The Urdu text appears on screen, ready to copy.
What is an .inp file?
An .inp file is a document saved by InPage, the Urdu page-layout program. Inside, the file holds the text, the fonts and sizes used, and the page layout. Other programs also use the .inp extension for unrelated things, such as engineering software input files, so if a file does not open as InPage, check where it came from.
Other ways to open InPage files
- Install InPage. If you still have the installer and a licence, InPage itself opens the file with all its formatting.
- Ask the sender for a PDF. If someone sends you an InPage file only to read, a PDF export from their side is the simplest answer.
- Use the browser converter. When you need the text itself, to edit, reuse or publish, converting to Unicode is the fastest route and needs no installation.
Frequently asked questions
Can I open an InPage file in MS Word?
Not directly. Word cannot read the .inp format. Convert the file to Unicode Urdu first, then paste the text into Word.
Is there an online InPage file viewer?
Our converter works as a simple InPage file viewer: choose the file and press View to read its text. It shows the text only, not the page design.
Why does my InPage text show as symbols?
Old InPage versions used their own letter codes instead of Unicode. Other programs read those codes as Latin symbols.
Will converting change my original file?
No. The converter only reads the file. Your original .inp file stays exactly as it was.