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From _chat.txtto a PDF you can read.

The text file in a WhatsApp export packs a timestamp, a name and a message onto each line, with invisible marks and file references mixed in. ThreadBind reads that format from Android and iPhone exports and lays it out as clean, paged messages.

Pick the chat text file, or the folder around it, and ThreadBind reads every line, settles the date order, and writes a clean PDF.

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If this sounds like your week

The text file was written for a machine.

Each line starts with a timestamp in your phone's format, such as 12/31/23, 10:15 PM - Bob: on Android or [31/12/2023, 22:15:05] Bob: on iPhone, then the message. Long messages spill over several lines, attachments appear as bare filenames, and invisible direction marks sit in front of names and times.

Where tooling usually breaks

Is 03/04 the third of April or the fourth of March?

Phones write dates in their region's order, and the file never says which order it used. Converting by hand, or with a tool that guesses, can shift an entire conversation onto the wrong days. Hidden characters split one phone number into two senders, and a date typed inside a message can be mistaken for the start of a new one.

Where ThreadBind lands

ThreadBind reads the format and shows its work.

It recognizes Android and iPhone line formats, 12- and 24-hour clocks with or without seconds, and dates separated by slashes, dots or dashes. The day and month order is worked out from the dates in the file, and when they cannot settle it, a Day first and Month first switch re-reads the chat. Invisible marks are removed, and timestamp-like text inside a message stays part of that message.

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What you get

Feature highlights

Opens the export WhatsApp made

pick the export folder, or the _chat.txt or WhatsApp Chat with text file with its photos, from Android or iPhone, made with media or without.

Dates and senders read for you

12- and 24-hour clocks, slashes, dots or dashes, AM and PM words in many languages, and the day and month order worked out from the dates, with a Day first or Month first switch.

Pictures in place

every photo and sticker in the export folder is placed under the message that sent it, scaled to the page, with stickers printed small.

Every file accounted for

voice notes, videos, documents and contacts are listed by name under their message, and files the export left out are noted in place and listed at the end.

Paged like a document

a title block with the message count, date range and participants, a heading for each day, the chat name and a page number on every page, on A4 or Letter.

Local, with the export only read

nothing uploads, there is no account or telemetry, and the PDF is a new file you name in the Windows save dialog.

Especially when

  • Turn a WhatsApp chat export, the text file and its media folder, into one readable PDF without pasting it into a word processor
  • Put every photo back beside the message that sent it, and name every voice note, video and document, instead of matching file names by hand
  • Print a whole WhatsApp conversation with day headings, times, senders and page numbers instead of a stack of screenshots
  • Keep the chat on the PC, with no upload and no account, and leave the original export exactly as it was

Who benefits

Real-world scenarios

An Android export emailed to yourself

An Android user emailed an export to himself, and the attachments are a file called WhatsApp Chat with Sam.txt and a dozen photos. He saved them all into one folder on his PC.

He chooses Pick folder and selects it. ThreadBind finds the chat file by its name, titles the chat Sam, matches the photos to their messages, and suggests Sam.pdf as the file name in the Export PDF dialog.

A chat from a phone set to another region

A chat was exported from a phone that writes the day first, but most of its dates, such as 05/06/24, could be read either way. Opened on a PC set to a different region, the order is far from obvious.

ThreadBind looks for dates that prove the order, such as 25/06/24, then for the reading that keeps the messages in time order. If neither settles it, a Date order unclear notice and a Day first and Month first switch appear above the table.

Only the text file, no media

Someone exported a chat Without media, so all they have is the text file. Where photos were sent, the file says Media omitted or image omitted instead of naming a picture.

Choose Pick chat file and select the text file. ThreadBind pages the whole chat and writes a note such as Media not included in the export at each spot where a picture or video was shared, so a reader can still see where media appeared.

Deep dive

What ThreadBind reads in a WhatsApp text file

Finding the chat file. In a picked folder, ThreadBind looks for _chat.txt, the name iPhone uses, then a file whose name starts with WhatsApp Chat with, the Android pattern. A folder holding a single text file works too. You can also choose Pick chat file and select the text file directly, together with its photos.

The timestamp. Android lines look like 12/24/23, 6:04 PM - Bob: and iPhone lines like [24/12/2023, 18:04:05] Bob:. ThreadBind accepts both shapes, 12- and 24-hour clocks, optional seconds, dates with slashes, dots or dashes, dotted times, and the AM and PM words phones write in many languages, before or after the time.

One format per file. A chat file uses a single timestamp format. ThreadBind finds the format the file uses most and treats only those lines as new messages, so a log line pasted into a message, or a date someone typed, stays inside that message.

Day and month order. A date such as 25/06/24 proves the day comes first. ThreadBind weighs the dates in the file, uses the order they prove, and offers a Day first and Month first switch whenever they do not prove it.

Senders and invisible marks. WhatsApp inserts direction marks, no-break spaces, and embedding marks around phone numbers. ThreadBind strips them, so one person is one sender, and counts the participants.

Multi-line messages. Lines that do not start with a timestamp continue the message above, blank lines included, so poems, lists and long notes stay whole.

Chat events. Lines with no sender, such as the encryption notice, a group being created or a subject change, show as Chat event in the table and in smaller type in the PDF.

Markers. File attached and attached notes become attachments, Media omitted and image omitted become notes, This message was deleted is shown in grey, and the edited marker becomes an Edited note. Attachment notes are read in English, German and several other phone languages.

The title. The chat name comes from the iPhone group events, or from the Android file name, and becomes the PDF title and the suggested file name.

Feature preview

Explore the intended workflow

Opens the export WhatsApp made

pick the export folder, or the _chat.txt or WhatsApp Chat with text file with its photos, from Android or iPhone, made with media or without.

Dates and senders read for you

12- and 24-hour clocks, slashes, dots or dashes, AM and PM words in many languages, and the day and month order worked out from the dates, with a Day first or Month first switch.

Pictures in place

every photo and sticker in the export folder is placed under the message that sent it, scaled to the page, with stickers printed small.

FAQ

Straight answers—no glossary dump

What is _chat.txt in a WhatsApp export?

_chat.txt is the text file inside an iPhone WhatsApp export. It holds every exported message, one per line, with the date, time and sender in square brackets, and notes where attachments were. Android writes the same content to a file named WhatsApp Chat with and the contact or group name. ThreadBind opens either one.

Can I convert just the text file, without the media folder?

Yes. Choose Pick chat file and select the text file. ThreadBind pages every message and writes a note wherever a photo or file was sent. To include the pictures, select them along with the text file in the same picker, or choose Pick folder and select the whole export folder instead.

What happens to the original export files?

They are only read. ThreadBind opens the folder or files you pick for reading, and the PDF is a new file you name in the Windows save dialog. Saving over the chat text or any file the chat refers to is refused, and a cancelled or failed export leaves an earlier file of the same name exactly as it was.

Where does the chat go while ThreadBind works on it?

It stays on your PC. ThreadBind runs in the Windows app sandbox, declares no capabilities, and makes no network connections, so nothing uploads. There is no account, no sign-in and no telemetry, and it writes no log. The Recent list of exports you opened stays in its own storage on this PC, and Clear list removes it.

Is ThreadBind available now?

ThreadBind is coming soon to the Microsoft Store for Windows and is not available to download or purchase yet. Use the email form on its product page to join the waitlist, then confirm your email address. We will send launch updates when there is news. No payment is taken.

Related pages

Your WhatsApp chat, as a paged PDF. Every photo under the message that sent it.

ThreadBind is coming soon.

Join the waitlist for launch updates. The app is not available to download or purchase yet. No payment is taken.

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WhatsApp is a trademark of WhatsApp LLC. iPhone is a trademark of Apple Inc., and Android is a trademark of Google LLC. ThreadBind is not affiliated with or endorsed by WhatsApp LLC, Apple, or Google.