What are GBR files?

The file with the .GBR extension is most likely a Gerber file that stores printed circuit board designs. Most PCB design programs can export data to Gerber files.

If it's not a Gerber file, your file is probably a brush file used by GIMP image editing software. This file type contains an image that the program uses to draw repeated strokes on the canvas.

Another use for the GBR extension is for Game Boy Tileset files that can be integrated into standard Game Boy as well as Super Game Boy and Game Boy Color.

What are GBR files? Picture 1

How to open the GBR . file

You can open Gerber files with a number of programs, most of which are free. These free Gerber viewers include GraphiCode GC-Prevue, PentaLogix ViewMate, and Gerbv. Some of them support printing and viewing measurements. You can also use Altium Designer to open Gerber files, but it's not free.

Another way to view GBR files is to use an online tool. The producer of this format, Ucamco, has a free Reference Gerber Viewer that allows you to upload files online for viewing in your browser.

Brush GBR is used with GIMP, works on Windows, macOS and Linux.

If your GBR file is in Game Boy Tileset format, you can open it with Game Boy Tile Designer (GBTD).

How to convert GBR . files

Converting a file requires you to know what format it is in. This is important so that you know which conversion program to use, as the three formats described above have nothing to do with each other. This means that you cannot convert, for example, a GIMP brush file to the Gerber file format; it doesn't work that way.

When it comes to converting Gerber files, chances are that some of the programs mentioned above are capable of not only opening but also saving files to a new file format. Otherwise, GerbView can convert Gerber files to DXF, PDF, DWG, TIFF, SVG and other file formats.

Online Gerber Viewer can also work to save GBR files to PNG image format. FlatCAM can convert Gerber files to G-Code. You can also try Cenon if other converters don't work.

To save GIMP GBR files to ABR for use in Adobe Photoshop, you must first convert it to PNG using a program like XnView. Then, open the PNG file in Photoshop and choose which part of the image will be converted into a brush. Create a brush via the Edit > Define Brush Preset menu .

You can convert Game Boy Tileset files to other file formats using the Game Boy Tile Designer program linked above. It supports saving to Z80, OBJ, C, BIN and S, via the File > Export to menu item .

Lesley Montoya

Update 19 February 2023