An Extra! X-treme alternative for 3270 and 5250
Extra! sessions go through Reflection format and into WND Terminal with their keyboard maps. People keep their hosts and keys, on Windows, Mac or a browser.
WND Terminal is an alternative to Extra! X-treme, the Attachmate emulator now owned by Rocket Software, for IBM mainframe (3270) and IBM i (5250) sessions. Extra! .edp sessions are opened and saved in Reflection Desktop, the vendor’s own upgrade path, and WND Terminal imports the result with its keyboard maps. Extra! Basic macros (.ebm) are listed for a person.
From Attachmate to Rocket Secure Host Access
Extra! has changed hands three times since 2014.
- 2005
- Attachmate, the company behind Extra!, merged with WRQ, the company behind Reflection.
- 2014
- Micro Focus bought Attachmate.
- 2023
- OpenText bought Micro Focus.
- 2024
- Rocket Software bought OpenText’s Application Modernization and Connectivity business, emulators included, for $2.275 billion.
- 2025
- Rocket announced Rocket Secure Host Access, one subscription product that brings Extra!, Reflection, Rumba, BlueZone and others together. Rocket says subscriptions include its migration tools and 10 hours of consulting.
The vendor’s own upgrade for Extra! X-treme 8.0 through 9.x is Reflection Desktop. Installing it removes Extra!, and the two can’t be kept on the same PC (Micro Focus KB 7024878). Staying with Rocket also means moving to a different product.
At a glance
What WND Terminal does, from its documentation, next to what we could confirm about Extra! X-treme. Where we couldn’t confirm something, the cell says so.
| Capability | WND Terminal | Extra! X-treme (Rocket) |
|---|---|---|
| Who sells it | WND Software, Austin, Texas, in business since 2021 | Rocket Software. The vendor’s upgrade path is Reflection Desktop |
| IBM Z mainframe (3270) | Yes. TN3270E (RFC 2355), LU names, models 2 to 5 | Yes |
| IBM i (5250) display | Yes. 24×80, 27×132, IBM’s enhanced 5250 graphical windows, double-byte code pages | Yes |
| Mac | Native app for Apple Silicon and Intel, macOS 11 or later | Check with vendor. In February 2025, IT Jungle reported Mac support for Rocket Secure Host Access Pro as pending |
| Browser access | Yes. A gateway you host, with Entra ID, Okta, Google or OIDC sign-in | Web access is part of the Rocket Secure Host Access Anywhere edition |
Extra! session files (.edp) | Imported after Reflection Desktop opens them and saves them in Reflection format | Native format |
Extra! keyboard maps (.ekm) | Converted with the session, then imported with it | Native format |
Extra! Basic macros (.ebm) | Not run. Counted and listed for a person in the Migration readiness report | Native format |
| Card-number and pattern masking | Yes, set by IT, in copies, prints and anything sent to the AI | Check with vendor |
| Tamper-evident session recording | Yes. SHA-256 hash chain and Ed25519 signature, in your storage | Check with vendor |
| Spreadsheet to screen, multi-page list to spreadsheet | Yes. Fill from Excel and Capture all pages, no scripting | Check with vendor |
| VT sessions | No. VT files are recognized and listed for a person | Check with vendor |
| Price | $99 (Desktop) or $159 (Enterprise) per user per year, 100-user minimum | Check with vendor |
Extra! file handling in Reflection Desktop comes from Micro Focus documentation, linked at the foot of this page.
Extra! to WND Terminal in four steps
WND Terminal doesn’t read .edp files directly. It reads what Reflection Desktop saves, so the vendor’s own tool does the first step.
Gather the Extra! files
Session files (.edp), keyboard maps (.ekm), QuickPads (.eqp), toolbars (.etb) and Extra! Basic macros (.ebm), from user folders and the shared drive.
Save them in Reflection Desktop
Open each .edp in Reflection Desktop and save it. Reflection converts the session along with its keyboard map, QuickPads, toolbars and text hotspots.
Run the readiness report
Point WND Terminal at the converted sessions and the .ebm files. Copies of the same session collapse into one connection, and each Extra! Basic macro is listed for a person.
Deploy and run side by side
Review the generated policy and push it with Group Policy, Intune or a Mac configuration profile. A pilot team then works in both emulators before you decide.
Reflection Desktop can’t open .epp files or most Extra! file transfer sessions, and it brings across text hotspots but not region hotspots (Micro Focus, Moving from Extra! to Reflection). Those files need a person whichever product you choose.
What changes when you move
- The conversion isn’t wasted.Saving Extra! sessions in Reflection format is the first step of Rocket’s own upgrade too. Do it once and you can test Reflection Desktop and WND Terminal on the same converted files.
- Your keys stay put.Keyboard maps travel with the converted session, so people keep the keys they know. Union Pacific imported 340 keyboard maps from its old emulator.
- IBM i in the same app.IT Jungle notes that Extra! had a fair number of IBM i users. WND Terminal runs 5250 next to 3270, with IBM i printers, automatic sign-on with password substitutes and IBM’s graphical windows.
- A Mac app with no Citrix.One native app for Apple Silicon and Intel Macs, managed with Jamf, Intune, Kandji or Mosyle. The Home Depot retired 38 Citrix servers this way.
- Common macro jobs are built in.If you used Extra! Basic to load a spreadsheet into an entry screen or export a long list, Fill from Excel and Capture all pages do it without a macro.
- Honest gaps.No Extra! Basic, no VBA and no VT. The readiness report counts every Extra! Basic macro, so you know the size of that work before you start.
What customers changed when they switched
From WND’s published customer stories. The stories don’t name the previous vendor.
- Fifth Third BankEmulator bill down 81%. 3,300 of 7,400 licensed seats found unused in 90 days.
- Union Pacific1,900 session profiles and 340 keyboard maps imported. 7,800 users moved in eight weeks, against a nine-month estimate.
- Texas HHSCAbout 60,000 hours of retyping removed a year.
Renewal context from the same stories. Fifth Third saw yearly increases of 9–14%. The Home Depot had 12% at its last renewal. Union Pacific had 10% plus a five-year commitment.
Other comparisons
Extra! facts on this page come from Micro Focus, Moving from Extra! to Reflection, Micro Focus KB 7024878 on upgrading to Reflection Desktop, the file list in the InfoConnect Desktop guide, IT Jungle, June 2024, IT Jungle, February 2025 and SD Times, May 2024, checked in October 2026.
Competitor information is based on public sources as of October 2026. Check with each vendor for current capabilities. “Check with vendor” means we could not confirm the capability from public sources. Extra!, Reflection, Rumba, InfoConnect and BlueZone are trademarks of Rocket Software. IBM, IBM i and Personal Communications are trademarks of IBM. PowerTerm is a trademark of Ericom Software. WND Software is not affiliated with or endorsed by these companies.
Questions
Can WND Terminal open Extra! .edp files directly?
No. Open each .edp in Reflection Desktop and save it, which converts it to Reflection format along with its keyboard map. WND Terminal imports the saved session.
Isn't Reflection Desktop the upgrade for Extra! anyway?
It is the vendor's path for Extra! X-treme 8.0 through 9.x, and it removes Extra! when installed. Because WND Terminal reads the converted files, the same work lets you test both options.
What happens to our Extra! Basic macros?
WND Terminal doesn't run them. The Migration readiness report counts and lists each one for a person. Common uses, such as loading spreadsheets or exporting lists, are built in as Fill from Excel and Capture all pages.
Who owns Extra! now?
Rocket Software, since it bought OpenText's Application Modernization and Connectivity business in 2024. Rocket now sells its emulators together as Rocket Secure Host Access.
Test your converted Extra! sessions in WND Terminal.
Bring the Reflection-format files to a free proof of value. We run the readiness report on them in week one. Then a pilot team uses WND Terminal next to Extra!.