Converters · Windows 10 and 11
Convert documents between Word, PDF, Markdown, HTML and text
Drop in Word files, PDFs, Markdown, web pages or text files, pick the format they should become, and Octoolo writes the copies on your own computer. It reads each file with the same code as its Documents editor, so headings, lists, tables, links and pictures come across between Word, Markdown and HTML.
How to convert a document
- 1
Open Convert documents
Open Converters from Octoolo's home screen and pick Convert documents in the list on the left.
- 2
Drop the files in
Drag one file or many onto Drop documents here, or click it to choose them: .docx, .pdf, .md, .html and .txt. Each row shows the file's name and size.
- 3
Choose the format
Under Convert to, pick Word document (.docx), PDF (.pdf), Markdown (.md), Web page (.html) or Plain text (.txt). One choice applies to every file in the list.
- 4
Convert and save
Press Convert; the button names the count and the format, such as Convert 3 files to PDF. Each row shows its progress and then a Save button; with several done, Save all as ZIP saves them together.
What comes across, and what does not
Every file is read into the same document model the Documents editor uses, then written out in the format you chose, so a conversion here gives exactly what opening the file in Documents and saving it there would.
| From | What is read |
|---|---|
| Word (.docx) | Text, headings, bold and italics, lists, tables, links and pictures. Headers, footers, footnotes, comments, tracked changes, columns and text boxes are left out. |
| Markdown (.md) | Headings, lists and checklists, quotes, code blocks, tables, rules, links and pictures. |
| Web page (.html) | The text and structure of the page; scripts and styling are dropped. |
| Plain text (.txt) | Each line or blank-line-separated block as a paragraph. |
| The words, as paragraphs and headings in reading order. Pictures, columns and tables are not kept, and a scanned page has no words to take. |
Older .doc files are not read; save them as .docx in Word first. The file you drop is never changed: every conversion writes a new file.
How the PDF is made
Octoolo lays the document out as pages and writes the PDF itself, inside the app, with no printer dialog. The page is US Letter with one-inch margins when Windows runs in US or Canadian English, and A4 with the same margins everywhere else. Fonts are embedded as the PDF is written, so it looks the same on any computer. Since the PDF is written by the app's own engine, this format is the one conversion that needs the installed Octoolo app rather than a browser.
For a single open document, Save as PDF… (Ctrl P) in Documents does the same. The converter is for a folder of files, or for a file you do not need to open first.
Going from PDF to something editable
A PDF stores words by position, not by paragraph, so turning one back into a document is reconstruction. Octoolo reads every run of text on a page with its place and size, joins the runs that share a line, groups lines that sit close together into a paragraph, and makes a heading of a short block set noticeably larger than the page's body text. Words broken by a hyphen at a line end are joined again.
That works well for letters, reports, contracts and articles set in one column. It does not keep pictures, tables or multi-column layouts: the words of a two-column page come out in page order, one column after the other. A scanned PDF, where each page is a picture, gives nothing, because there are no words in the file to read; see PDF to Word for more.
Many files at once
Everything in the list converts with the same setting, one file after another, and the row of each shows where it is: reading, writing, done with its new size, or why it failed. A file that cannot be read, such as a PDF with no text, is marked on its row and the rest carry on.
Each result has its own Save, which opens the Windows Save dialog with the original's name and the new extension. When more than one file is done, Save all as ZIP writes them all into one archive in a single step. Clear empties the list for the next batch.
Octoolo or an online tool?
| Detail | Octoolo | A typical online tool |
|---|---|---|
| Your files | Stay on your computer | Usually uploaded to the site's server |
| Without internet | Works | Does not work |
| File size | No limit | Often capped on free use |
| Watermarks and ads | None | Common on free plans |
| Cost | $4.99 a month, all 17 apps | Free with limits, or a plan per site |
Questions, answered
Does it keep the formatting of my Word file?
Headings, bold and italics, lists, tables, links and pictures come across to Word, Markdown and HTML. Page layout details such as headers, footers, columns and text boxes are not kept.
Can I convert a whole folder?
Select every file in the folder and drop them in together; they convert one after another with the same setting, and Save all as ZIP saves the results in one go.
Which page size does the PDF get?
Letter with one-inch margins when Windows runs in US or Canadian English, A4 with one-inch margins otherwise.
Why does PDF to Word give me only text?
A PDF has no paragraphs or tables of its own, only words at positions. Octoolo rebuilds paragraphs and headings from them; pictures, tables and columns are not rebuilt.
Can it read a scanned PDF?
No. A scan is a picture of a page with no text in it. Reading words out of pictures is a job for image to text.
Is anything uploaded?
No. Reading, converting and writing all happen on your computer, and it works without an internet connection.
Document converter, and 16 more apps.
Download for Windows7 days free, then from $3.99 a month for all 17 apps. Windows 10 and 11.