The WikiPedia page that lists digital file formats contains 82 entries just for documents that store plain and formatted text. The US Library of Congress’s list of file formats is equaling daunting and baffling. In today’s workplace, an unopenable file can grind a project to a halt. Luckily, the internet provides quality free file conversion tools. With a conversion tool, you can get a file you have into a format that you can use.
Converting File Types With Convertio
There are many free file conversion sites available. I’ve been using Convertio and like it for its simplicity and speed.
Convert a file in a few steps:
- Open Convertio.
- Drag in the file you want to convert.
- Select the file format you want your file converted to.
- Click Convert.
- When the conversion is done, click Download.
Convertio works for text documents, images, video, audio–you name it
Two File Conversion Use Cases
Adobe Versus The World
Many designers use Adobe products such as PhotoShop, InDesign, and Illustrator. For them, the Adobe creative suite is the industry standard.
On the other hand, many social goods organizations don’t have Adobe products. For them, the Adobe products are too complex, expensive, and computer intensive.
(This is why I focus on PowerPoint for many design posts on this blog. PowerPoint is a good enough design tool that most organizations already have.)
For instance, your organization might have sketched out an idea for a design project using PowerPoint or some other document. Being able to convert that idea into a format that a freelance or volunteer designer can use in Adobe saves you time and avoids potential misunderstandings.
Being able to work across the Adobe gap is key for collaboration between social goods organizations and the design world that can be a great help for social goods organizations. The ability to convert files through Convertio helps these two types of organization share and communicate more effectively.
PDF Almost Anything
Speaking of Adobe, the Adobe PDF standard is a very useful medium of file exchange. Plenty of programs include the ability to save a file in PDF format. Plenty of other applications or websites require that you import or upload information in PDF format.
If you need to generate a PDF version of a file and don’t know how to do it in your program, or your program doesn’t do it, you can send the file to Convertio and change it into a PDF.
(Pro tip: If you’re working with big image files that need to be small, try free compression tools like Website Planet.)