19/09/2020
Compared with music and movie files, documents seem relatively simple. But converting between document formats can be trickier, because many of them—the Word document format from Microsoft, the Pages document format from Apple, and so on—are proprietary.
Because of its finicky format, you should, wherever possible, try using a document’s native program to open it and convert it to something else. If you don’t have the right software to do so, consider falling back on a web app. You can access basic versions of both Microsoft Office and Apple iWork online, allowing you to use them from any browser for free.
If you still need a dedicated tool, we like the free Doxillion Document Converter Software (for Windows and macOS). It supports Word, HTML, PDF, and other common document formats. And it’s easy to use, handling everything through a single one-screen interface. Hit the Add Files button to build a list of files, then set your output options in the pane underneath.
Finally, the free online document converter FileZigZag can competently handle a variety of file types, including Microsoft Office formats and PDFs. Like Zamzar, it makes you provide an email address in order to receive a download link for the converted file. But other than that, it’s straightforward and easy to use, and you can run it from any browser window.