How-To: Convert Your Files into a Readable Format

Have you ever been one step from uploading a video to Youtube, or compiling together that office project when the screen turns red and reads: "The file you chose is not a supported format." It could even be a business proposal someone sent you that has a newer version of Microsoft Word. What should you do? Convert the file to a format that is supported. But how do you do that? You can use freeware/paid programs or websites to transfer your file to a readable file type. This how-to will give you the sites and programs you will need to achieve this. Read More...

As I mentioned above, there are two types of conversion methods. Programs and websites. I prefer websites because they don't require you to download software and fill up space on your computer. Conversion websites do have limitations. They are not as fast as having a program do it directly on your computer and there is a possibility of a record of all the files your converted in the sites database. Programs obviously provide more confidentially in that matter, but if you download them from untrusted sites, you may be downloading a virus to your computer. Always use caution when downloading programs. Which method you chose is your decision, but consider my advice wisely.

Websites
There really isn't much to say that hasn't already been said. Websites are a good choice if you are only doing one or two small conversions since they don't require a download. By far, my favorite site is Media Convert. It provides conversions for pretty much every kind of file you can come up with. For (Rare) files not supported by Media Convert, another good option is Zamzar. Zamzar is most commonly used for it's conversion of DOCX (Microsoft Word 2007) to DOC (Original Microsoft Word). Aside from those there really are that many other online services. Some others I found are YouConvertIt and iConv.

Programs
You probably want to download a conversion programs if you have lots of files or bigger files to convert. It will take less time and you won't have to download your file from a conversion site. Since they are free, you are not going to find a multi-type file conversion program. For audio conversion, try FreeRIP, an all audio file converter with a CD ripper. Video converts are not that hard to come by, but free ones are. I prefer to use AVS Video Converter since it includes not only video file conversion, but an almost fully fledged video editor and DVD creator all for a great price. Free! For other formats you will have to look around for programs since conversions such as DOC to DOCX have a program dedicated to just that. If you have read my Freeware article, you know Googling the word free is horrible and will have you browsing billions of pages all usually for trial versions, or programs that aren't free at all. I have made some improvements to the freeware search and here is the newer version.

Soogle Free Software Search: (Version 2.0)

You can even visit Soogle's New Website!! (Looks familiar doesn't it!) While it is still a work in progress, I am working toward making Soogle a great little search engine.