File Conversion Quick Reference

Document Formats

PDF (Portable Document Format)

• Best for: Final documents, printing, sharing
• Pros: Universal compatibility, preserves formatting
• Cons: Difficult to edit
• Common conversions: PDF ↔ Word, PDF ↔ Excel, PDF ↔ PowerPoint

Microsoft Word (.docx, .doc)

• Best for: Text documents, collaborative editing
• Pros: Rich formatting, widely supported
• Cons: Version compatibility issues
• Common conversions: Word ↔ PDF, Word ↔ HTML, Word ↔ RTF

Rich Text Format (.rtf)

• Best for: Cross-platform document sharing
• Pros: Universal compatibility, preserves basic formatting
• Cons: Limited formatting options

Spreadsheet Formats

Microsoft Excel (.xlsx, .xls)

• Best for: Complex calculations, data analysis
• Pros: Advanced formulas, charts, macros
• Cons: Proprietary format
• Common conversions: Excel ↔ CSV, Excel ↔ PDF

CSV (Comma-Separated Values)

• Best for: Data exchange, database imports
• Pros: Universal compatibility, lightweight
• Cons: No formatting, formulas lost
• Structure: Name,Age,City

OpenDocument Spreadsheet (.ods)

• Best for: Open-source alternative to Excel
• Pros: Open standard, free
• Cons: Limited compatibility

Data Formats

JSON (JavaScript Object Notation)

{
  "name": "John Doe",
  "age": 30,
  "city": "New York"
}

• Best for: Web APIs, configuration files
• Pros: Human-readable, lightweight
• Cons: No comments, limited data types

XML (eXtensible Markup Language)

<person>
  <name>John Doe</name>
  <age>30</age>
  <city>New York</city>
</person>

• Best for: Structured data, configuration
• Pros: Self-describing, supports validation
• Cons: Verbose, complex parsing

YAML (YAML Ain't Markup Language)

name: John Doe
age: 30
city: New York

• Best for: Configuration files, documentation
• Pros: Human-readable, supports comments
• Cons: Indentation-sensitive

Archive Formats

ZIP

• Best for: File compression, bundling
• Compression: Good balance of speed and size
• Compatibility: Universal support

RAR

• Best for: Maximum compression
• Compression: Better than ZIP
• Compatibility: Requires special software

7Z

• Best for: Best compression ratio
• Compression: Excellent
• Compatibility: Open source

Conversion Best Practices

Before Converting

1. Backup original files
2. Check file size limits
3. Verify format compatibility
4. Consider quality loss

Quality Preservation

• Documents: Use native formats when possible
• Images: Avoid multiple conversions
• Data: Validate after conversion
• Archives: Test extraction before sharing

Common Issues & Solutions

| Problem | Solution | |---------|----------| | Formatting lost | Use compatible formats (RTF, HTML) | | File too large | Compress or split files | | Encoding errors | Specify UTF-8 encoding | | Formula errors | Export as values, not formulas | | Font issues | Embed fonts or use standard fonts |

File Size Guidelines

Document Optimization

• PDF: Use compression, optimize images
• Word: Remove unused styles, compress images
• Excel: Remove empty rows/columns, compress

When to Convert

• PDF → Word: Need to edit content
• Excel → CSV: Database import, data analysis
• Word → PDF: Final distribution, printing
• JSON → XML: Legacy system compatibility

Security Considerations

Safe Conversion Practices

1. Scan files for malware
2. Remove sensitive metadata
3. Use trusted conversion tools
4. Verify file integrity

Metadata Removal

• PDF: Remove author, creation date
• Word: Clear document properties
• Excel: Remove personal information
• Images: Strip EXIF data

Note: Detailed conversion procedures and advanced techniques will be added soon.