Convert PDF – Frequently Asked Questions

The Convert PDF tool is currently in DEMO MODE and allows you to convert PDF files to other popular formats.

Key Features:

• Five Output Formats: DOCX, XLSX, PPTX, PNG, JPG
• CloudConvert Integration: Optional cloud-based API for high-quality conversion
• LibreOffice Integration: Alternative local conversion using open-source tools
• Format Selection: Choose output format based on your needs
• DEMO MODE: Interface demonstration with limited functionality

Technical Implementation: The tool provides two conversion methods: CloudConvert API (cloud-based, requires API key) or LibreOffice (local, requires LibreOffice installation on server). Users upload a PDF and select an output format (DOCX, XLSX, PPTX, PNG, JPG). The backend processes the conversion using the configured method. DEMO MODE indicates the tool is a preview version and may require additional setup for full functionality.

DEMO MODE indicates that the Convert PDF tool is a demonstration/preview version.

What DEMO MODE Means:

• Interface Preview: You can see and interact with the conversion interface
• Limited Functionality: Actual PDF conversion may not work without proper backend configuration
• Configuration Required: Requires CloudConvert API key or LibreOffice installation
• Testing Phase: Tool is being tested and refined

DEMO MODE Behavior:

• Interface Works: Upload PDFs, select formats, see conversion options
• Conversion May Fail: Without backend service, conversions may not complete
• Error Messages: May display messages indicating service not configured
• Sample Conversions: May provide limited sample conversions for testing

Full Functionality Requires:

• CloudConvert: Valid CloudConvert API key (cloud service, paid)
• OR LibreOffice: LibreOffice installed on server (free, local)

The tool supports conversion to five popular output formats.

Output Formats:

1. DOCX (Microsoft Word Document)

• Purpose: Editable text documents
• Use Case: Convert PDFs to Word for editing, reformatting, or content extraction
• Best For: Text-heavy PDFs, reports, essays, documents
• Formatting: Attempts to preserve fonts, styles, and layout

2. XLSX (Microsoft Excel Spreadsheet)

• Purpose: Editable spreadsheets with tables and data
• Use Case: Convert PDFs with tables to Excel for data analysis
• Best For: Financial reports, data tables, invoices with tables
• Data Extraction: Converts tables to spreadsheet cells

3. PPTX (Microsoft PowerPoint Presentation)

• Purpose: Editable presentation slides
• Use Case: Convert PDF presentations back to PowerPoint
• Best For: Slide-based PDFs, presentations, lecture slides
• Slide Conversion: Each PDF page becomes a PowerPoint slide

4. PNG (Portable Network Graphics)

• Purpose: High-quality raster images
• Use Case: Convert PDF pages to images for web use or embedding
• Best For: Screenshots, graphics, logos with transparency
• Quality: Lossless compression, supports transparency

5. JPG (JPEG Image)

• Purpose: Compressed photo-quality images
• Use Case: Convert PDF pages to photos for sharing or display
• Best For: Photo-based PDFs, web images, social media
• Quality: Lossy compression, smaller file size than PNG

CloudConvert is a cloud-based file conversion API service that provides professional-grade PDF conversions.

What is CloudConvert?

• Type: Cloud-based conversion API service
• Website: cloudconvert.com
• Pricing: Free tier + paid plans based on conversion minutes
• Quality: Professional-grade conversions with high fidelity

How It Works with PDF Lab:

1. API Integration: PDF Lab integrates with CloudConvert API
2. Authentication: Requires CloudConvert API key (obtained from cloudconvert.com)
3. Upload: PDF uploaded to CloudConvert servers
4. Conversion: CloudConvert performs the conversion in the cloud
5. Download: Converted file returned to PDF Lab and downloaded to user

Supported Conversions:

• PDF → DOCX (high quality)
• PDF → XLSX (accurate table extraction)
• PDF → PPTX (preserves slide layouts)
• PDF → PNG (customizable resolution)
• PDF → JPG (optimized compression)

Setup Requirements:

• Create CloudConvert account at cloudconvert.com
• Generate API key from account dashboard
• Configure API key in PDF Lab settings
• Free tier includes conversion minutes per month

LibreOffice is a free, open-source office suite that can convert PDFs locally on the server.

What is LibreOffice?

• Type: Free, open-source office software (like Microsoft Office)
• Components: Writer (Word), Calc (Excel), Impress (PowerPoint), Draw
• Command-Line Tool: soffice (headless conversion)
• Cost: Completely free

How It Works for Conversion:

1. Installation: LibreOffice installed on the server
2. Command Execution: PHP executes LibreOffice command-line:
   • soffice --headless --convert-to docx input.pdf
   • --headless = No GUI, background processing
   • --convert-to docx = Output format
3. Conversion: LibreOffice performs local conversion
4. Output: Converted file generated on server
5. Download: File returned to user

Supported Conversions (LibreOffice):

• PDF → DOCX (via LibreOffice Writer)
• PDF → XLSX (via LibreOffice Calc, limited table extraction)
• PDF → PPTX (via LibreOffice Impress)
• PDF → PNG (via Draw/conversion pipeline)
• PDF → JPG (via conversion tools)

LibreOffice vs. CloudConvert:

• LibreOffice: Free, local processing, moderate quality
• CloudConvert: Paid, cloud-based, professional quality

PDF to DOCX conversion attempts to preserve formatting, but perfect preservation is challenging.

What Gets Preserved (Usually):

• Text Content: All text is extracted and converted
• Fonts: Font families and sizes (if fonts are available)
• Basic Styles: Bold, italic, underline
• Images: Embedded images are extracted and placed
• Simple Layouts: Single-column text layouts

What May Change:

• Complex Layouts: Multi-column layouts may reflow
• Exact Positioning: PDF (fixed layout) vs. Word (flowing text)
• Custom Fonts: May be substituted if not available
• Graphics/Shapes: Vector graphics may become images
• Tables: Complex tables may lose structure

Conversion Quality Depends On:

• PDF Complexity: Simple text PDFs convert well
• Source: PDFs created from Word convert better than scanned documents
• Conversion Tool: CloudConvert typically better than LibreOffice

Best Results:

• Simple, text-based PDFs with minimal graphics
• Documents originally created in Word and exported to PDF
• Single-column layouts without complex positioning

Yes! The Convert PDF tool interface is responsive and mobile-friendly.

Mobile Features:

• File Upload: Access device file picker to select PDFs
• Format Selection: Touch-friendly dropdown or buttons for format choice
• Server Processing: All conversion happens server-side (no performance impact on mobile)
• Download: Converted files download to mobile device

DEMO MODE on Mobile:

• Interface works perfectly on smartphones and tablets
• Actual conversion depends on backend configuration (same as desktop)
• If service is configured, conversions work on mobile just like desktop

No, we do not permanently store your PDF files or converted outputs.

How We Handle Your Files:

• Temporary Storage: Uploaded PDFs stored in /tmp folder only during processing
• CloudConvert (if used): Files processed through CloudConvert's secure API and deleted after conversion
• LibreOffice (if used): Local conversion on server, files deleted after processing
• Automatic Cleanup: All temporary files deleted after download
• Session Isolation: Each user's files isolated with unique identifiers

Privacy Guarantee:

• We do not access or analyze file contents
• We do not permanently store documents
• CloudConvert also follows strict privacy policies

The output format depends on your selected conversion type.

Output File Formats:

• DOCX: converted_[timestamp].docx (Microsoft Word 2007+)
• XLSX: converted_[timestamp].xlsx (Microsoft Excel 2007+)
• PPTX: converted_[timestamp].pptx (Microsoft PowerPoint 2007+)
• PNG: converted_[timestamp].png (Portable Network Graphics)
• JPG: converted_[timestamp].jpg (JPEG image)

File Compatibility:

• DOCX/XLSX/PPTX: Open in Microsoft Office 2007+, LibreOffice, Google Docs/Sheets/Slides
• PNG/JPG: Open in any image viewer or editor

The Convert PDF tool integrates with external conversion services.

Conversion Methods:

Method 1: CloudConvert API

• API Integration: PHP cURL or CloudConvert SDK
• Authentication: API key from cloudconvert.com
• Process:
  • Upload PDF to CloudConvert via API
  • Request conversion to selected format
  • Download converted file via API
• Formats: All five formats supported with high quality

Method 2: LibreOffice

• Command-Line Execution: PHP exec() or shell_exec()
• Command: soffice --headless --convert-to [format] [input.pdf]
• Formats:
  • DOCX: --convert-to docx
  • XLSX: --convert-to xlsx
  • PPTX: --convert-to pptx
  • PNG/JPG: Additional tools may be needed

Frontend Technologies:

• HTML5 file input for PDF upload
• Format selection dropdown or radio buttons
• JavaScript for form validation and submission
• DEMO MODE indicator display

Processing Workflow:

1. User uploads PDF and selects output format
2. Server checks configured conversion method (CloudConvert or LibreOffice)
3. If DEMO MODE (no service configured), show error or demo message
4. If service configured, perform conversion
5. Return converted file for download