Did you know that over 2.5 quintillion bytes of file data gets created each day?

With lots of file formats available for you to use, you might get confused about which file is appropriate to your needs. In these situations, you’re better off having file conversion options. But without the proper experience, you might not know how to do it.

That’s fine, we’ve got different solutions listed here for you.

With this guide, you’ll learn how to do online file conversion and use various software to accomplish this purpose. Read on and find out how to convert any file.

1. Figure Out Your File Type First

Before you learn to change your file format, you must learn its specific file type. Some applications allow you to get past this step and open it without problems. Learning file conversion is important since you’ll have some issues when using lots of programs to open specific file types.

Chief among this is that some applications do automatic file conversions. If you aren’t careful, your file’s integrity gets compromised. At worst, the file becomes unusable, regardless of the app used to open it.

To ensure this won’t occur, you must figure various file types out there. With this knowledge, you can find a way to change its format to your preferred type. Here are ways to look at file formats using two major operating systems, Windows and Mac.

Windows

Did you know that 26% of all PCs still use Windows 7 despite Microsoft ending its support? If you’re using this operating system, you’ll know that it’s difficult to know a file’s format. Windows 7 hides this information by default, but the good news is that you can turn off this feature.

Go to Windows Explorer and look at the Organize tab. Click on it and go to the Search Options tab under Folders. You’ll see lots of advanced settings, and among this is the option to hide your known files’ extensions.

With this featured disabled, you’ll see a file’s format when selecting it. The good news is that the process is almost similar when using Windows 10. Its only variation is that you’ll find File Explorer in the Start Menu.

Once you access the File Explorer, click the View tab and select the Options menu. A dialog box appears, where you must select View. This shows you the advanced file settings that will allow you to disable hiding file extensions.

Mac

The great news is that it’s easier to identify file extensions using the Mac. It’s because the majority of Macs will have the same installed operating system. All you need is to use the Finder program and click on Preferences.

Once the dialog box appears, go to the Advanced tab. You’ll find various options that toggle displays when doing specific actions. This also gives you the means of showing file extensions the same way as Windows-based PCs.

2. Convert Video Formats

Videos will often have various formats because of different operating systems. For example, Windows and macOS have their default video players and formats. Windows 7 computers have Windows Media Player with WMV as its default format.

For Windows 10, it’s a simple video player, Movies & TV. It’s more versatile since it can support various video formats like MP4, MOV, and AVI.

The macOS has QuickTime player as its default video player. It supports MOV files and other MPEG-4 files. It means having no need to convert most files since this application can play these files with no problems.

But if you want third-party programs to convert your video file formats, VLC is the best. It’s a software that can play almost any video format. Another choice is Handbrake, and the good news is that both won’t consume lots of processing power when converting files.

Do you need to convert MOV to MP4? If so, this guide here will walk you through the necessary steps to achieve it.

3. Convert Documents

Documents look much simpler than music or movie files, but they’re trickier to convert. Most of them are proprietary file formats, like Microsoft’s Word document and Apple’s Pages document format. Because of this, do your best to use the document’s native program to open and convert it to another format.

Don’t have the right software to accomplish this task? If so, web apps can help you. Basic versions of both Apple iWork and Microsoft Office exist online. That way, you’ll have the means of using them for free, as long as you have an internet connection.

For third-party tools, Doxillion Document Converter Software is a free option for both Windows and macOS computers. It has support for Word, PDF, and other prevalent document formats. It’s easy to use since you can accomplish everything using a single interface.

Another free online document converter is FileZigZag. This tool is competent in handling various types of files, which include Word Documents and PDFs. The caveat is that you must give a working email address to get the download link for the file you converted.

4. Convert Images

Lots of free programs online can convert your photos, regardless of their format. Some even give you the means of resizing pictures, modify the depth of color, and add text. Look for web tools that allow you to convert images by batches to make the process easier.

Another option is to install image converters instead. That way, even when you have no internet connection, you can convert images with ease. Some good file conversion software in the market are XnConvert and Adapter.

Start File Conversion Today!

These are things you can do to accomplish the file conversion of any format. Use these methods to ensure file sustainability. Don’t hesitate and experiment with various methods to find the ones that work best with your needs.

Is this guide useful and informative? If so, we encourage you to read our other posts and learn more useful tips and tricks. We have a trove of articles that can help you develop good practices.