Document Converter

The input list covers the word processors people actually use, Microsoft Word old and new, LibreOffice and OpenOffice, Apple Pages, Hancom HWP and Kingsoft WPS, along with the plain formats that sit between them: RTF, HTML, Markdown, LaTeX and text. PDF and EPUB are accepted as sources too, and presentations and spreadsheets can be converted within their own family, for example PowerPoint to OpenDocument Presentation or Numbers to Excel.

The output list is shorter on purpose. Each target is one that a common program opens without add-ons. DOCX is the general answer. DOC exists only for Word 2003 and older systems that some offices still run. ODT is the OpenDocument format used by LibreOffice and preferred by several public bodies. RTF is a safe middle ground for simple editors. HTML, Markdown and TXT strip a document down for the web, for notes apps and for code repositories. LaTeX suits academic writing in editors such as Overleaf, and HWP is for readers in Korea who use Hancom Office.

A conversion only goes as far as the target can follow. Moving from DOCX to ODT or RTF keeps nearly everything, because those formats describe pages in much the same way. Moving to HTML or Markdown keeps the structure but drops page-based features such as headers, footers, columns and exact margins, since a web page or a notes file has no pages. Going to TXT keeps the words and nothing else. Choose the target first, then pick the Formatting level that matches it.

PDF input deserves its own note. A PDF records where each line sits on the page, not where a paragraph starts and ends, so the converter rebuilds paragraphs, columns and tables from those positions. Simple reports and letters come back very close to the original. Brochures with many text boxes, forms and pages with several columns need more cleanup, and the result is a starting point for editing rather than a perfect copy. If you only need a PDF in the first place, the Convert to PDF tool works in the other direction with more page settings.

A DOCX file is a ZIP archive of XML parts: the text, the styles, the images and the settings are stored separately inside it. Because the specification is public, Google Docs, LibreOffice, Apple Pages, WPS Office and many phone apps all handle it well, which makes it the most dependable format for sending an editable document to someone whose software you do not know.

The older DOC format is a closed binary format from Microsoft. Modern Word still opens it, but other programs read it less reliably and it cannot hold some newer features. Convert DOC files to DOCX when you plan to keep editing them, and only go the other way when an old system rejects anything else.

OpenDocument Text is the other open standard for word processing, maintained by OASIS and published as ISO/IEC 26300. Word opens ODT files, but complex layouts can shift slightly when a document moves between the two families, so check tables and page breaks when a file crosses over.

Hancom HWP and Apple Pages are the two formats people most often get stuck with. HWP is common in Korean schools, companies and public offices, and Pages is the default word processor on Macs, iPads and iPhones. Both open well only in their own apps. Converting them to DOCX gives a copy that anyone can open and edit, while the reverse direction, DOCX to HWP, helps when a Korean office asks for its own format.

Plain-text targets are worth a closer look, because they are often the best format for people who write rather than lay out. Markdown keeps headings, lists, links, emphasis and simple tables in a form that reads well even before it is rendered, and it is the native format of note apps, wikis and code hosting sites. HTML keeps a little more, such as merged table cells and image sizes, and can be pasted into most website editors. LaTeX is the standard for papers with references and equations, and the converted file gives you a clean base to compile in your editor.

The plain formats also make documents easier to compare and store. A text file can be tracked line by line in version control, searched with any tool and opened decades from now without special software. When you want both an editable master and a fixed copy, keep the Markdown or DOCX and produce a PDF from it each time you share. The other tools for documents cover the remaining cases: turning pages into pictures, reading text from scans and converting ebooks or data files.