# Batch-converting MS-Word files to something more universal **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [September 1, 2002, 5:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/batch-converting-ms-word-files-to-something-more-universal/126525 "2002-09-01T05:31:06Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 16\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Derleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Derleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Derleth)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2002, 5:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/batch-converting-ms-word-files-to-something-more-universal/126525/1 "2002-09-01T05:31:06Z")
Is there any free program to convert MS-Word .doc files to something like flat ASCII or HTML or even PDF or DVI? I want them in a format where I can at least read them without problem in a minimal Linux environment, and possibly edit them in the same. I have too many to manually convert them all over one at a time with the MS-Word program itself, and I have some files I really want to be able to cleanly migrate to Linux. This is a major sticking point in me completely becoming Microsoft-free, a goal I’ve had for a while now. The program must be able to work in MS-DOS, Win32 (Windows ME, for example, or Windows 95), or Linux, and must be free of charge. Thank you in advance. ---
**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2002, 5:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/batch-converting-ms-word-files-to-something-more-universal/126525/2 "2002-09-01T05:47:41Z")
You already have what you need built into word. Go to Word Help and type “mass conversion” > [@](#): > > Convert several documents at once > > Place the documents you want to convert in a single folder. > > On the File menu, click New, and then click the Other Documents tab. > > Show Me > > Double-click Batch Conversion Wizard. > > Note If you do not see the Batch Conversion Wizard in the New dialog box, you may need to install it. > > Follow the directions on the screen. ---
**Author:** ![Derleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Derleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Derleth)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2002, 5:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/batch-converting-ms-word-files-to-something-more-universal/126525/3 "2002-09-01T05:59:22Z")
**astro** : A million thanks, my good man! 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Derleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Derleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Derleth)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2002, 6:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/batch-converting-ms-word-files-to-something-more-universal/126525/4 "2002-09-01T06:15:21Z")
**astro** : I have gotten all the way to the part where I install the wizard, and I don’t have it on my system. I also don’t have the CD-ROMs, because the software was OEM-installed. Is there any hope? ---
**Author:** ![Derleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Derleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Derleth)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2002, 4:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/batch-converting-ms-word-files-to-something-more-universal/126525/5 "2002-09-02T04:04:21Z")
I’m bumping this in hopes I can get an answer to my second question. ---
**Author:** ![rjk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/ed655f/32.png) [@rjk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rjk)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2002, 5:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/batch-converting-ms-word-files-to-something-more-universal/126525/6 "2002-09-02T05:24:58Z")
You could try installing [Open Office](http://www.openoffice.org/) on Linux. It reads and writes MSOffice files very nicely. I’ve had no trouble with the Windows version handling Word 2000 files. ---
**Author:** ![black\_rabbit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/f19dbf/32.png) [@black\_rabbit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/black_rabbit)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2002, 6:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/batch-converting-ms-word-files-to-something-more-universal/126525/7 "2002-09-02T06:11:55Z")
'nuther vote for OpenOffice. It’s gotten stuck on a few heavily formatted .docs, but 95% of the time, I’ve got no problems. ---
**Author:** ![Derleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Derleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Derleth)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2002, 6:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/batch-converting-ms-word-files-to-something-more-universal/126525/8 "2002-09-02T06:19:24Z")
**rjk** : Oh, good. The most formatting in these documents is double-spacing and some little right-justification. I’ve had bad experiences with KWord dying horribly trying to read similar documents, I hope Open Office is up to the task. ---
**Author:** ![Musicat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/musicat/32/20189_2.png) [@Musicat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Musicat)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2002, 6:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/batch-converting-ms-word-files-to-something-more-universal/126525/9 "2002-09-02T06:47:53Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Derleth \* > \*\ ***astro** : I have gotten all the way to the part where I install the wizard, and I don’t have it on my system. I also don’t have the CD-ROMs, because the software was OEM-installed. Is there any hope? \*\* If the software was _legitmately_ installed by an OEM, and they did not give you CDs, they probably put a copy of the CDs on your hard drive. Typically, this is another partition (D: might be it) – look for very large folders of files grouped together with a revealing overall name. White-box OEMS often have different ways of handling these CD copies – if at all possible, ask them how to install or reinstall what you need. ---
**Author:** ![Derleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Derleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Derleth)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2002, 7:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/batch-converting-ms-word-files-to-something-more-universal/126525/10 "2002-09-02T07:18:12Z")
**Musicat** : No go. The D: partition is full of really unhelpfully-named folders (try 002 or 151715 on for size) and I haven’t found anything even remotely connected to what I’m looking for. No, I think I’m going with Open Office, but thanks anyway. Calling Compaq for such a thing sounds like an unholy nightmare when a likely solution already exists. ---
**Author:** ![sailor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a587f6/32.png) [@sailor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sailor)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2002, 8:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/batch-converting-ms-word-files-to-something-more-universal/126525/11 "2002-09-02T08:03:51Z")
I do not think pdf would be anything close to a “universal format”. I would suggest saving in **rtf** as the better option and almost any word processing program can read or save in that format. ---
**Author:** ![Number](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/number/32/242_2.png) [@Number](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Number)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2002, 5:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/batch-converting-ms-word-files-to-something-more-universal/126525/12 "2002-09-02T17:27:56Z")
What version of Office is it? ---
**Author:** ![robcaro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/df705f/32.png) [@robcaro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robcaro)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2002, 7:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/batch-converting-ms-word-files-to-something-more-universal/126525/13 "2002-09-02T19:37:14Z")
For what it’s worth, I use a program called win2pdf. You can get it at [http://www.daneprairie.com/](http://www.daneprairie.com/). ---
**Author:** ![Derleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Derleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Derleth)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2002, 11:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/batch-converting-ms-word-files-to-something-more-universal/126525/14 "2002-09-03T23:15:29Z")
**Number** : Office 2000, if it makes a difference. It’s installed with Windows ME. **sailor** : I can view PDF files with tools on my Linux partition. That’s all I want. **robcaro** : Thank you. Now I have two options. 🙂 I knew this would be a common enough beef to attract a few tools. ---
**Author:** ![Number](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/number/32/242_2.png) [@Number](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Number)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2002, 11:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/batch-converting-ms-word-files-to-something-more-universal/126525/15 "2002-09-03T23:51:28Z")
It sounds like people have supplied you with some alternatives, but if you do want to install the Batch Conversion Wizard, search your hard drives for a file called **data1.msi**. Note which folder it’s in, then point the Office installer there when prompted for the CD. ---
**Author:** ![Musicat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/musicat/32/20189_2.png) [@Musicat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Musicat)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2002, 4:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/batch-converting-ms-word-files-to-something-more-universal/126525/16 "2002-09-04T04:57:29Z")
Yeah, what **Number** said – I’ll bet **data1.msi** is in one of those “unhelpfully-named folders” on your other drive.