Although we'll discuss the use of the command line here, it's only to give you a taste. For the full, accurate, and up to date
information see the 'Convert Doc' command line documentation.
There you will also find a full list of examples and how to troubleshoot.
NOTE: After installation, you can find several simple batch (*.bat) files for quick and easy usage by
going to Start\All Programs\Convert Doc\Example Batch Files. These will work without
modification provided the installation was in the default folder. Email us at
if you have any questions or need additional examples. We will get you up and running fast!
There are two approaches to using the command line:
- Specify one or more conversion tasks in a 'Conversion Job'
- Specify a single conversion task in detail
Specifying a Conversion Job
A 'Conversion Job' is easily built using the 'Convert Doc' graphical user interface.
All the details of the job are saved in a single conversion job file (e.g. 'c:\myjobs\Do-Multiple-File-Conversion.SII).
Specifying a conversion job file with the command line is done by using the /J switch. You can have hundreds or thousands of tasks
specified in the conversion job file, all of which will get executed in one fell
swoop. The syntax for specifying a Conversion Job is:
ConvertDoc
/J{ConversionJobFile} [/V]
[/L{LogFile}] [/B{LogToJobFile}]
Items above enclosed in square brackets '[ ]' are optional, all other 'switches' are
required. Therefore /J should always be specified on the command line.
Example:
To run the
'Conversion Job' specified by "C:\MyJobs\ApplesOranges.SII," type the
following in at the 'Command Prompt':
ConvertDoc /J"C:\MyJobs\ApplesOranges.SII"
You can include or exclude spaces between switches and parameters. For example, "/C6" is the same as "/C 6".
For long file names you may be required to use double quotes. For example
/S"C:\Program Files\MyApp\MyDoc.DOC".
Specifying a 'Conversion Task'
Specifying a single conversion task requires a bit more effort, but does not require
the prior creation of a 'Conversion Job' file. The documentation contains a comprehensive
list of examples that are well organized. Therefore specifying a conversion
task from the command line is matter of finding your specific case and modifying it for
your needs. Again, please see the documentation for a complete list
of examples. Below you'll find the most often used examples:
The syntax for specifying a conversion task is:
ConvertDoc /S{Input
File(s)} /F# /T{Output File(s)}
/C# [/M#] [/G]
[/V] [/R] [/L{LogFile}]
[/B{LogToJobFile}]
[/I{override initialization
file}] [/E] [/A#] [/W{Password}]
Items enclosed in square brackets "[ ]" are optional, all
other 'switches' are required. Therefore /S, /T, /C# should always be
specified on the command line. There
is one exception however, and that is when /G is specified, the /T switch
is not necessary.
You can include or exclude spaces between switches and parameters. For
example, "/C6" is the same as "/C 6".
Command line switches are case sensitive, therefore /V is valid and /v
is not.
For long file names (e.g. a path or file name with spaces in it, or
longer than 8.3 format) you are required to use double quotes. For example:
ConvertDoc.exe
/S"C:\Input Folder\My App\MyFile.PDF"
/T "C:\Output Folder\My App\MyFile.DOC"
/C3 /M3 /V
Command Line Switch Specification
Full descriptions for each switch are shown below in order of importance:
| Switch |
Meaning |
/J{File} |
Specify a 'Conversion Job' file (*.SII) to be done. You
must have previously created a 'Conversion Job' file to use this
switch. |
/S{File} |
Input File(s) to be converted.
A single file including its complete path can be specified for
a one file conversion. For example: /S"D:\MyFiles\MyWordFile.DOC" If specifying a single file, make sure that the /T switch also
specifies a single output file. For example: /T"D:\MyFiles\TargetOutput.PDF"
You can specify whole directories by using the wildcard
syntax. For example: /S"D:\MyWordFiles\*.DOC" If specifying a whole directory, make sure the /T also specifies
a whole directory. For example: /T"D:\MyFiles\*.PDF"
See also /R for subfolders. |
/F
# |
File type of the input file. Please see File
Type Constants table for valid values.
This switch is only required
when using the Convert
Doc (/M2) conversion method. It will be ignored otherwise. When
using MS Word (/M1) it you can use any file type that MS Word
recognizes. When using PDF Conversion [M3], always use a PDF file
as the input file type. |
/T{File} |
Output File(s) to be created. A fully qualified path surrounded
by double quotes is recommended. Date/Time fields
can be used.
See the /S{File} switch
description for proper use of the /T{File} switch when specifying
a single or multiple files to convert.
This switch is ignored
if the /G Switch is used. |
/C
# |
Specifies what the output file type is. You must supply
a number for the # symbol. For all possible
numbers see File Type Constants. |
/G |
Save files to the same location as the input folder(s).
Use this instead of /T to place the converted files in the same
folder as the input file. Cannot be used when converting a single
file. For a single file use the /T switch instead.
Files will be saved with the same name as the input but with a
different file extension as specified by the /C# switch.
You cannot specify a different name for the output file when
using the /G switch. |
/V |
Verbose mode. Specify this switch to display a message box
indicating how the conversion went. See also /L. |
/R |
Recursive sub folders. Seek out and do all files found in
the sub-folders specified in the /S switch. You may add
this switch if you are processing whole folders of files. See
/S and /G for more details on selecting whole directories to be
converted. |
/M# |
Specifies the Conversion Method to be used.
The following values are valid:
1 = MS Word 2 = Convert Doc (Default value) 3 = PDF File Conversion
This switch is not required if you are using the Convert Doc
method, as that is the default.
See Conversion Methods for additional details
for selecting this value. |
/L{File} |
Log file path and name (e.g. /L"D:\MyLogs\MoreInfo.LOG").
If this switch is specified a log file with the given path and
name will be created and the results of the conversion will be
written to it. See also /V. |
/B{File} |
Save the Log file as a 'Conversion Job' ONLY IF ERRORS OCCURRED.
This is useful as the files that had problems can be done at a
later time, perhaps with a different method. /B differs from /L,
since the file generated with /B will not include extraneous comments
not allowed in a 'Conversion Job' file. Use the *.SII file type
extension so it can be loaded as a job. |
/E |
Very Fast PDF to TXT or PDF to HTM conversion. Use this
for super-fast conversions. It will work on most PDFs but may
be problematic for PDFs created with lesser known PDF editors. |
[/I{File}] |
Use a specified (and not the default) initialization file
for 'Convert Doc'. This allows you to be able to specify all settings
that are in the user interface from the command line, which is
especially useful for those few items not available through specific
command line switches. The default initialization file created
by the program while running the user interface can be used as
a template (see below to locate the file). You can modify the
default ini file created by the program and rename it to whatever
you want for use in the command line. Note: You can find the
default ini file created by running the user interface. From theHelp menu,select About . Double click the Softinterface
logo. Then, in Notepad, from the File
menu, select Save as to see where it is on your
system. |
[/W{PDF
File Open Password}] |
When converting TO a PDF file, you can specify a File Open
password using this switch. The Example below makes the word Apples
the password to open the newly created PDF file:
ConvertDoc.EXE /S "c:\input files\tryme.doc" /T "c:\input
files\tryme.pdf" /F9 /C12 /M2 /V /WApples |
/P |
Specify an ERRORLEVEL (return code) upon closing the application.
See also /L and /V. The following ERRORLEVELs are possible: 0 = Success -1 = Shareware expired -3 = Missing required command line argument(s) -4 = Some error occurred during the processing, create a log
or use verbose switch for details |
/A# |
Advanced PDF to RTF options (General Section of Convert
Doc version 4.14 or earlier). The number used in this parameter
is used to specify several things. You may use this switch as
many times as you wish. Not specifying a particular option will
cause it to default to what was last set by the user in the application
(e.g. while not running in the command line). DOCUMENT LAYOUT 1 = Single Column Layout 2 = Multi-Column Layout 3 = Pleading CONVERSION METHOD 5 = Preserve Layout Using Spaces and Tabs 6 = Detect Headers TRUE 7 = Detect Headers FALSE 8 = Text Flow 9 = Use TEXT BOXES for EXACT placement 10 = Merge Text TRUE 11 = Merge Text FALSE 12 = Adjust Spacing TRUE 13 = Adjust Spacing FALSE TEXT OPTIONS 20 = Include Text TRUE 21 = Include Text FALSE 22 = Merge Paragraph TRUE 23 = Merge Paragraph FALSE 24 = Shrink Fonts TRUE 25 = Shrink Fonts FALSE 26 = Adjust Font Names TRUE 27 = Adjust Font Names FALSE 28 = Extract Hyperlinks TRUE 29 = Extract Hyperlinks FALSE For example the line below converts a PDF file to RTF using
the single column layout with Text Boxes for exact position, and
Merges Text. ConvertDoc.EXE /SE:\Delme\simple.pdf /Te:\delme\Tryme.RTF /M3
/C3 /A1 /A9 /A10 |
Table: All Command Line Switches
File Type Constants Specification
This section is a reference for those specifying the /F# and /C# input
and output file types from the command line. The file type constants used
are dependent on the conversion method being used (see the section on conversion methods for more information).
MS Word
Conversion Method (/M1)
If using the MS Word conversion method, the table below is valid for
the Output file type constant (/C# switch). Other file type constants
may appear when selecting the "OTHER FILE TYPES" from the Convert to File Format selection
within the software's user interface.
| File Type Constant |
File Type |
Minimum Version |
0 |
Word Document (*.DOC) |
|
12 |
Word Document (*.DOCX) XML format |
Office 2007 |
4 |
DOS Text (*.TXT) |
|
5 |
DOS Text - Line Breaks (*.TXT) |
|
7 |
Encoded Text (*.TXT) |
|
8 |
HTML (*.HTM, *.HTML) |
|
6 |
Rich Text Format (RTF) |
|
2 |
Text |
|
3 |
Text Line Breaks |
|
7 |
Unicode Text |
|
9 |
Single File Web Page (*.MHT, *.MHTML) |
Office 2003 |
10 |
Web Page Filtered (*.HTM, *.HTML) |
Office 2003 |
11 |
XML Document |
Office 2003 |
13 |
Word Macro-enabled Document (*.DOCM) |
Office 2007 |
16 |
Word default document 'SAVE AS' file format. For Microsoft
Office Word 2007 this is DOCX, but can be modified by a user. |
Office 2007 |
17 |
PDF (requires Microsoft Add-in "Microsoft Save as PDF or XPS") |
Office 2007 |
18 |
XPS (requires Microsoft Add-in "Microsoft Save as PDF or XPS") |
Office 2007 |
19 |
Word XML Document (*.XML) |
Office 2007 |
20 |
Word XML Macro Enabled (*.XML) |
Office 2007 |
Table: File Type Constants for use
with the /M1and /C# command line switches
Convert
Doc Conversion Method (/M2)
If using the Convert Doc conversion method, the table below is valid
for specifying the /C# and /F# command line arguments. This is the default conversion method.
| File Type Constant |
File Type |
1 |
Text |
4 |
HTML |
5 |
RTF Rich Text Format |
6 |
Unicode Text |
9 |
Word Document (*.DOC) |
*12 |
PDF format |
13 |
Word Document (*.DOCX) XML format |
*14 |
PDF/A-1b, OSI standard |
Table: File Type Constants for use with the /M2 /F# and
/C# command line switches
* = Cannot
use PDF as an input file type (/F#).See table below for converting from
PDF files.
PDF
File Conversion Method (/M3)
If you are using the PDF File Conversion method, the table below is
valid for specifying the /C# command line argument. /F# (input file type)
is not required as it is assumed to be a PDF file.
| File Type Constant |
File Type |
1 |
Text |
2 |
HTML |
3 |
RTF/DOC (Rich Text File/ MS Word file) |
4 |
DOCX |
Table: File Type Constants for use
with the /M3 and /C# command line switches
