| |
|
Quick links (links to further down this page)
Zamzar: A solution for most of your needs. Convert Document, Image, Music and Video Formats (even YouTube videos!).
Exact conversion types listed here. 05/09/07
Media Conversions (Audio, video, etc)
Debut Video Capture: FREE. "Record video from webcam, capture devices or screen. Easy to use video recorder program to capture video files directly on a PC. Debut will record video from any of the following: Webcam (eg. to record a video camera); Capture device (eg. to transfer from video input); Computer screen (eg. screen recording)." 03/06/09
PRISM Video File Converter: FREE. Windows & Mac. " It can convert video files from avi, wmv, 3gp and more into avi, asf, wmv, mp4, 3gp and others. It can also convert DVD discs to your hard drive or compress video files to reduce size. Use this video converter software to convert video files into the formats you need to watch on TV, load to a cell phone, put on a website, create a presentation, watch on your portable device and much more. In fact, the possibilities are endless using this powerful video file converter." 02/27/09
VLC Media Player Tutorials: If you're going to try out VLC, these tutorials might be a good way to start: "...a series of steps on how to convert video/audio, etc." 10/16/08
Video Toolbox: 150+ Online Video Tools and Resources: Stephen Downes describes this site: "This is a huge list of online video resources, including tools that support live video communications, online video how-tos, online video editors, video converters, video sharing sites, video hosting sites, video management, vidcat and vlogging tools, video mashup tools, mobile video, video search, video downloading services, and online television. Phew!" 06/29/07
Helix
Producer: Create RealPlayer media. "Helix Producer converts live feeds
or existing audio and video files into RealMedia files, ready for delivery on
the Internet or corporate intranet.." They offer a free version with minimal
features, and a Plus version if you need more. 10/14/02
TO PDF
FreePDFcreator.org: FREE. Print to PDF. "Create PDF files easily from any Windows-based program. Archive using PDF/A. Set PDF Permissions. Reduce File Size with our compression options. Optimize file size for Web or print. Password-Protect your PDFs." 10/14/08
CutePDF: FREE. "Create PDF files on the fly. Save fillable PDF form using Reader. Add, delete, rotate, resize, reorder pages. Stamps, overlay, headers, footers. Make compact PDF booklets. Digitally Sign PDF Documents." Converts text docs, photos, screenshots, etc. 10/14/08
PrimoPDF: FREE. Recommended to me by several professionals. PrimoPDF becomes a "printer" on your applications' printer lists--instead of printing the
document on paper, it puts it into a PDF. Any application that can
print can make a PDF with this. "Convert to PDF from any file you can print...from 300+ file types...optimize for print, screen, ebook, or prepress." OR you can purchase their nitroPDF Professional: "Create, edit, view, secure, form fill, annotate and sign PDF files; and do it all on-screen." (free 14 day trial) 04/03/08
OpenOffice: A
complete FREE office suite that can also export to PDF very well.
PDF Converter at PDF Online: Convert MANY file types to PDF for FREE! "There's nothing to install
As a web based service, PDF Online allows you to quickly generates PDF from your PC, Mac, or Linux, from your home, your office or anywhere in the world." 06/15/06
PDFCreator: A
free application that "easily creates PDFs from any Windows program. Use
it like a printer in Word, StarCalc or any other Windows application." 12/01/05
Pdf995 (FREE download)
"makes it easy and affordable to create professional-quality documents in the
popular PDF file format. Its easy-to-use interface helps you to create PDF files
by simply selecting the "print" command
from any application, creating documents which can be viewed on any computer
with a PDF viewer. Pdf995 supports network file saving, fast user switching on
XP, Citrix/Terminal Server, custom page sizes and large format printing. Pdf995
is a printer driver that works with any Postscript to PDF converter. The pdf995
printer driver and a free Converter are available for easy download." 03/29/04
Free
Easy PDF: This FREE application "allows you to create PDF documents,
using a Word-style interface. You can apply all standard word processing
options like text formatting, tables, images (BMP format) and more and
then convert it to PDF format in a single click. This version is free
and allows for basic formatting. Additional features and import options
are available in commercial versions." 11/23/02
FREE office
suites and other software/utilities: Useful list if you want clones
for MS Office compatibility, pdf utilties, databases, presentations, accounting
software, etc. 10/17/02
PDF Factory; FinePrint: Two little applications that convert to or create pdf documents out of
a variety of file formats, with a lower pricetag than Adobe's PDF Writer. 09/22/02
FROM PDF
Spoken Text: FREE online text-to-audio converter. Spoken Text records from PDF, Word, plain text, PowerPoint files, RSS news feeds, emails and web
pages, and convert them to speech automatically. The files are saved as MP3s so you can listen to them on your favorite audio device. "Our goal is to make the conversion of text to speech as simple as possible and in so doing make it accessible to everyone. The vast majority of the technology we use in our daily lives are way too complicated and overwhelms us with unneeded options and features. To this end we focused on providing a quick and simple way to convert your text content into spoken audio, for listening to on an iPod or your computer." 10/26/07
PDF to almost anything: BCL
Technologies have various solutions, including PDF to Word, PDF to RTF, PDF to
HTML, PDF to tiff, jpeg, bmp, and Extract PDF Contents. 03/22/04
FREE Online Document
Publishing in PDF or HTML: "goBCL can publish your document into
PDF or HTML file format for free. All of the processes will take place
in our server." Hey, it's FAST too! 10/02/01
PDF to HTML:
- GoBCL.com (BCL Technologies): free PDF-to-HTML
converter, along with other solutions for document conversions 03/22/04
- Clickcat-P2H: A conversion tool. "You
can finally use all your paper documents in native HTML on the Internet: simply
convert them to PDF and Clickcat-P2H translates PDF to HTML preserving an identical
look-and-feel." They offer a variety of versions, from demo to Freeware
as well as several full versions with additional features. 03/05/03
PDF to Word:
- The full version of Adobe Acrobat will
do it.
- PDF to Word Converter: (FREE) "The program can extract text, images, shapes from PDF file to Word Doc file and preserve the layout. It can convert all the pages, or any pages range of the PDF file.
And it is a standalone program - you can convert PDF to Word Doc without Adobe Acrobat Reader or Microsoft Word installed!" 02/23/09
- Solid Converter (free download).
- BCL Technologies: If you want an almost
exact layout of PDF as a Word file. 03/22/04
- PdfEdit995 (free download) A companion
application to their PDF995 application, the Edit version "offers a wealth
of additional functionality, such as: combining documents into a single PDF;
automatic link insertion; hierarchical bookmark insertion; PDF conversion to
HTML or DOC (text only); integration with Word toolbar with automatic table of
contents and link generation; autoattach to email; stationery and stamping." 03/29/04
Powerpoint Tools
November, 2008: People who regularly convert from PPT for use in online courses are currently almost-unanimously recommending the following solutions:
1. for simple VIEWING of the presentations: convert to FLASH.
One recommended free application that does this: iSpring (see below for description)
2. to allow for easy PRINTING: convert to PDF. Use Adobe Acrobat.
3. Best: Make BOTH versions available to students.
POWERPOINT TO FLASH:
Seems this is becoming a popular way to put PPT presentations online. Here are a few applications (I'm not endorsing, just listing; haven't tried anything but Impatica.)
iSpring: "Free PowerPoint to Flash converter creates web friendly Flash movies from your PowerPoint content keeping its visual parameters and animation effects. Generated Flash presentation will look as if it has always been a Flash movie. ...creates high quality Flash movies with vector representation of standard PowerPoint objects and keeps most of advanced PowerPoint features. ...you can generate .html code ready to place an .swf file on your web page or blog. ...wraps Flash slideshows in the attractive Player for effective navigation. ...supports automatic and mouse click animation step advance and looped playback. ...All iSpring Free functions are accessible in your PowerPoint through the standard toolbar." 09/14/08
Wondershare PPT2Flash Professional: "Converts Powerpoint to Flash with great accuracy through PowerPoint 2000 to 2007. With this PowerPoint to Flash conversion tool, presenters can preserve and reproduce important elements of their PowerPoint slides, such as animations, transitions, textboxes, bullets, formatting, pictures, background, sound, movie, WordArt, AutoShapes, callouts, SmartArt, and even slide master." 08/20/08
FlashDemo Studio`s Converter: Costs a little less than most other professional converters. "Create professional-look flash presentations and e-learning courses with PowerPoint knowledge. Retain the original animations, slide transitions, timings, callouts. Preserve narration, sound, animation sound effects. Create Flash movie in extremely reduced file size. Ideal for web distribution. Compatible with PowerPoint 2007® and Windows Vista®. Extreme fast Conversion speed and easy-to-use." 08/20/08
Robin Good's PowerPoint to Flash Conversion Tools - Mini-Guide, Part 1: When you get to the page, you don't immediately see the list of conversion tools or the Guide; googleAds are the biggest font. But look in the narrow grey-toned column for the Guide's Table of Contents. You can't tell by looking, but each item is a link. It's an extensive guide. 08/20/08
OpenOffice's Impress: If you don't use a lot of fancy graphics in your ppt. presentations, here is an alternative that may work for you and it's free: Impress, like PowerPoint, will allow you to export a presentation as a single flash file that works much more smoothly than the multislide plus html file that the other programs create. [quoting Daniel Rubin's discussion posting.] 12/09/07
Convert using Free applications: Marshall Feldman's forum post, describing a process for converting PPT to flash using a series of free applications. 02/27/08
Powerpoint to Flash! -- PresentationPro's PowerCONVERTER: PowerCONVERTER accurately converts your PowerPoint presentation to Flash and retains all of your special effects, including: NEW Player format or Single file output; NEW Batch Mode Converts Multiple PowerPoints At Once; Narration & Continuous Audio; Inserted Video & Flash; Entrance & Exit Animations; Transitions; Hyperlinks; Auto Advance or On Click. PLUS you will have all the benefits of Flash: Easy distribution on the Web or CD-ROM; Greatly reduced file size; Stream the presentation with Audio and Video; A secure and tamper proof format; Single File output option for easy management; Viewing Capabilities with or without Player. 05/28/02
Powerpoint to Flash -- Impatica for PowerPoint: "...simply converts the PowerPoint file into a compressed format that is optimized for streaming over the Internet. The Impatica file is typically 95% smaller than the PowerPoint HTML files...supports most of the features of PowerPoint, including text, graphics, transitions, animation effects and, of course, narration." A reviewer says: "The good: A supremely simple packing tool for PowerPoint presentations.he bad: Too pricey for casual users." 10/08/02
POWERPOINT TO VIDEO
Wondershare PPT to Video: "...can convert the dynamic PowerPoint presentation to real video show that can be run unattendedly with continuous loops ... an all-in-one PowerPoint to video converter. It can convert PowerPoint presentations to almost all popular video formats such as MPEG-1,MPEG-2, AVI, MP4, WMV, MOV, 3GP. Ideal for trade show, digital signature, in-store displays and ready for video podcast. Benefits of converting PowerPoint slide show to video with PPT to Video: ready for burning to DVD; upload PowerPoint to YouTube; enjoy PowerPoint on iPod; view slides without PowerPoint." 08/21/08
OTHER TOOLS to help you convert PPT files for use online
Spoken Text: FREE online text-to-audio converter can convert from PPT. See entry above. 10/26/07
Create a Podcast using Powerpoint: Randolph Decker's eGram posting about a quick technique for converting your favorite Powerpoint presentations into podcasts. 10/19/06
List of Powerpoint To Flash conversion tools: Robin Good's "PPT2Flash Top20". Robin asks, "Why Would You Ever Want to Convert a Powerpoint Presentation into a Flash File?" and gives us a "detailed list of the key advantages for converting a PowerPoint presentation into a Flash file. No matter what your final goal is, a Flash-based presentation goes a long way in making your content easily accessible and distributable." 05/16/07
Powerpoint Compression & Optimization: Diehard MS Powerpoint fans are always looking for ways to optimize the usually-big files for browser use inside online courses, etc. The following two tools were mentioned recently on the webct users' list. Each one was praised highly by the person who recommended it. Both have a free trial and a low cost when you want to purchase it. 10/31/06
PowerPressed: Optimise & compress PowerPoint® files up to 95%.
No proprietary plug-ins or viewers are needed.
The .ppt file format remains at all times.
A true plug-in… no stepping in & out of PowerPoint®.
Simple to use… no expert knowledge required.
Easy to install & manage. 10/31/06
PPTminimizer: Reduces your PowerPoint® file size by up to 96%.
Your original presentation doesn´t get modified; PPTminimizer creates an optimized copy instead.
Transparent Integration in Outlook®, Windows-Explorer® and PowerPoint®!
Save time: No need to zip/unzip anymore.
Due to the integrated E-mail function of PPTminimizer, the presentations can be sent directly after the optimization. 10/31/06
Powerpoint with Breeze ~ Delivering Instructionally Sound Content with PowerPoint & Breeze: "Not many eLearning developers or instructional designers think of PowerPoint as a tool for building online courses. Surprisingly, PowerPoint is the second most frequently used tool for creating computer-based training applications – Dreamweaver being number one. The truth is that PowerPoint, when used correctly, can help you create rich, compelling, and instructionally sound eLearning content....In fact, most people have created some kind of presentation with the tool. It's not difficult. Given these facts it's easy to see why leveraging PowerPoint in the development of online content and eLearning would make sense. It's a tool that SMEs already know how to use. Using Macromedia Breeze and PowerPoint to create and deploy online courses also makes sense. With Breeze, anyone with basic knowledge of PowerPoint can easily add narration, animation, quizzes, and surveys to PPT content and publish that content efficiently over the web via Flash Player." 02/08/06
Powerpoint
Converter Shootout: "We put 12 teams to the test to find
out who has the technology for repurposing PowerPoint presentations
into
self-paced
learning
content. Each team had only 20 minutes to convert the PowerPoint into
an e-learning course. Here are the results... 04/05/04
Powerpoint Classroom Games: "Mark E. Damon has been kind enough to share all of his entertaining creations so that you may download them NOW for use in your classroom. These PowerPoint™ presentations can be modified with your own questions to create an interactive review or test for your students." 11/26/03
Powerpoint
to Flash! -- PresentationPro's PowerCONVERTER: Converts your Powerpoint
presentations to Flash files. Update your older presentations for today's
technology; make them more useful for online courses, etc. 05/28/02
Powerpoint to Flash
-- Impatica for PowerPoint: "...simply converts the PowerPoint
file into a compressed format that is optimized for streaming over the
Internet. The Impatica file is typically 95% smaller than the PowerPoint
HTML files...supports most of the features of PowerPoint, including text,
graphics, transitions, animation effects and, of course, narration." A
reviewer says: "The good: A supremely simple packing tool for
PowerPoint presentations.he bad: Too pricey for casual users." 10/08/02
Powerpoint
to PDF -- Prep4PDF: "A new PPTool that preserves
the links, action settings, sounds and other interactive features of your PowerPoint
presentations when you convert them to Adobe Acrobat PDF format." 11/12/04
Producer: "Microsoft Producer is a free add-on for Microsoft PowerPoint® version 2002 ... helps you capture, synchronize, and publish audio, video, slides, and images—resulting in engaging rich-media presentations viewable on demand in a Web browser." 11/14/01 |