There are three things we look for in a document converter – accuracy, control over the layout, and speed. Let’s pit the freeware called Flip PDF to Word against these three benchmarks and see how it’s document conversion engine fares. Flip PDF to Word is a 1.06 MB download and it supports conversion to Microsoft Office Word 2003/2007/2010 documents. The interface is intuitive and gives you the option to pick one of the three available modes to convert your PDF files to Word.
Batch Convert Mode
The Batch Convert mode can apparently convert 500 PDF files at one time. The batch convert mode allows you to select an entire folder and include all PDF files in the folder automatically. You can of course, add files one by one. You can choose to keep specific files for conversion and choose to delete the rest. The one-touch conversion engine is fast enough and displays the status of the conversion job.
Hot Directories Mode
The Hot Directories mode is similar in the way it automatically picks up PDF files to convert from a given folder. But this mode goes beyond that and automatically lets you specify an input folder and an output folder. Any PDF file added to the input folder gets automatically converted and sent to the output folder. All operations are logged to a text file.
Command Line Mode
The Command Line mode is for true geeks who like to work from the Windows command line. You can put in a parameter that lets you change the filename of the resulting Doc file. The free Flip PDF to Word is a very simple tool. The conversion engine is fast, but if you are looking for absolute control over the documents you will be disappointed. Advanced customizing options are conspicuous by their absence. Flip PDF to Word also fails on the one point where most conversion programs fail. Most conversion tools don’t render complex charts that well. When it comes to simple conversion tasks, and fast batch mode operations Flip PDF to Word tackles it well. Give us your feedback. Do you feel it can hold up its own amidst the legion of conversion software?
