Convert DOCX to TXT Files

NOTE: 'Convert Doc' can be used simply with the graphical user interface (GUI).  If you've never heard of 'Command Line' before, we would recommend not reading this section and instead download and try the software. 

'Convert Doc' can be run without a user interface with command line arguments much like in the good old DOS days.  Alternatively you can initiate command line execution by going to the operating systems 'command prompt' or within Windows at the START-RUN menu and typing it in there.  Lastly, the command line interface can be used from Batch files (files with *.BAT extension). 

There are two approaches to doing the command line:

A)  Specify a 'Conversion Job' that was built using the graphical user interface (GUI)

B)   Specify a 'Conversion Task' in detail

Specifying a 'Conversion Job'

Specifying a 'Conversion Job' is very easy, as you only need to tell 'Convert Doc' where to find the associated *.SII 'Conversion Job' file.  All the details associated with this task are 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 the "C:\MyJobs\ApplesOranges.SII" type the following in at the 'Command Prompt':

 ConvertDoc /J"C:\MyJobs\ApplesOranges.SII" /V

The /V switch is used to have 'Convert Doc' report the status of the conversion.  It is highly recommended you use the /V switch when you are first developing your command line.

Specifying a 'Conversion Task' To Convert DOCX to TXT

Specifying a 'Conversion Task' is a bit more tedious, but does not require the prior creation of a 'Conversion Job' file. However, because the documentation contains a comprehensive list of examples, it should be a simple matter of finding the example that matches your needs, and modifying the paths to the input and output files.  

The examples below show conversions from DOCX to TXT (8 bit ASCII) using the ‘Convert Doc’ conversion method which does not require MS Word and is very fast. Alternatively, you can use the ‘MS Word’ conversion method. To use the ‘MS Word’ conversion method in the examples below:

1.    Replace the /M2 switch with /M1 (this switch specifies which conversion method to use)

2.    Remove the /F13 switch (Word will detect the input file type)

3.    Replace /C1, which specifies the output file type, with one of the following:

a.    /C2 (text)

b.    /C3 (text with line breaks)

c.     /C4 (DOS text)

d.    /C5 (DOS text with line breaks)

e.    /C7 (Unicode text).  

Converting a Single File

To convert a single file, say D:\MyFolder\Doc1.DOCX to C:\Results Folder\Doc1.TXT use the following syntax: 

ConvertDoc /S "D:\MyFolder\Doc1.DOCX" /T "C:\Results Folder\Doc1.TXT" /F13 /C1 /M2 /V 

The /S and /T switches above specify Source (input) and Target (output) path respectively and are both required when converting a single file. It is always a good idea to use double quotes around the path especially if there are space characters within the path.

The /M2 switch tells ‘Convert Doc’ to use the ‘Convert Doc’ method (it is one of 3 different possible conversion methods).

/F13 is the input file type, which in this case is a word DOCX file. Looking up the file types within the File Type Constants Specification for the ‘Convert Doc’ method will show that the numeric value of 13 corresponds to a DOCX file.

/C1 is the output file type, which in this case is a TXT file. Looking up the file types within the File Type Constants Specification for the ‘Convert Doc’ method will show that the numeric value of 1 corresponds to a TXT file.

NOTE: To convert to Unicode text use /C6 instead of /C1. This applies to all the examples in this section.

Finally, the /V (for Verbose) switch is used to give instant feedback by having the program report the status of the conversion with a message box. You can remove this once you have perfected your command line specification. You can also (or instead of /V) create a Log file that will contain the results of the conversion by using the /L switch.

Note: It is highly encouraged that you use the Verbose (/V) switch initially to see what the status of your conversion is and to help you perfect your command line. When in verbose mode the program will tell you what went wrong or right with your command line using message boxes.

Converting a Whole Folder

To convert all the DOCX files in the D:\ToDo\ folder to TXT files in the same directory, the following syntax would be used. 

ConvertDoc /S"D:\ToDo\*.DOCX" /T "D:\ToDo\*.TXT" /F13 /C1 /M2 /V 

The /G switch can be used to tell ‘Convert Doc’ to simply place each output file in the same folder as each input file. Therefore the command line above is equivalent to the command line below: 

ConvertDoc /S "D:\ToDo\*.DOCX" /G /F13 /C1 /M2 /V 

Converting a Whole Folder and all Sub-Folders

To extend the previous example (immediately above) to convert all subfolders within D:\ToDo\ simply add the /R switch. 

ConvertDoc /S "D:\ToDo\*.DOCX" /G /F13 /C1 /M2 /V /R 

You may simply want to convert a whole folder and its subfolders and place the output into a separate folder/drive. In which case use this syntax:

ConvertDoc /S"D:\ToDo\*.DOCX" /T "C:\Done\*.TXT" /F13 /C1 /M2 /V /R