File Converter Skill#

A comprehensive file format conversion toolkit supporting documents, images, and spreadsheets.

When to Use#

Activate this skill when any of these scenarios occur:

• Document conversion: User wants to convert between PDF and Word formats
• Image conversion: User needs images in a different format (PNG→JPG, JPG→WebP, etc.)
• Spreadsheet conversion: User needs to exchange data between Excel and CSV
• Batch operations: User has multiple files that need converting at once
• Format queries: User asks about supported formats or how to convert specific file types

Supported Conversions#

Source FormatTarget FormatScriptNotes.pdf``.docx``scripts/pdf_to_word.pyExtracts text, tables, layout.docx, .doc``.pdf``scripts/word_to_pdf.pyRequires MS Word on WindowsPNG/JPEG/WebP/BMP/GIF/TIFFAny other image formatscripts/image_converter.pyQuality control, resize support.csv``.xlsx``scripts/excel_csv_converter.pyCustom delimiter/encoding.xlsx, .xls``.csv``scripts/excel_csv_converter.pyMulti-sheet support

Prerequisites#

Python Dependencies#

Install required packages before first use:

bash

pip install Pillow pdf2docx docx2pdf openpyxl xlrd

Quick install command:

bash

pip install Pillow pdf2docx docx2pdf openpyxl xlrd

Platform-Specific Requirements#

• Word → PDF (Windows): Microsoft Word must be installed ( docx2pdf uses COM automation)
• PDF → Word: No external software required; uses pdf2docx
• Image conversion: Uses Pillow only, works on all platforms

Workflow Guidelines#

Step 1: Identify Conversion Type#

Determine what the user wants to convert:

text

User says "convert this PDF"        → PDF to Word
User says "turn this into PDF"       → Word to PDF
User says "change this PNG to JPG"   → Image conversion
User says "export this Excel as CSV" → Excel to CSV

Step 2: Check Dependencies#

Before running any script, verify required packages are installed:

bash

python -c "import PIL; import pdf2docx; import docx2pdf; import openpyxl"

If imports fail, prompt user to run:

bash

pip install Pillow pdf2docx docx2pdf openpyxl xlrd

Step 3: Execute Appropriate Script#

PDF → Word

Single file:

bash

python scripts/pdf_to_word.py <input.pdf> [output.docx]

Batch mode:

bash

python scripts/pdf_to_word.py --batch ./pdf_folder --output-dir ./output_folder

Options:

• --start N: Start from page N (default: 0)
• --end N: End at page N (default: all pages)

Word → PDF

Single file:

bash

python scripts/word_to_pdf.py <input.docx> [output.pdf]

Batch mode:

bash

python scripts/word_to_pdf.py --batch ./docs_folder --output-dir ./pdfs_folder

Check requirements:

bash

python scripts/word_to_pdf.py --check

Image Format Conversion

Single file:

bash

python scripts/image_converter.py <input_image> --format <target_format>

Batch mode:

bash

python scripts/image_converter.py --batch ./images_dir --format webp --output-dir ./webp_dir

Target formats: png, jpg/ jpeg, webp, bmp, gif, tiff/ tif

Options:

• -q/--quality N: Quality for lossy formats (1-100, default: 95)
• --resize WIDTH HEIGHT: Resize dimensions
• --no-optimize: Disable optimization
• --info: Display image info without converting

Examples:

bash

# High-quality JPEG compression
python scripts/image_converter.py photo.png --format jpg -q 90

# Convert to WebP with smaller size
python scripts/image_converter.py photo.png --format webp -q 80

# Resize while converting
python scripts/image_converter.py large.png --format jpg --resize 1920 1080

# View image info
python scripts/image_converter.py image.png --info

Excel ↔ CSV

CSV → Excel:

bash

python scripts/excel_csv_converter.py data.csv --format xlsx [options]

Excel → CSV:

bash

python scripts/excel_csv_converter.py data.xlsx --format csv [options]

Batch mode:

bash

python scripts/excel_csv_converter.py --batch ./data_dir --format csv

Options:

• -d/--delimiter CHAR: Custom separator (default: comma)
• -e/--encoding ENC: File encoding (default: utf-8)
• --sheet NAME: Specific sheet name (Excel→CSV)
• --sheet-name NAME: Output sheet name (CSV→Excel)
• --no-header: Skip header row
• --info: Show Excel structure info

Examples:

bash

# European-style CSV (semicolon delimited)
python scripts/excel_csv_converter.py data.csv --format xlsx -d ";"

# Chinese encoding support
python scripts/excel_csv_converter.py data.xlsx --format csv -e gbk

# Export specific sheet
python scripts/excel_csv_converter.py workbook.xlsx --format csv -s "Sales Report"

# View Excel info
python scripts/excel_csv_converter.py data.xlsx --info

Step 4: Verify Results#

After each conversion:

1. Confirm output file(s) exist at expected location(s)
2. Report file sizes to user (original vs converted)
3. For batch operations, report success count vs total count
4. If errors occurred, summarize them clearly

Error Handling#

Common Issues and Solutions#

ErrorCauseSolutionModuleNotFoundErrorMissing packageRun pip install <package>``COMError (Word→PDF)MS Word not installedInstall MS Office or use alternativeUnicodeDecodeErrorWrong encodingSpecify correct --encoding``FileNotFoundErrorWrong pathVerify input path is absolute or relative correctlyPermission deniedRead-only directoryUse writable output directory

Encoding Guide#

When dealing with non-UTF-8 files, common encodings:

• Chinese Windows: gbk / gb18030
• Western Europe: latin-1 / cp1252
• Japanese: shift-jis / cp932
• Auto-detect: Try utf-8 first, then fallback

Best Practices#

1. Always use absolute paths when calling scripts to avoid path confusion
2. Create output directories before batch operations if they don't exist
3. Check dependencies once at start of session, not before every call
4. Report results clearly with file paths, sizes, and success/failure counts
5. Handle transparency appropriately — JPEG doesn't support alpha channels
6. Preserve quality defaults are high (95%) but adjust based on use case