PDF Converter Kit 4.0

Turning your PDF files into editable documents, converting them into image files, or creating Flash versions of your static PDFs summarize what PDF Converter Kit can do for you. This batch-conversion software program can transform up to 200 of your PDF files into BMP, JPEG, PNG, GIF, or TIFF images; Word, Excel, HTML, and plain-text files for further editing, or into navigable SWF Flash files. You can convert the entire documents or selected page ranges.

You will have to select all the files to be converted on a one-by-one basis. This can be annoying, especially if you intend to convert the maximum of 200 files in one single operation. There is an explanation for this, though – unlike most batch-conversion tools, PDF Converter Kit allows for multiple-output conversions. This means that, for instance, you can convert a number of files into Word, another set of files to Excel, another PDF file into JPEG images, etc., without designing a new conversion task for each output format. That is why, for every file you add to the list, you’ll be asked to choose one of the formats selected, a page range (if so desired), and to complete a set of format-related settings. Note that no changes in the format or the settings will be allowed once the file goes into the conversion list. If you have second thoughts about the settings of one of the files, you’ll have to remove it and make your choice again. However, this system will allow you to add the same document to the list as many times as you wish, and apply different formats and/or settings to each occurrence. Thus, this high level of flexibility as far as the output goes somehow compensates for the one-by-one selection process at the input side.

When left-clicking on each file on the list, you will see a thumbnail-sized preview of the document, which may not be of much use when dealing with documents with pages of a similar appearance. However, if you right-click on the file, you’ll be allowed to either open the source file on your default PDF reader or, in the case of SWF files only, to preview the resulting file on your favorite browser. It is a pity that the preview option doesn’t apply to other output formats, though.

All in all, PDF Converter Kit offers a strange mixture of flexibility and rigidity in the selection process that has its pros and cons. However, if only for the fact that you can schedule as many different conversions as required and have them all processed in one go, this is a tool that is worth checking.