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<HTML>
<HEAD>
<TITLE>Converters from PC Textprocessors to LaTeX - Overview</TITLE>
</HEAD>
<BODY>
<P>Up to the <A HREF="http://tug.org">TUG homepage</A><BR>
Up to <A HREF="index.html">Converters between LaTeX and PC Textprocessors
homepage</A></P>
<H1>Converters from PC Textprocessors to LaTeX - Overview</H1>
<P><STRONG>Switch conversion direction: <A HREF="textopc.html">From LaTeX to
PC</A></STRONG></P>
<P>Author: Wilfried Hennings (W.Hennings "at" fz-juelich.de),
<A HREF="http://www.fz-juelich.de/index-e.html">Forschungszentrum (Research
Center) Jülich GmbH</A><BR>
last update (including subpages): April 19, 2004<BR>
The url of this page is
<A HREF="http://tug.org/utilities/texconv/pctotex.html">
http://tug.org/utilities/texconv/pctotex.html</A> </P>
<P><B><FONT SIZE="+1">To all PC users of the TeXconv FAQ pages: </FONT></B><BR>
<B>Help! My and some other TeX experts' and companies' email addresses are
continuously flooded with virus laden mails.</B><BR>
<B>PLEASE check your systems with a virus scanner, remove the viruses, and from
now on use a resident virus scanning engine and update virus data files at
least twice a week.<BR>
If you don't want this, please remove my email address from all your address
books!!!</B></P>
<P>I maintain these pages because I need converters between LaTeX and PC
Textprocessors for my work and I want to share the information with others who
need it. Because I maintain them in my spare time (uh, what is spare time?), I
can not answer individual questions.</P>
<P><STRONG>This list is as good or as bad as its support, and I need YOUR
support to update and supplement this list.</STRONG> Please supplement if you
know more and/or better ones. There are some more converters on the CTAN sites,
but the following seem to be most promising for conversion to and from the
current versions of wordprocessors. </P>
<P>Neither correctness nor completeness is guaranteed. <BR>
All opinions mentioned (if any) are my own, not my employer's. Please send
corrections, enhancements and supplements (auch in deutscher Sprache) to the
following address: <BR>
W.Hennings "at" fz-juelich.de</P>
<P>Note that this FAQ list contains information about converters
<STRONG>ONLY</STRONG> between PC word processors and LaTeX. Converters to and
from <STRONG>other formats may have own FAQ lists</STRONG> - e.g. see the link
for converters to and from HTML.</P>
<HR>
<P>For the impatient, here is a <A HREF="pc2txtbl.html">table with overview of
features</A> of the most recent converters.</P>
<HR>
<H2>General Remarks</H2>
<P>Before looking for a converter, stop and think about a principal question:
</P>
<H3>What do you want to be converted in which way?</H3>
<P>Do you want to convert the <STRONG>document structure</STRONG>, i.e. a
heading should remain a heading, a list should remain a list etc., no matter
how it will look like in the target format?<BR>
Or do you want to convert the <STRONG>appearance</STRONG>, i.e. how it looks
like, no matter how it is represented in the target format?<BR>
Or do you want a mixture of both?<BR>
For using SGML as an intermediate format, you would have to specify the
translation rules yourself (as far as I understood). This makes sense, and
explains why different people have very different opinions about which
converter best fits their needs: They simply have different demands and
expectations on what should be converted and how. <BR>
So, not only practically there is no converter which is good for everyone and
every purpose, but this is even principally impossible because there are no
well-defined requirements which a converter should meet. </P>
<P>So keep this in mind when looking through the following list of converters,
try yourself and decide what you need.</P>
<H3>Principal problems of wordprocessor to LaTeX conversion</H3>
<P>One advantage of LaTeX is that it forces to structure a document, whereas
wordprocessors like Word/WordPerfect allow unstructured documents. It is hardly
possible to automatically structure a document where there was no structure
before. </P>
<P>However it is nevertheless possible to write a structured document with a
wordprocessor by consistently using styles. Therefore, wordprocessor documents
using styles can be converted to a LaTeX with an equivalent (but not
necessarily identical) structure. </P>
<H3>There are several ways to convert</H3>
<UL>
<LI>use a Wordprocessor macro: search for formats, special characters and
equations, tag them with LaTeX markup, then save as plain text <BR>
<BR>
</LI>
<LI>use a Wordprocessor export filter<BR>
<BR>
</LI>
<LI>use an external converter: </LI>
</UL>
<OL>
<LI>Word binary format -> LaTeX</LI>
<LI>RTF (Word ASCII format, use Word's own RTF export) -> LaTeX</LI>
<LI>Open Office format -> LaTeX</LI>
<LI>WordPerfect 5.1 format -> LaTeX</LI>
<LI>HTML (use Wordprocessor's built-in or add-on html converter) -> LaTeX
</LI>
<LI>maybe other external format(s)</LI>
</OL>
<P>The converters being most complete, undergoing further development and
having support are:</P>
<P><A HREF="#rtf2latex2e">rtf2latex2e</A> - free standalone converter for Mac,
PC, and Unix, and</P>
<P><A HREF="#word2tex">word2tex</A> - shareware, MS Word export filter for PC
</P>
<P><A HREF="#writer2latex">Writer2LaTeX</A> - free export filter and standalone
Open Office converter</P>
<P><A HREF="#wp2latex">WP2LaTeX</A> - free standalone Word Perfect converter
for PC</P>
<P><A HREF="#pubcomp">Publishing Companion</A> - commercial Word Perfect
converter for PC </P>
<HR>
<H2>Using a Word macro</H2>
<H3>Free:</H3>
<P><A HREF="winw2ltx.html">winw2ltx</A>: A set of macros for WinWord 2, now
also available for WinWord 6 and 7 (95)</P>
<H3>Commercial:</H3>
<P><A HREF="mathtype.html">MathType</A>: PC equation editor with export to
LaTeX. <A HREF="http://www.mathtype.com/">MathType home page (USA)</A> </P>
<HR>
<H2>Using a Word export filter</H2>
<H3>Shareware:</H3>
<P><A NAME="word2tex"><U>Word2TeX:</U></A> This converter can save documents
from Word6/Word7(=95) or later as LaTeX, <B>including equation editor (!)</B>
objects and MathType objects. <BR>
Converts:</P>
<UL>
<LI>Equation Editor 2.x-3.x, Design Science MathType 1.x, 2.x, 3.x, 3.5, 4.0
embedded objects (*)</LI>
<LI>figures (to EPS or PDF)(*)</LI>
<LI>tables (even very complicated) (*)</LI>
<LI>footnotes </LI>
<LI>endnotes (to bibliography)</LI>
<LI>index</LI>
<LI>cross-references</LI>
<LI>paragraph styles (heading1 to heading4, custom styles) -- customizable</LI>
<LI>character attributes (bold, italic etc.) -- customizable</LI>
<LI>Greek-charset</LI>
<LI>multibyte character encodings (Unicode)</LI>
<LI>and many more (see <A HREF="http://www.word2tex.com/">homepage</A>)</LI>
</UL>
<P>(*) restrictions will apply in unregistered Word2TeX: only 7 first equations
will be translated, only 1 first table will be translated, only 1 first figure
will be translated. Limited to 30 days of trial.</P>
<P>For a complete list of features, visit its
<A HREF="http://www.word2tex.com/">homepage</A>. </P>
<HR>
<H2>Converting from Word binary format</H2>
<H3>Free:</H3>
<P><A HREF="laola.html">LAOLA</A>: LAOLA can read Word6/Word7(=95) documents
under Unix and extract the text.
<A HREF="http://user.cs.tu-berlin.de/~schwartz/pmh/">LAOLA homepage (DE
site)</A></P>
<P><A HREF="word2x.html">word2x</A>: Converts Word6/Word7(=95) documents to
LaTeX or plain text. <A HREF="http://word2x.sourceforge.net/">word2x
homepage</A></P>
<P><U>antiword</U>: A free MS Word reader for Linux, BeOS and RISC OS. It
converts the binary files from Word 6, 7, 97 and 2000 to text and Postscript.
See <A HREF="http://www.winfield.demon.nl/index.html">antiword homepage</A>. A
user's comment: "It is still a bit incomplete, but I found it to be rather
useful. Moreover, it is available fore a wider-than-usual range of
platforms."</P>
<P><A HREF="wvlib.html">wvWare</A> is a library that can read the
Word6/Word7(=95), Word8(=97) and Word9(=2000) binary file format. See
<A HREF="http://wvware.sourceforge.net/">wvWare homepage (on sourceforge)</A>.
It works under most Unix systems.<BR>
The wvWare library is used as import library in the wordprocessor AbiWord (see
below). <BR>
Its predecessor MSWordView could only read Word8(=97) and convert word into
html, which can then be read with a browser. </P>
<P>The free (GPL) wordprocessor <A HREF="http://www.abisource.com/">AbiWord</A>
can import Word format (by using the aforementioned wvWare) and export to LaTeX
format. AbiWord runs on BeOS, several Unix's and also Windows95/98/NT and
stores documents as XML.</P>
<HR>
<H2>Converting from RTF</H2>
<P>To use an RTF converter, the wordprocessor document must first be
"saved as" Rich Text Format. However each new version of MS Word came
with a new level of the RTF language. Most of the available converters cannot
understand the current RTF version</P>
<H3>Free:</H3>
<P><A NAME="rtf2latex2e"></A><A HREF="rtf2latex2e.html">rtf2latex2e</A> new
(2000) version which also can read current rtf levels. Now also converts
equations (courtesy Steve Swanson,
<A HREF="http://www.mackichan.com">http://www.mackichan.com</A>) <BR>
<A HREF="http://sourceforge.net/projects/rtf2latex2e/">rtf2latex2e download
site</A> (USA site)</P>
<P><U>RTF2LaTeX</U>, a patch for WP2LaTeX that allows it to convert also RTF
documents. Experimental Release 0.4 (works, but it knows only small group of
commands). See its
<A HREF="http://www.penguin.cz/~fojtik/wp2latex/rtf2latex.htm">homepage</A></P>
<P>older versions: <BR>
<A HREF="rtflatex.html">rtflatex</A> understands only older RTF levels <BR>
<A HREF="rtf2latex.html">rtf2latex</A> understands only older RTF levels.
<A HREF="http://www.primate.wisc.edu/software/RTF">RTF utilities homepage (USA
site)</A><BR>
<A HREF="w2latex.html">w2latex</A> understands only older RTF levels </P>
<P>The free (GPL) wordprocessor <A HREF="http://www.abisource.com/">AbiWord</A>
can import rtf and export to LaTeX format. AbiWord runs on BeOS, several Unix's
and also Windows95/98/NT and stores documents as XML.</P>
<H3>Commercial:</H3>
<P><A HREF="sciword.html">Scientific Word</A>: Win95/98/2000/NT4 based
TeX/LaTeX system with graphical editor and rtf import capability including MS's
equation editor equations. The rtf import converter is basically the same as
the new rtf2latex2e. <BR>
<A HREF="http://www.mackichan.com/">Scientific Word home page (USA)</A></P>
<HR>
<H2>Converting from Open Office format</H2>
<P><A HREF="http://www.hj-gym.dk/~hj/writer2latex/">Writer2LaTeX</A>
<A NAME="writer2latex">is</A> a commandline utility written in java. It
converts OpenOffice.org/StarOffice 6 Writer documents into LaTeX2e. The current
version deals with plain text and formulas. <BR>
New: 3rd alpha test release of version 0.2 is available - now working as an
export filter in OpenOffice.org and includes an experimental Writer to
XHMTL+MathML converter.<BR>
Supported operating systems: All on which Java is supported. Requires java
runtime environment (JRE), version 1.4 to run Writer2LaTeX. JRE version 1.4 can
be downloaded from java.sun.com.</P>
<HR>
<H2>Converting from WordPerfect format</H2>
<H3>Free:</H3>
<P><A HREF="wp2latex.html">WP2LaTeX</A><A NAME="wp2latex">:</A> converts
WordPerfect 3.x / 4.x / 5.x / 6.x / 7.x / 8.x, including equations, to LaTeX.
<A HREF="http://www.penguin.cz/~fojtik/wp2latex/wp2latex.htm">homepage</A></P>
<P><A HREF="texperf.html">TeXPerfect</A>: WordPerfect 5.1 for DOS -> LaTeX
Translater</P>
<H3>Commercial:</H3>
<P><A NAME="pubcomp"></A><A HREF="pubcomp.html">Publishing Companion</A>:
converts Word/WordPerfect, including equations, to LaTeX. Comes with own
equation editor. <A HREF="http://www.ktalk.com/">KTALK's home page (USA)</A>
</P>
<HR>
<H2>HTML as intermediate format</H2>
<H3>Wordprocessor to HTML</H3>
<P>There are free HTML converters for Word 6 and 7(95) for Windows available
from Microsoft: <BR>
Download...
<A HREF="ftp://ftp.microsoft.com/Softlib/MSLFILES/WORDIA.EXE">IA for Word 6</A> /
<A HREF="ftp://ftp.microsoft.com/Softlib/MSLFILES/WDIA204Z.EXE">IA for Word 7 (95)</A> /
<A HREF="ftp://ftp.microsoft.com/Softlib/MSLFILES/MACIA20Z.HQX">IA for Word for Mac</A>
<BR>
Word 8 (97) contains an html converter by default, but in contrary to the
previous versions it only recognizes heading styles if they are first converted
into the corresponding html styles. Also, it sometimes inserts unnecessary
tags. <BR>
Word 9 (2000) and up contain the html converter by default, but you should not
use this default: It actually creates sort of XML with many Word-specific
elements. Instead, for saving as "clean" html, download and install
the <A HREF="http://office.microsoft.com/downloads/2000/Msohtmf2.aspx">add-on
converter from Microsoft</A>. </P>
<P>WordPerfect 7 and up have an integrated InternetPublisher. <BR>
For WordPerfect 6.1 for Windows, the InternetPublisher is available separately:
<BR>
Download...
<A HREF="ftp://ftp.corel.com/pub/WordPerfect/wpwin/61/internetpublisher.exe">
InternetPublisher for WPWin 6.1</A> </P>
<P>There also is a tool for Unix which is intended to convert word6, word7(95)
and word8(97) binary files to html. See
<A HREF="http://www.su.shuttle.de/turbo/michael/projekte/software/word2html.c.gz">
http://www.su.shuttle.de/turbo/michael/projekte/software/word2html.c.gz</A>
</P>
<P>Also see www.w3.org for a
<A HREF="http://www.w3.org/pub/WWW/Tools/Word_proc_filters.html">list of
converters between word processors and HTML </A>. </P>
<H3>HTML to LaTeX</H3>
<P>Because HTML is a structured format, the conversion between HTML and LaTeX
is rather straightforward. However there remain the limitations of HTML
compared to LaTeX, i.e. there are many elements in LaTeX which can not (yet?)
be represented in HTML. </P>
<P>There are several HTML-to-LaTeX converters available. Without giving
recommendations:</P>
<P>Frans Faase's <A HREF="http://home.wxs.nl/~faase009/html2tex.html">html2tex
(NL site)</A> (C source)</P>
<P>Peter Thatcher's <A HREF="http://html2latex.sourceforge.net/">html2latex at
sourceforge.net</A> (Perl script)</P>
<P>Jeffrey Schaefer's
<A HREF="http://www.geom.umn.edu/software/html2latex/welcome.html">html2latex
at www.geom.umn.edu</A> (Perl script)</P>
<P>Some converters are available from
<A HREF="http://www.tex.ac.uk/tex-archive/CTAN.sites">CTAN</A>
("Comprehensive TeX Archive Network"), e.g. in
.../support/html2latex. However, what you can find in CTAN under
.../support/html2latex/ is Nathan Torkington's converter of 1993 -- rather
outdated.<BR>
(The ... stands for a host specific base directory, which often is either
"/pub/tex" or "/tex-archive") </P>
<HR>
<H2>Other intermediate formats</H2>
<P>There are ways to use <B>SGML</B> as intermediate format, and others have
used it successfully. Having had a quick look at it, I found it rather
complicated, especially it seems that you have to define the translation rules
yourself. So I did not put more effort in trying to use it. If anyone can give
me a ready-to-use cookbook solution, I will include it here. </P>
<P>Another intermediate format is <B>TeXML</B>. It was designed to make
conversion to (La)TeX as easy as possible, especially XSLT-conversion from XML
format. A converter from TeXML to (La)TeX is available, see
<A
HREF="http://getfo.sourceforge.net/texml/">http://getfo.sourceforge.net/texml/</A>.
However I yet don't know of any converter from a texprocessor format to TeXML.
</P>
<HR>
<H2>Converting from PageMaker</H2>
<P>Pmtolatex, a perl script to convert PageMaker files to LaTeX. See
<A HREF="http://www.lightandmatter.com/pmtolatex/pmtolatex.html">homepage</A>.
</P>
<HR>
<H2>Converting from FrameMaker</H2>
<P><A HREF="http://www.cs.stir.ac.uk/~kjt/software/framemaker/">FrameMaker
Utilities (UK site)</A>: Contains converters for both directions (LaTeX
<-> FrameMaker) as well as templates which make conversion from
Framemaker to LaTeX more easy</P>
<HR>
<H2>Converting from NotaBene</H2>
<P><A HREF="nb4latex.html">NB4LATEX</A>: converts files from NotaBene4
(including ancient Greek and all the symbols of logic) to LaTeX2e format.
<A HREF="http://www.geocities.com/Vienna/3023/comphum.htm#NotaBene">homepage</A>
</P>
<HR>
<H2>Converting from ChiWriter</H2>
<P>There are two converters on CTAN, but I don't know how good they are and
whether they still work (they are DOS programs from 1993 and 1994). You find
them on <A HREF="index.html#ctan">CTAN</A> in directory .../support/chi2ltx/
and in directory .../support/chi2tex/</P>
<HR>
<H2>Converting from Excel</H2>
<P>Excel-macro to convert Excel to Latex:
<A HREF="http://www.jam-software.com/software.html">
http://www.jam-software.com/software.html</A>
(open page and scroll down to "Excel2LaTeX V2.0")</P>
<P>On CTAN in .../support/excel2latex/</P>
<P>The generated LaTeX code uses the tabular environment.</P>
<HR>
<P>This HTML page is part of the texconv pages.<BR>
Copyright © 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004 Wilfried Hennings<BR>
You may copy and redistribute it under the following conditions:</P>
<UL>
<LI>it must remain intact and the contents unchanged; if you'd like to have
something changed, contact me (W.Hennings "at" fz-juelich.de).
Reformatting (e.g. from HTML to some other presentation format) is granted as
long as the contents are unchanged. </LI>
<LI>you may NOT ask money for it except a reasonable cost for media and
distribution</LI>
</UL>
<P>Please also note the <A HREF="index.html#disclaimer">disclaimer</A>.</P>
</BODY>
</HTML>
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