What Happens to a File During Online Conversion?

A file conversion is more than changing a filename extension. The source file must normally be interpreted, its relevant data decoded and a new file created according to the rules of the target format.

Your browser provides the selected file to the conversion application after you deliberately choose it.

The converter should inspect whether the file is actually compatible with the selected operation. Extension, MIME information and file signatures can all help.

The converter interprets the original format. An image decoder reconstructs pixels. A media decoder reads audio/video streams. A document parser interprets structured document data.

The requested changes take place. Examples include resizing an image, changing an image codec, extracting pages, re-encoding audio or rewriting subtitle timestamps.

The processed information is encoded into the target format. Different formats may offer different quality, compression and compatibility options.

The newly generated file is made available to save. For supported local Format Convertly workflows, these processing stages can occur in the user's browser.

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