Org to GIF87 Converter
FileFlip converts Org to GIF87 entirely inside your browser, using Pandoc, MuPDF and ImageMagick compiled to WebAssembly. The file is never uploaded to a server: it is read off your disk, converted on your own machine, and saved back by the browser. That means no file-size limit, no queue and no account.
How do I convert an Org file to GIF87?#
- Drop your Org file onto the converter at the top of this page, or click it to pick one from your computer. You can add as many as you like.
- Leave the target set to GIF87 and the conversion starts on its own. FileFlip downloads 79.9 MB of WebAssembly the first time and nothing after that, then runs Pandoc, MuPDF and ImageMagick on your own machine.
- Save the GIF87 file. Your browser writes it straight to your downloads folder, because there was never a server holding it.
Does converting Org to GIF87 lose quality?#
Yes, in the sense that text stops being text. Each Org page is rendered to pixels and handed to GIF87, so the result looks right and can no longer be selected, searched, or reflowed.
Is it safe to convert Org files online?#
Yes, because nothing is uploaded. FileFlip converts Org files inside the browser tab you already have open, using WebAssembly builds of the same engines a desktop converter would install. Your file is read from your own disk into the page's memory, and no request carrying it is ever made.
You do not have to take that on trust. Open your browser's network panel, run a conversion, and you will see the engine come down and your file go nowhere. There is no upload, no server-side copy, no retention window, and no account tied to what you converted.
How FileFlip works lists every engine, its version and its download size, and shows how to check for yourself that nothing leaves your machine.
What Org to GIF87 actually does to the file#
Converting Org to GIF87 runs on Pandoc, MuPDF and ImageMagick, downloads 79.9 MB of WebAssembly the first time and nothing after that, renders each page to pixels, keeps page layout, and drops selectable text and transparency.
| Engine | Pandoc, MuPDF and ImageMagick |
|---|---|
| Conversion path | 3 steps: Org → HTML → PNG → GIF87 |
| Downloaded to your browser | 79.9 MB, once, then cached by your browser |
| Quality | Text becomes pixels |
| You get back | One image per page, zipped when the source has several |
| Where it runs | In a background worker, so the page stays responsive |
What survives the conversion
| What is in the file | This conversion | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Selectable text | Dropped | The target format has nowhere to put it. |
| Page layout | Kept | Carried through into the converted file. |
| Transparency | Dropped | The target format has nowhere to put it. |
Worth knowing before you start:
- the target holds at most 256 colours, so a full-colour image is quantised to a palette
- pages render at twice their point size in opaque RGB, roughly 144 DPI, with no transparency
- reflowable input is laid out on a fixed 595x842pt page at 11pt before anything else happens
- the file passes through HTML on the way, so anything HTML cannot express does not survive
What is an Org file?#
An ORG file holds Org mode markup, Carsten Dominik's 2003 outlining format for Emacs where headings can double as a to-do list, an agenda entry and, through Org Babel, an executable code block, none of which survive being read as plain markup elsewhere.
Use Org mode inside Emacs for notes that mix prose, a to-do list and code you actually want to run, not just display.
Convert Org to Markdown or another format when sharing the content outside Emacs, since the agenda, TODO states and live code execution have nowhere to go in plain markup.
What is a GIF87 file?#
A GIF87 file follows the original 1987 Graphics Interchange Format specification that CompuServe published two years before GIF89a added transparency and animation, so it stores a single, fully opaque image using the same LZW compression and 256-color palette as any other GIF.
There's essentially no reason to target GIF87 today; write a plain GIF, which is GIF89a, instead unless a specific tool or test needs the older header.
Convert to GIF89a or PNG when the image needs transparency or animation, since GIF87 supports neither.
Org to GIF87 questions people ask#
What is an ORG file and what opens it?
An ORG file is plain text written in Org mode, Emacs' outlining and notes format, so any text editor shows the raw markup. Reading it as intended, with folded headings, clickable links and a working agenda, means opening it in Emacs, which has Org mode built in.
What happens to Org mode's to-do lists and agenda when converting to another format?
Org's TODO keywords, scheduling and the agenda view are Emacs features layered on the heading structure, not separate data the file carries independently. Converting an Org file to Markdown or another format keeps the heading text but drops the TODO state, deadlines and agenda integration, since the target format has no equivalent concept.
Can Org files run code?
Yes. Org Babel lets a code block inside an Org file be executed directly in Emacs, in dozens of supported languages, with the output inserted back into the document next to the source. This literate-programming behavior is specific to Org mode and does not carry over when the file is exported or converted.
What is a GIF87 file?
A GIF87 file follows the original 1987 Graphics Interchange Format specification that CompuServe published before adding transparency and animation in 1989's GIF89a. It stores a single, fully opaque static image.