LaTeX Converter
FileFlip converts LaTeX files into 61 other formats entirely inside your browser, using Pandoc, MuPDF and ImageMagick compiled to WebAssembly. The LaTeX file is never uploaded to a server: it is read off your disk, converted on your own machine, and saved back by the browser. There is no file-size limit and no account to create.
How do I convert a LaTeX file?#
- Drop your LaTeX file onto the converter at the top of this page, or click it to pick one from your computer.
- Choose the format you want out of it. FileFlip downloads the engine that conversion needs, once, and your browser caches it.
- Conversion starts the moment you pick the format, and the result is yours to download. The work happens in this tab, so nothing is uploaded and nothing is queued.
Is it safe to convert LaTeX files online?#
Yes, because nothing is uploaded. FileFlip converts LaTeX 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 happens to a LaTeX file#
FileFlip converts LaTeX into 61 formats with Pandoc, MuPDF and ImageMagick, all of it inside the browser tab. Each conversion below names the engine it uses, what it downloads, and exactly what that conversion keeps or drops.
| Category | Documents |
|---|---|
| File extension | .tex |
| FileFlip support | Read and written |
| Conversions available | 61 |
| Engines | Pandoc, MuPDF and ImageMagick |
| Downloaded to your browser | 65.8 MB on the first conversion, then cached |
What is a LaTeX file?#
A TEX file holds LaTeX source: plain-text markup and commands that a TeX engine compiles into a typeset document, rather than a finished document you open and read directly.
Write in LaTeX when a document needs serious mathematical typesetting or has to match a journal's official LaTeX class file.
Convert a LaTeX file when the reader only needs the finished PDF, or when a collaborator without a LaTeX install needs to edit the text directly.
The LaTeX file format reference covers the specification, the programs that open one, and what each conversion keeps or drops.
LaTeX questions people ask#
Why won't my .tex file open in Word or Google Docs?
A .tex file is LaTeX source code, not a document those programs know how to render, so they either show raw markup or refuse the file. It has to be compiled by a TeX engine such as pdfTeX or XeLaTeX, or opened in a LaTeX editor that runs one for you, to produce the actual PDF.
What's the difference between a .tex file and a .pdf file?
The .tex file is the LaTeX source, the editable commands and text before typesetting. The .pdf is the compiled output, the finished pages a reader actually sees. Editing means changing the .tex file and recompiling, never the PDF itself.
Can I convert a LaTeX file to Word?
A LaTeX file can be converted to a .docx with tools like Pandoc, and plain text and headings usually come across cleanly. Complex math, custom macros and packages that Word has no equivalent for often need manual cleanup afterward, so treat the result as a draft rather than a final copy.
What's the difference between TeX and LaTeX?
TeX is Donald Knuth's original low-level typesetting engine, and LaTeX is a set of higher-level commands built on top of it that handle sections, citations and layout so an author doesn't write raw TeX. Almost every .tex file encountered today is LaTeX rather than plain TeX.
Why do LaTeX documents sometimes fail to compile on a different computer?
A LaTeX document depends on the exact packages installed and the TeX engine used, so a file that compiles on one machine can error on another if a package is missing or a different engine changes how a command behaves. This is the tradeoff for LaTeX being a program rather than a self-contained document.