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How To Use

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Hyacinthe edited this page Jun 11, 2026 · 4 revisions

How To Use

This page covers the main workflows inside File Converter Pro.

Adding Files

  • Drag and drop files directly onto the main window
  • Use Ctrl+O to open a file picker
  • Use Ctrl+P to add an entire folder
  • Drag files directly onto File Converter Pro.exe to pre-load them on launch

Running a Conversion

  1. Add your files
  2. Select the target format
  3. Press Ctrl+Shift+C or click the Convert button
  4. The output file is saved in the same folder as the source by default

Output folder in the settings

Project Files (.fcproj)

  • Ctrl+N – New project
  • Ctrl+Shift+O – Open a project
  • Ctrl+S – Save the current project

Projects save your file list, target format, and any notes you added. Double-clicking a .fcproj file reopens the session instantly (requires file association, enabled during install).

Context Menu (Right-click in Explorer)

Right-click any supported file in File Explorer -> Convert with FCP -> choose the target format. A Quick Convert window opens, runs the conversion, and closes automatically.

Context menu behavior

Keyboard Shortcuts

Project Management

Shortcut Action
Ctrl+N New project
Ctrl+Shift+O Open a project
Ctrl+S Save the project

File Management

Shortcut Action
Ctrl+O Add files
Ctrl+P Add a folder
Ctrl+A Select all
Ctrl+Delete Clear the list

Conversions

Shortcut Action
Ctrl+Shift+C Start conversion

Navigation

Shortcut Action
Ctrl+H History
Ctrl+, Settings
F2 Toggle theme
F3 Change language
Esc Close secondary windows

Application

Shortcut Action
Ctrl+Q Quit
F1 Keyboard shortcuts help

Statistics Dashboard

A full Matplotlib-powered analytics panel showing your conversion history at a glance:

  • Animated bar chart – conversions per day
  • Animated filled line chart – processed data volume per day
  • Animated donut chart – operation type breakdown
  • Animated horizontal bar chart – format evolution over time
  • Filterable history table with CSV/JSON/PDF export

Showing dashboard animations

Achievements & Rank Progression (Can Be Disabled)

A complete gamification system backed by SQLite:

  • Achievements unlock based on conversion counts, format diversity, streaks, and special events
  • Animated pop-ups appear in real time when an achievement is earned
  • Rank-up celebration dialogs at milestone ranks
  • Full achievements panel to browse locked and unlocked states

Achievement unlock animation

Settings

Access settings via Ctrl+, or the toolbar.

General

Interface

  • Automatically open last project on startup
  • Enable notifications
  • Enable system notifications
  • Enable achievements and trophies
  • Show file previews
  • Show dashboard on startup
  • Create separate PDF per image (instead of merging)
  • Use system theme

Conversion

  • Default quality: Standard quality / High quality / Low quality

Automation

The Automation tab shows the current state of your watch folders and scheduled tasks. Configuration is done via TOML files in the automation/ folder (click Open automation/ folder to open it directly). This folder is empty by default, you need to create your own TOML file(s).

You can either create one TOML file per watch folder/task, or put all your configurations in a single file. An example covering both watch folders and scheduled tasks is available here: example_automation.toml.


Automation tab

Automation daemon

The daemon is a background process that monitors your folders and runs scheduled tasks even when the main application is closed. Enable Launch the daemon automatically at Windows startup to have it run silently in the background at all times.

After creating or editing a TOML file, click Reload to apply changes without restarting.

Watch Folders

A watch folder monitors a directory and converts files automatically as soon as they appear.

[watch_folders.inbox]
path             = "C:/Users/User/Desktop/Inbox"
output_dir       = "C:/Users/User/Desktop/Converted"
enabled          = true    # set to false to disable without deleting the config
recursive        = false   # set to true to also watch sub-folders
convert_existing = false   # convert files already present on startup

  [watch_folders.inbox.rules]
  png  = ["pdf", "webp"]  # multiple output formats
  jpg  = "pdf"
  wav  = "mp3"
  docx = "pdf"

Each entry under [watch_folders] is a named folder you define. The rules section maps input formats to one or more output formats.

Scheduled Tasks

A scheduled task converts files in a folder at a defined time or interval. Three trigger types are available:

cron – runs on a recurring schedule (daily, weekly, monthly):

[scheduled_tasks.weekly_cleanup.trigger]
type        = "cron"
day_of_week = "fri"   # mon, tue, wed, thu, fri, sat, sun, or * for every day
hour        = 18
minute      = 0

# Monthly: use day = 1 for the 1st of every month
[scheduled_tasks.monthly_archive.trigger]
type   = "cron"
day    = 1
hour   = 8
minute = 0

interval – runs every N hours or minutes:

[scheduled_tasks.frequent_sync.trigger]
type  = "interval"
hours = 6       # or: minutes = 30

date – runs once at a specific date and time, then removes itself:

[scheduled_tasks.one_time_export.trigger]
type   = "date"
run_at = "2026-06-03T23:45:00"   # ISO 8601 format

Each scheduled task also needs a path, output directory, and rules, same as watch folders:

[scheduled_tasks.weekly_cleanup]
path       = "C:/Users/User/Desktop/ToArchive"
output_dir = "C:/Users/User/Desktop/Archives"
enabled    = true
recursive  = true

  [scheduled_tasks.weekly_cleanup.rules]
  png  = "webp"
  jpg  = "pdf"
  docx = "pdf"

Privacy

The Privacy tab lets you read the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy at any time. If you decline the Privacy Policy, the application becomes unusable until you accept it again.

Language

The Language tab lists all available translations. To switch, select a language and click OK.

Want to add your own language? File Converter Pro supports community translations. See the Contributing guide for instructions on how to submit a new language file.

Templates

The Template Manager lets you save reusable conversion configurations and apply them whenever you need them.

  • Create a new template from scratch, or Create from current settings to save your current conversion options as a template
  • Each template stores its type (e.g. PDF to Word Conversion), creation date, last used date, and its specific configuration (e.g. conversion mode)
  • Set as default template to automatically apply it for that conversion type
  • Apply this template to use it on your current selection
  • Edit or Remove existing templates
  • Import and Exporter let you share templates as JSON files with others or back them up
  • Use Search and the Type filter to quickly find a template
  • Refresh reloads the template list

Template Manager

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