Who this is for
An office manager or administrator with a shared drive of old .doc and .xls business files that new software opens in compatibility mode, flags, or cannot open.
A software change or a clean-up means old-format files must be converted, or people keep meeting compatibility warnings on the ones they need.
The result
Every file in the agreed inventory is either converted to the agreed current format, in a parallel folder structure that mirrors the original, or listed with the reason it was not. You receive a log, and a sample of converted files has been compared with its originals.
What is included
- Up to 300 .doc and .xls files in one folder tree, converted to .docx and .xlsx, or to .docm and .xlsm where macros exist and you agree
- Make an inventory first: counts by type, sizes, files with macros, password-protected and unreadable files
- Name in the written scope the conversion tool and the application used to open and measure the sample, with their versions
- Convert copies into a parallel folder structure; never overwrite or delete an original
- Check a sample: page counts for Word files, measured in the same application, version and settings for the original and the converted file, and for Excel files the sheet count, formula count and agreed key totals
You receive
- The converted files in a parallel folder structure, with originals untouched
- A conversion log: each file, its result, and the reason for any file not converted
- A fidelity report for the sample, naming the tool, application and versions used, listing every difference found, plus the features that cannot carry over
What is not included
- Editing content, repairing broken formulas or fixing layout
- Rewriting or converting what macros do
- Opening password-protected files without a route you are entitled to give us
- Files that hold personal data, such as staff, customer or member details
- Other formats such as old presentations, databases or image files, unless added to the quote
- Deleting originals, or advice on whether records may be destroyed under a retention rule
What we need from you first
- A count of the files by type, the folder depth and the total size, from a folder listing or your own estimate
- Whether any files contain macros or are password-protected, and which software opens them now
- No files in the first enquiry
Never send passwords, keys, customer records or confidential code in the first enquiry. Secure handover is agreed after scoping.
How we check it is done
- The number of files in the agreed inventory equals the number of converted files plus the number of files on the exceptions list, and every exception has a stated reason.
- Every converted file in the agreed sample opens, in the application named in the written scope, without a repair or recovery prompt and, where that application shows one, without a compatibility-mode label.
- For each sampled Word file the page count of the converted file equals the original's when both are measured in the same application, version and settings, and for each sampled Excel file the sheet count, formula count and agreed key totals equal the original's, with every difference listed.
- The checksum of every original file is the same before and after the job.
You open some converted files beside their originals, read the exceptions list and sign off in writing. Payment follows sign-off.
When we would stop or decline
- A large share of the files are password-protected or corrupt
- Macros are essential and nobody can say what they should do
- You are not sure you are permitted to copy the files
- The files turn out to hold personal data
Questions
Will you delete the old files?
No. We never delete or overwrite originals. Whether you keep them is your decision.
What happens to files with macros?
We set them aside and ask you. They can be saved in a macro-enabled format (.docm for Word, .xlsm for Excel), but we do not rewrite what the macros do.
Do you guarantee the converted files look identical?
No. We compare a sample and report every difference we find. Some features cannot carry over, and the report lists them.
Which software do you use to convert and to check the files?
The conversion tool and the application used to open and measure the sample are named, with their versions, in the written scope before work starts. Page counts differ between applications and print settings, so each original and its converted file are always measured in the same one.
Price and terms
From £295 · untested offer price. The fixed price is confirmed in writing and paid after the agreed checks pass and you sign off. No payment before sign-off.
This is a new service with no published client results. The price is a starting point we have not yet tested with buyers. Nothing is ordered or charged by the enquiry. The full specification is on the Synthetic Industry catalogue.