This term relates to taking a file from one computer system & running a series of program s to create a different file that can be used in another computer system. The input file may well be a different file type to the output file.

Changing the formatting of a data file.

Changing one kind of file to another, usually from one platform to another, i.e., from a file for a Windows computer to a file for a Macintosh.

The process of transforming the data in a file from one format to another without altering the data—for example, converting a file from a word processor's format to its ASCII equivalent. In some cases, information about the data, such as formatting, may be lost. Another, more detailed, type of file conversion involves changing character coding from one standard to another, as in converting EBCDIC characters (which are used primarily with mainframe computers) to ASCII characters.

The translation of one file format (file structure) into another one.

The process of changing the format of a file from one standard to another. e.g., to look at Microsoft Word documents with WordPerfect, it might be necessary to convert the Word documents into the format of WordPerfect documents. Many applications can convert documents, graphics, databases and other programs of rival brands into their own format for viewing or editing.