Gear Doc Converter Release Notes

What's new in each version, newest first. The latest is version 2.0 build 111, released October 2026: download it here.

Version 2.0 October 2026

Highlights

  • A fresh look: every window is redesigned in the style of Windows 11, with a new header and icon.
  • Quick convert: buttons that stay on top of your other windows and convert the files you drop on them.
  • Choose the conversion engine: the built-in one, free open-source libraries, or one for each kind of file.
  • Folder watches in the Free version, with names and on/off switches. PRO gives each watch, button or conversion options of its own, and keeps presets on their own tab.
  • A one-level Explorer menu, update checks, 11 languages, and a 64-bit program that runs natively on Windows on Arm.
  • Security and privacy: updates are checked to be the files Gearmage published and signed before they run, and PRO licenses are signed by gearmage.com.

Build 111 Latest October 2026

  • Installer: the installer is now in the program's 11 languages (English, Spanish, French, German, Italian, Brazilian Portuguese, Japanese, Chinese (Simplified), Korean, Arabic and Hebrew). It follows the language of Windows, as the program does. The license agreement stays in English.

Build 110 October 2026

  • Updates: "Install" in "Update available" now downloads the update. In builds 107 to 109 it stops with "The remote server returned an error: (403) Forbidden": to get this build from one of them, download it from this website and install it.

Build 109 October 2026

  • Any format in "Convert from" (once "File types"), first in the list and the default for new folder watches: each file converts as its own kind, and files already in the chosen format are left alone. Mixed files or a folder start on Any format.
  • Searchable format lists: type in "Convert to", "Add a format" or "Other formats" to narrow them ("jpg" finds jpeg).
  • Quick convert and Settings > Explorer menu show their formats as chips: drag to reorder, × to remove, "Add a format" for more.
  • Fixes: files of several kinds dropped on a Quick convert button with Ctrl converted only the first file's kind; the conversion window, bug reports and History now fit smaller screens.

Build 108 October 2026

  • History has a window of its own, opened from the status bar, the tray icon's menu or the progress window, with or without the main window. Pick a conversion (Quick convert, File Explorer, "Convert files" or the folder watches) to see just its files, and click its counts of files converted, skipped, failed and cancelled to see just those. The history is kept for a week, and the status bar shows the last conversion's counts.
  • Quick convert: the formats appear as soon as you drag files onto a button, and take a drop right away. Each format's ring shows how many of the files it converts, the most nearest the button; the button keeps the format you used last, with its name, its own ring and a count such as "1/110", faded when it converts few of them. A dropped folder is gathered in the background, and only the files that can go to the format are converted: the others are listed as skipped. See how.
  • Quick convert buttons show the conversions' progress, then for a few seconds how they ended.
  • Progress window: smaller. Files skipped are counted apart from those that failed, and each count opens the history at those files. PDFs converting to PowerPoint or Word show how far they are.
  • Cancel stops at once, the file being converted too; nothing half made is kept.
  • Conversion window: the example at the top is smaller, and left out when the window is short ("Show the preview" brings it back). The window opens no bigger than the screen.
  • Fixes: settings are now kept on their own, so they're no longer reset along with another program's (which turned Quick convert off and lost its buttons); a Quick convert button closed by something else, or left off the screen when the displays change, comes back; a button's formats no longer repeat; a folder with files of several kinds offered only the formats every file could take (often just PDF); the "._" files macOS leaves and Office's "~$" files are left out of folders; a picture that can't be read says so, rather than "Parameter is not valid".

Build 107 October 2026

  • Free and PRO: folder watches are now in the Free version too. The Free version converts with the Default options (on the "Presets" tab) everywhere: folder watches, Quick convert, Explorer's menu and the conversion window. PRO lets you change them, save presets of your own, and give each folder watch, Quick convert button or conversion options of its own: each starts with "Just this watch" ("Just this button", "Just this conversion"). The command line is part of PRO. See how.
  • Quick convert: buttons that stay on top of other windows. Drag files onto one and the formats it offers appear around it (or along the edge of the screen); drop the files on a format to convert them, next to the originals or in the button's folder. Drop on the button itself for the format you used last, and hold Ctrl (or drop on "Options...") to choose the options first. Add as many buttons as you like on the new "Quick convert" tab, each with its own name, colour, formats and folder. A switch shows or hides each button, and the "Quick convert" button at the top of the window shows or hides them all. See how.
  • PRO: a Quick convert button can have options of its own, or use one of your presets.
  • Folder watches have names, listed first and changed at the top of the watch's window. A switch turns each watch on or off, and the one on the "Folder watches" tab (or the "Folder watches" button at the top of the window) turns them all on or off. See how.
  • Explorer menu: one level. Right-click files and choose "Convert File", then a format ("To PDF", "To DOCX"...) to convert them next to the originals, or "Convert with options..." to open the conversion window. "Settings" › "Explorer menu" turns the menu on or off, and chooses the kinds of files that have it and the formats they're offered. On Windows 11 the menu is under "Show more options". See how.
  • PRO: "Settings" › "Explorer menu" also picks the preset the menu converts with, or adds "Convert with a preset..." to pick one each time.
  • Presets (once called saved settings) have a tab of their own: the Default options and, with PRO, your own presets ("Create new preset..." in the list, then "Save"). Every conversion window has the preset at the top.
  • PRO: command line. --preset "name" converts with a preset (--settings, its old name, still works). With --out and --recurse, files keep the folders they were found in, unless you give --flat. See how.
  • Conversion window: a preview at the top shows how the converted files will be laid out, and its pages are "When to convert" (folder watches), "What to convert", "Conversion options", "Where to save" and "After converting". Save in the same location as the source, or in a destination folder, keeping the directory structure or flattening it; "Include subfolders" converts the files in subfolders too. Folders are picked with the Windows folder picker.
  • PRO: after converting. Keep the original, or move it to the Recycle Bin or to a folder once all of its converted files are saved. "Undo" in the history puts the original back where it was and moves the converted files to the Recycle Bin. On the command line: --recycle-source or --move-source.
  • More conversion options: the pages to convert (such as 1-3, 7, 10-), the page size and orientation of PDFs made from pictures, the PDF's title, author, subject and keywords, and for CSV made from spreadsheets the separator, the encoding and whether only the first sheet is converted. They're on the command line too.
  • Conversion engine ("Settings" › "Conversion engine"): convert with the internal engine, as before, with free, open-source libraries (LibreOffice, PDFium, PdfPig, PDFsharp, ImageMagick, ExcelDataReader, Windows' imaging and MsgReader), or choose for each kind of file ("Custom"). Whatever the free libraries can't make is made by the internal engine, so every conversion still works. The page shows what converts each kind of file and the licenses of the libraries in use. See how.
  • Free libraries: when they fail on a file they try it again (3 times unless you choose otherwise), then the internal engine converts it; or turn that off to have the file marked as failed. The status bar and Explorer's converting window say which files the internal engine had to convert.
  • Free libraries, without LibreOffice: PDFs to Word (PdfPig) with the text in reading order, headings, bold and italic, and the pictures, ready to edit; spreadsheets to CSV, tab-delimited or text, and CSV to spreadsheets; Office files to another variant of their own kind (a document to a template or macro-enabled one, a presentation to a slide show...) in a moment, with nothing changed.
  • Images: Photoshop (.psd), WebP, HEIC, AVIF, JPEG 2000, Targa and SVG files are converted, and pictures can be saved as WebP, JPEG 2000, Photoshop, Targa, SVG and EPS (with the free libraries).
  • Install LibreOffice: one click downloads LibreOffice and sets it up for Gear Doc Converter, with no administrator rights needed and nothing else on the PC changed. Or point Gear Doc Converter at a LibreOffice you have installed.
  • Updates: Gear Doc Converter looks for a new version when it starts and once a day. In "Settings" › "Updates" you can look now, turn it off or read the release notes. When there's a new version a banner says so: "Install" downloads it, checks it and runs the installer. PRO is offered the updates its license covers, and told of a new major version as an upgrade.
  • License: activating checks your purchase and this PC's seat with gearmage.com; after that the license is checked on this PC, and refreshed in the background now and then. A PC that can't reach gearmage.com can be activated offline, with a license file from gearmage.com. When a license can't be used (a subscription that ended, a 1.x license that needs the upgrade to 2.0, too many PCs), the "License" page says why and has the button that fixes it. "Clear saved license" frees this PC's seat.
  • 64-bit: Gear Doc Converter now runs as a 64-bit program (natively on Windows on Arm), with more memory for big files, and installs in C:\Program Files (moving from Program Files (x86) when you update). It needs 64-bit Windows.
  • Settings are laid out like Windows' Settings: "General", "Explorer menu", "Conversion engine", "Language", "Updates", "Help", "License", and "EULA & Privacy" (the license agreement and the privacy policy, on gearmage.com). A status bar sums up the conversions, and the history opens when you ask for it.
  • New look: every window is redesigned in the style of Windows 11, with clearer layouts and icons. The main window has tabs for "Convert files", "Folder watches", "Quick convert", "Presets" and "Settings", with the history of converted files below. At the top are the Gearmage name plate, with the version and build, and buttons for "Convert files", "Folder watches", "Quick convert", bug reports and "Settings". The program has a new icon, and the tray icon's menu looks like Windows 11's and is sized for your display scaling.
  • Languages: Gear Doc Converter is now also in Spanish, French, German, Italian, Portuguese (Brazil), Japanese, Chinese (Simplified), Korean, Arabic and Hebrew, as is its "Convert File" menu in File Explorer. It uses Windows' language; choose another in "Settings" › "Language". Arabic and Hebrew read right to left.
  • Converting files: drop files or folders anywhere on the "Convert files" tab, or click "Select files...".
  • Bug reports: from the bug button at the top of the window, "Settings" › "Help", or a file in the history ("Report a problem..."). Your description, a screenshot, logs and settings (without passwords) go in an email to support@gearmage.com that you can look over before sending. Your documents are never included. After an unexpected error, Gear Doc Converter offers to send one.
  • History: each file shows at a glance whether it's converting, converted or failed, and how long it took; point at a file name to see where it is. When the internal engine had to convert a file, a warning says why. Right-click a file for "Copy details" or "Report a problem...".
  • Accessibility: screen readers can read every tab, button and list.
  • Fixes: converting an image to another format (PNG to JPEG, say) saved it in its original format under the new name; a macro-enabled Word document (.docm) couldn't be converted to .docx (it now is, without its macros); editing a folder watch right after sorting the list by a column could change a different one; windows no longer open blank or draw in pieces on some PCs and virtual machines.
  • Security and privacy: an update is installed only after checking that its installer is the file Gearmage published and signed, and the update check sends nothing about you or your files. PRO licenses are signed by gearmage.com and checked on your PC. Bug reports leave out passwords. Privacy policy.

Version 1.3 February 2026 to September 2026

Highlights

  • Free for personal use: the free version no longer adds a watermark.
  • A Convert File menu in Windows Explorer, to convert files without opening the program.
  • Saved conversion settings: your own Default settings, and in PRO, settings saved under names.
  • PRO: gdc.exe, a command-line converter for batch files, scripts and scheduled tasks.

Build 105 September 2026

  • Default settings: save the options in the conversion window as your Default ("Saved settings" › "Save as..."). New conversions and Explorer's "Convert here" start with them, and "Reset..." puts back the original options. Watched folders keep their own options.
  • PRO: named settings. Save options under names of your own, such as "Archive (300 dpi)", and pick them from "Saved settings" in any conversion window.
  • The Options tab's "Edit conversion settings..." changes your Default and named settings without starting a conversion.
  • PRO: Explorer's "Convert File" menu gets "Convert here with settings..." once you have named settings: pick the settings and a format, and the file is converted next to the original.
  • Command line: --settings "name" converts with saved settings (--settings Default for your Default settings). Without it, gdc uses the built-in options as before, so saving settings in the program doesn't change your scripts.

Build 104 September 2026

  • PRO: command-line converter. gdc.exe, in the installation folder, converts files and folders without opening the program, for batch files, scripts and scheduled tasks. Converted files are saved next to each source file unless you give --out, and existing files are kept unless you give --overwrite. Passwords for PDF encryption are read from an environment variable or a file, never typed on the command line. Run gdc --help for every option. See how.

Build 103 September 2026

  • Convert File menu in Windows Explorer: right-click a file and choose "Convert here" to convert it to a format such as PDF or DOCX next to the original. It never overwrites: an existing file gets a "name (1).ext" copy. "Convert with options..." opens the conversion window with your files already filled in. See how.
  • Explorer conversions show a small progress window with Cancel and "Show in folder" instead of opening the main window.
  • A new option keeps the program running in the system tray when its window is closed, so conversions start at once and watched folders keep working. Starting the program again shows the copy that's running instead of opening a second one.
  • Watched folders: files in subfolders were converted more than once, and subfolders were watched even when "Include all subfolders" was unticked.
  • Installer: shows the version on the Welcome screen, in the setup file's properties and in Programs and Features, and each new build upgrades the installed one.
  • Fixes: an empty folder named after the output file was created in the program's working folder; spreadsheet files didn't offer their conversion options; a blank PDF owner password didn't clear the saved one; and mixed-case email addresses were left out of extracted address lists.
  • Security: saved PDF passwords are better protected, including ones saved by earlier builds.

Build 101 June 2026

  • The License screen shows the full version and whether the license is a subscription or perpetual, and perpetual licenses are no longer reported as expired.

First 1.3 release February 2026

  • Free version: conversions no longer add a watermark.
  • More reliable license activation.

Version 1.2 2025

  • A better installer, an updated code signing certificate and EULA, and bug fixes.

Version 1.1 November 2023

  • More reliable conversions, updated components and bug fixes.

Version 1.0 August 2021

  • The first release, with a trial and a PRO license.

Versions

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