FF-Converter

This is a fork of the original ilstam/FF-Multi-Converter.
The original is no longer developed.

This program is a simple graphical application which enables you to convert
between most popular file formats, by utilizing and combining other programs.
To simply convert files, just click the Add button, add your file(s) and
select a format in the dropdown list, then click Convert.
For Videos, Music and Images, there are additional
options, for example flipping the image or selecting codecs, in the tabs.

Both Linux and Windows are supported and tested.
MacOS should work, but I can't test that.

Installation

Install the ffconverter package from PyPI.
pip works on Windows and most Linux Distributions.

pip install ffconverter

If you need 3D model conversion, install the optional Python dependencies for that as well:

pip install "ffconverter[models]"

You need Python 3, either use your package manager or check python.org for installation instructions.

Optional dependencies

• ffmpeg (Audio and Video)
• imagemagick (Images)
• libreoffice (Office formats)
• pandoc (Markdown)
• squashfs-tools, zip, unzip, binutils, tar, gzip, bzip2 (Compressed files)

On Linux, use your distributions package manager to install the System
packages. On Windows, either get .exe files and place them on the $PATH,
use scoop, or (for everything but ffmpeg) install the
dependencies in WSL. You could also try other third-party package managers
or even the Microsoft Store, the program only needs the command to be available on the CMD.

Troubleshooting

If a optional dependency is installed after the program, you might
need to restart the program twice to ensure the cache gets overwritten.
If this does not work, delete the cache (Preferences -> Delete Cache).

GMSH and Linux ARM

For converting 3D Models, the python packages trimesh and gmsh are
required. gmsh has no prebuilt wheel for Linux ARM, so the models
extra only installs trimesh there.
You can compile gmsh yourself using the script below.
Compiling this might take a while, depending on your device.

git clone https://gitlab.onelab.info/gmsh/gmsh.git # 200+ MiB size
mkdir ./gmsh/build
cd ./gmsh/build

# You can probably replace `gcc` and `g++` with any other C/C++ Compiler.
CC=gcc CXX=g++ cmake -DENABLE_BUILD_DYNAMIC=1 ..
make
sudo make install

# optional, you no longer need the git repo
cd ../..
rm -r ./gmsh

Installing on Linux

On some distros ("externally managed environments", like Arch and Debian),
pip will not work. In this case, you should use pipx.

sudo PIPX_HOME=/usr/local/pipx PIPX_BIN_DIR=/usr/local/bin pipx install --system-site-packages ffconverter
sudo ln -sf /usr/local/pipx/venvs/ffconverter/share/applications/ffconverter.desktop /usr/local/share/applications/ffconverter.desktop
sudo ln -sf /usr/local/pipx/venvs/ffconverter/share/pixmaps/ffconverter.png /usr/local/share/pixmaps/ffconverter.png

pip places the .desktop file, icon and man page inside the environment's
share/ directory (.../venvs/ffconverter/share/). The last two commands
link them into the system-wide locations so the program appears in your
application menu, but the ffconverter command works without them.
pipx does not integrate desktop menus on its own.

Installing on Windows

The ffconverter command is installed as a windowed launcher, so no console
window appears. If you want the program on your Desktop, create a new
Shortcut and use the launcher's path (run where ffconverter to get it).
Wrap the printed path in quotes if it contains spaces.

Dependencies

This is likely irrelevant to you if you used pip or some other python package manager.

• python3 (3.9 or newer)
• pyqt5

On Linux, use your distributions package manager or pip to install these.
On Windows, use python.org to get python (the version
in the Microsoft Store is worse in some regards), then use
python -m pip install PyQt5 to get PyQt5.

Uninstalling

Simply run:

pip uninstall ffconverter

Adjust this command if you used something other than pip to install.

Run without installing

You can launch the application without installing it
by running the launcher script:

git clone https://github.com/l-koehler/ff-converter
cd ./ff-converter
python3 ./launcher

You will need pyqt5, use python3 -m pip install PyQt5 to install it.