ffconverter 2.5.0

What is this?

This is a fork of the original https://github.com/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.

Dependencies:

• 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.

Optional dependencies:

Without these some conversions will not work.

Python packages:

• trimesh (python package, used for 3D Models)
• gmsh (python package, requires trimesh, used for more 3D Models)

Install them with the models extra:

pip install "ffconverter[models]"

gmsh publishes prebuilt wheels only for x86-64 Linux/macOS, ARM macOS
and Windows x64 (on Linux the wheel additionally needs a recent enough
glibc). On platforms without a wheel (notably Linux ARM) it is skipped
automatically; if you need gmsh-backed conversions there, build it
manually, see the ARM section below.

System Packages:

• ffmpeg (Audio and Video)
• imagemagick (Images)
• unoconv (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
(e.g. unoconv) to be available on the CMD.

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 as well:

pip install "ffconverter[models]"

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).

Troubleshooting (Linux ARM CPUs)

For converting 3D Models, the python packages trimesh and gmsh are
required. gmsh has no prebuilt wheel for Linux ARM, so the models
extra installs trimesh only 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

Troubleshooting (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.

Troubleshooting (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.

Uninstall

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