Use Gmail to convert .pdf, .doc, .xls, .ppt, .rtf, etc to HTML

Gmail is a nifty little application that handles email in a very efficient manner. It can, however, also be used for converting the following types of files to HTML –

.pdf, .doc, .xls, .ppt, .rtf, .sxw, .sxc, .sxi, .sdw, .sdc, .sdd, and .wml.

This is a great way to view of a particular type of file in case you are missing the application that opens that file. Here are the steps –

1. Compose a new message in GMail. (Sign up at http://mail.google.com in case you don’t have an account)

2. Attach any PDF or Word document that you want to convert to HTML You can attach multiple files in this step by clicking Attach another File.

3. Enter your own email address in the To: box and click send.

4. You instantly receive a message in your GMail Inbox folder. Open the message and click the “View as HTML” link next to your attachment.

5. The contents of your attachment appear as HTML in a new browser window without having to download the file. When you’re finished reading the attached file, close the new browser window to return to Gmail or you can even save the file to your harddrive.

Enjoy your new found multi format viewer 🙂