Tofrodos

There are multiple operating system types which evolved differently throughout the years, and still live on today. Text, although a common resource, is uses different encoding methods, and with specialized tools like Tofrodos you can convert from DOS to Windows, to Unix, from a classic command line interface.

Since it’s a command line utility, there’s no need to go through a setup process to make it work, which means you can carry it around on a thumb drive to perform conversion on other systems as well. This keeps the target PC intact, as registries are not modified. You might want to run an elevated instance of the Command Prompt to fully benefit from all functions.

There are two components in the deployment package. One of them, “fromdos” is used to convert text files from the DOS format to Unix, while the other, “todos” converts text from Unix back to DOS style. Both benefit from the same set of switches.

The text file you want to convert is best placed in the source directory just to skip some writing when defining the path. Main targets are usually text files which natively have carriage return/line free (CR/LF) pairs under the DOS format, unlike the Unix one, which features line feeds to terminate each line.

Switches you can add can make the process more efficient, with options to create a backup of original files in case unexpected events occur, force conversion even if the file is not writable, save log files, verbose, or kill all CRs when performing conversion.

Taking everything into consideration, we can say that Tofrodos is a handy text conversion utility in case your work implies switching to the Unix system frequently. Reverse conversion is also possible, with a decent set of switches to make sure all demands are met. Portability provides a great deal of flexibility, while conversion itself doesn’t keep you busy for long.