Free online AD to ORG converter

What the AD format is

In the Text files category, .ad generally identifies an Ada source-code text file. Ada development tools and editors may use it for Ada declarations, bodies, examples, or project-related source text, although .ads and .adb are more common Ada extensions.

An AD file is normally plain text containing Ada keywords, declarations, comments, and source-code formatting. Because the extension is not globally unique, verify the content before converting: open a copy in a code editor and check for readable source rather than relying only on the filename.

What the ORG format is

.org is the plain-text markup format used by Emacs Org mode. It represents document structure with asterisks, for example * Heading and ** Subheading, and can also contain lists, tables, links, metadata, and source-code blocks.

ORG is useful for editable documentation, technical notes, task files, and version-controlled text because its markup remains readable without specialized software. It does not preserve Ada syntax as a native Org document; Ada code remains source text unless you place it inside an Org source block.

How to actually convert AD to ORG

1. Make a backup of the original AD file. If it contains Ada code, keep its original extension for compilation and use the ORG file as a documentation copy.
2. Open the built-in converter on 101convert.com, select the AD file as the input, and choose ORG as the output format.
3. Start the conversion, then download the generated .org file. If the service offers an encoding option, choose UTF-8 unless the source uses a known legacy encoding.
4. Open the result in Emacs with Org mode, or inspect it in a plain-text editor. Add Org headings and source-block markers if you want structured documentation rather than an unchanged text copy.

For a manual conversion, open the AD file in an editor, save a copy as UTF-8 with an .org extension, and add an Org wrapper such as:

* Ada source

#+BEGIN_SRC ada
-- paste or include the Ada source here
#+END_SRC

In Emacs, use File → Visit New File to open the saved file and Org → Export/Publish only when you need another output format. Renaming the extension alone creates an ORG-named file but does not add Org markup.

Quality, compatibility, and limitations

The conversion is normally lossless for ordinary characters and line breaks when the source is already UTF-8. Check comments and non-ASCII identifiers after conversion if the AD file uses a legacy code page; incorrect encoding can replace characters permanently during saving.

ORG conversion does not compile Ada, validate its syntax, or preserve IDE metadata. It also cannot infer which Ada comments should become Org headings. Keep indentation and code inside #+BEGIN_SRC ada and #+END_SRC markers so Org mode does not interpret Ada lines as lists, links, or headings.