Free online AD to RST converter

RST is required by documentation systems such as Sphinx and Docutils, while an AD file may be an older plain-text document or an application-specific text export. Converting it makes the readable content usable in RST-based documentation, version control, and static-site builds.

What the AD format is

AD is not a single standardized text format. The extension is used by different legacy documentation tools, custom applications, and plain-text export programs. The creating program determines whether the file contains ordinary paragraphs, structured records, markup, tables, or application-specific commands.

Open the file in a text editor first. If it contains readable text and recognizable headings, lists, or markup, it can usually be adapted to RST. If it contains binary data or unreadable control characters, identify the original application and export from that program to plain text, HTML, or another documented format before converting.

What the RST format is

RST, or reStructuredText, is a lightweight markup format used by Docutils, Sphinx, and Python documentation projects. It represents headings with underlines, lists with indentation, links with explicit targets, literal code with indentation, and directives such as .. note::.

RST remains readable as plain text and works well with Git, code review, automated documentation builds, cross-references, tables, and generated HTML or PDF output. It is preferable when the destination system specifically accepts reStructuredText rather than Markdown or HTML.

How to actually convert AD to RST

1. Make a backup of the original source.ad file.
2. Open it in a UTF-8-capable editor such as Visual Studio Code, Notepad++, or another plain-text editor. Confirm the character encoding and remove application headers that are not part of the document.
3. Identify the AD structure: title lines, paragraphs, lists, tables, links, code sections, and embedded images. There is no universal AD parser, so the source syntax must be interpreted before it can be mapped to RST.
4. Rewrite headings using an underline character whose length matches the heading. For example:
   Installation ============ Install the package with:: pip install package-name
5. Convert simple lists to RST markers such as * item or #. numbered item. Indent continuation lines consistently.
6. Replace AD-specific links, fields, and directives with RST equivalents. Use .. image:: filename.png for images and .. code-block:: python for syntax-highlighted code.
7. Save the result as output.rst using UTF-8 encoding.
8. Build or validate the result with Docutils or Sphinx. A Sphinx project can be checked with sphinx-build -b html . _build/html; conversion errors and malformed directives will appear in the build output.

For a simple AD file containing ordinary paragraphs, the built-in converter on 101convert.com can convert the file online for free without installing software. Review the generated RST afterward because automatic conversion cannot reliably infer application-specific AD markup.

If the AD file is actually Markdown-like content, Pandoc can perform the syntax conversion after confirming the input format: pandoc source.ad -f markdown -t rst -o output.rst. Do not use -f markdown merely because the extension is .ad; it is correct only when the file's contents follow Markdown syntax.

Quality and compatibility limitations

Plain paragraphs and basic lists usually transfer with little loss. Heading levels, nested lists, tables, inline formatting, anchors, images, and custom AD commands require manual checking because RST expresses them differently.

RST treats indentation as syntax. A misplaced space can change a list, literal block, or directive, and a table may fail to build if its column separators are inconsistent. Check non-ASCII characters, relative image paths, external links, footnotes, and any AD metadata after conversion.

Renaming .ad to .rst does not convert the content. It changes only the filename and can cause Docutils or Sphinx to report parsing errors.