Quill Converter User Guide

Version 1.0

Quill Converter is one job done properly: changing audio from one format into another, on your own machine, without uploading anything to a website. It is a small window with a queue, a couple of choice controls, and a Convert button. Focus lands on the queue the instant it opens, every control has a name and an access key, and the whole thing runs from the keyboard.

Getting started

Launch Quill Converter from the Start Menu, or run-quill-converter.bat from a source checkout, or python -m quill.apps.converter if you have the quill package installed.

The window opens with keyboard focus on the Files to convert list. From there:

Press Alt+A (Add Files…) and pick one or more files, or Alt+O (Add Folder…) and pick a whole folder.
Choose an output format in Convert to (Alt+V).
Choose a Preset (Alt+P), or leave it on “Just convert (no processing)”.
Optionally set an Output folder. Leave it blank and Quill Converter creates a Converted folder beside your source.
Press Alt+C (Convert).

Progress is spoken and written to the status bar as it goes, and the run ends with a summary that says how many files converted and names any that failed.

Only one copy of Quill Converter runs at a time. Launching it again while it is already running does not open a second window.

What it converts

Input. Audio files: MP3, WAV, FLAC, OGG, OGA, Opus, M4A, M4B, AAC, WMA, AIFF, AIF, ALAC, APE, WV, MKA, AMR, 3GP, and CAF. Video files, from which the audio track is pulled out: MP4, M4V, MKV, MOV, WebM, AVI, FLV, and WMV.

Output. MP3, M4A, M4B, Opus, OGG, FLAC, WAV, AAC, AIFF, ALAC, WMA, and CAF.

The Convert to list is not a fixed menu: at startup Quill Converter asks the bundled FFmpeg which encoders it actually has and lists only the formats it can really produce. That is deliberate – a batch should never die half way through because an encoder was missing. WAV, AIFF, and CAF are always available. If FFmpeg cannot be found at all, WAV is the only format offered, and starting a conversion tells you that FFmpeg is needed and points you at QUILL’s Help > Download Optional Components.

The five ways files get in

There is no drag and drop, by design – everything below is reachable from the keyboard.

Add Files… (Alt+A, or File > Add Files…, Ctrl+O). A standard multi-select file picker filtered to audio and video files, with an “All files” option if you need it.
Add Folder… (Alt+O, or File > Add Folder…). Queues the whole folder. From the main window a folder is always scanned right through its sub-folders, and the output mirrors the source folder structure.
The command line. Pass file or folder paths when you launch the app and each one that exists is queued immediately: python -m quill.apps.converter song.wav album\
The Windows Explorer right-click menu. Turn on the “Offer Convert with QUILL” setting in QUILL, and audio and video files gain a Convert with Quill entry that opens Quill Converter with your selection already queued. The verb is off by default – nothing is added to your context menu until you ask for it.
Convert from URL… (Alt+U, or File > Convert from URL…). Described in its own section below; the downloaded audio arrives in the converter ready to go.

Duplicate paths are ignored, so adding the same file twice queues it once.

To take something out of the queue, select the row and press Delete, or use the Remove button (Alt+R).

The main window, control by control

Tab order, top to bottom:

Files to convert (Alt+F, a list box). One row per queued item; a folder reads as “name (folder)”. Delete removes the selected row.
Add Files… (Alt+A), Add Folder… (Alt+O), Remove (Alt+R).
Convert to (Alt+V, a combo box). The output format, in capitals.
Preset (Alt+P, a combo box). Each entry is spoken as its name plus a plain-language description of what it is good for, so you can choose by hearing rather than by guessing.
Output folder (a text field) and Browse… (Alt+B). Leave it blank to get a Converted folder beside the first thing in your queue.
Convert (Alt+C), Convert from URL… (Alt+U), Advanced….

Two access keys are shared on this window: Alt+O reaches both Add Folder… and the Output folder field, and Alt+V reaches both Convert to and Advanced…. Pressing the key repeatedly cycles between them, and Tab reaches everything in order, so nothing is unreachable – but Tab is the reliable route to Advanced.

The status bar reports how many items are queued, then per-file progress during a run, then the summary.

From the main window, conversions never overwrite an existing file: if the output name is already taken, the new file is auto-numbered instead. If you want Skip or Overwrite instead, use Advanced… (below), which exposes the conflict policy.

Presets

Just convert (no processing) – a pure format change. The default.
MP3 320 kbps (maximum quality), MP3 192 kbps, MP3 128 kbps (small).
Podcast (MP3, spoken word) – mono MP3 with a rumble-removing high-pass.
Audiobook (M4B) – mono M4B at a compact bitrate.
Voice memo (small MP3) – mono, 22 kHz, tiny files for spoken notes.
Web voice (Opus) – mono Opus at a low bitrate, the smallest for the web.
Archival (FLAC, lossless) – keeps the original rate and channels.
Hearing-aid mono – downmix to a single channel.

A preset sets the starting recipe; the Convert to choice always wins over the preset’s own format, so you can take the Podcast preset and still ask for Opus.

Advanced

Advanced… (also File > Advanced Options…) hands your current queue to the full Convert Audio dialog. It is the same dialog QUILL’s Audio Studio opens, so there is only one converter to learn.

The dialog repeats the queue and the format/preset/output controls, and adds:

Include sub-folders (Alt+I, a check box, on by default) – whether a queued folder is scanned right through or only at its top level. Each folder row in the queue says which it will be.
On conflict (Alt+C, a combo box): “Rename (auto-number) – never overwrites” (the default), “Skip files that already exist”, or “Overwrite existing files”.
Advanced options (Alt+P, a check box). Ticking it reveals the panel below and moves focus to its first control, so the reveal is announced rather than being a silent resize. Unticking it puts focus back on the check box.

The revealed panel, in order:

Bit rate (Alt+R): Auto (use preset), 96, 128, 192, 256, or 320 kbps.
Sample rate (Alt+M): Keep source rate, 48 kHz, 44.1 kHz, 22.05 kHz, 16 kHz.
Channels (Alt+H): Keep source channels, Mono, Stereo.
Bit depth (Alt+D): Keep source depth, 16-bit, 24-bit, 32-bit float.
Loudness (Alt+L): No loudness normalization, Audiobook / ACX (-20 LUFS), or Podcast / streaming (-16 LUFS).
Gain (dB) (Alt+G): -30 to +30 in half-decibel steps. 0 means no change.
Speed (tempo) (Alt+S): 0.5x to 2.0x, no pitch shift. 1.0 is unchanged.
Fade in (seconds) (Alt+I) and Fade out (seconds) (Alt+O): 0 to 10.
Remove low-frequency rumble (high-pass) (Alt+U).
Trim leading and trailing silence (Alt+T).
Compress dynamics (even out loud/quiet) (Alt+C).
Level volume across the file (Alt+V).

Every one of these starts on a neutral “leave the preset alone” value, so an Advanced panel you opened but did not touch changes nothing.

The dialog’s affirmative button is labelled Convert; Cancel and Escape both back out without converting, and cancelling is announced.

Convert from URL

Convert from URL… (Alt+U, or File > Convert from URL…) takes a web address, downloads the audio from it, and opens the Convert Audio dialog with that file already in the queue.

What happens, in order:

A text box asks you to paste a link. Anything that is not a full http:// or https:// address is rejected with a plain explanation.
The first time only, a consent dialog explains that this feature uses yt-dlp to download audio from a web address, that Quill Converter will download and install that component on demand (about 3 MB, from PyPI), that you should only download content you have the right to use, and that no account or credential of yours is sent to the site. Answer Yes to continue or No to stop; answering No is announced and nothing is installed.
The download runs in the background with spoken progress, then the Convert Audio dialog opens on the downloaded file.

yt-dlp is never bundled with Quill Converter. It is installed only if you say yes, and the whole feature is unavailable in Safe Mode – asking for it there says so and stops.

The tray, and staying out of the way

Quill Converter lives in the notification area while it works.

Minimize to Tray (Ctrl+W, or File > Minimize to Tray) hides the window; the same command brings it back. Hiding and showing are both announced.
Ctrl+Alt+Shift+C does the same thing from anywhere in Windows, even when another program has focus. If another program already owns that chord, Quill Converter quietly leaves it alone rather than fighting for it.
Right-click the tray icon (or double-click it to just restore the window) for Show Quill Converter, Open Quill Converter, and Exit Quill Converter.
While a batch runs, the tray tooltip carries the same progress text as the status bar, so a minimized conversion is still reviewable.
Starting the app with --tray opens it straight into the tray with no window.

Exit (File > Exit, or the tray menu) really exits. Alt+F4 closes the window.

The other menus

QuillVille lists the sibling apps that have shipped a public release – Open QUILL, Open Quill Radio, Open Quill Weather – so the family is always one keystroke apart. Choosing one that is not installed offers to get it rather than failing silently.

Window carries the standard window switcher: Ctrl+Tab for the next window, Ctrl+Shift+Tab for the previous, and Ctrl+1 through Ctrl+9 to jump to one directly.

Help has Check for Updates… and About Quill Converter. Check for Updates looks at Quill Converter’s own releases, downloads the right one for how you installed (installer or portable), speaks progress milestones, and then offers to install it. Each app in the family updates independently.

Focus at launch lands on the Files to convert list, never on a bare frame.
Everything is announced. Queue counts, progress, the end-of-run summary, “nothing to convert”, hiding and showing to the tray – all of it goes through the shared announcement engine, which speaks through your screen reader (JAWS, NVDA, Narrator) without stealing focus, and writes to your braille display as well as speaking.
The status bar is the visual floor, so nothing is spoken-only and nothing is colour-only.
Every control has an accessible name, including the ones whose visible label sits beside them.
Access keys are on every button and field (listed above). Menus are Alt+F for File, Alt+Q for QuillVille, Alt+W for Window, Alt+H for Help. On the File menu: Alt+A Add Files, Alt+O Add Folder, Alt+U Convert from URL, Alt+V Advanced Options, Alt+T Minimize to Tray, Alt+X Exit.
Delete removes the selected queue row; you never need a mouse to manage the queue.
No dialog traps. The Convert Audio dialog has a real Cancel that Escape reaches, and its Advanced reveal moves focus so you hear the change.

Where your settings live

Quill Converter shares one settings store with QUILL and the rest of the family, so a preference set in one app is honoured in the others.

Installed: %APPDATA%\Quill.
Portable: if you run the portable build, the folder beside the program contains a data folder, and once you choose portable storage everything – settings, logs, keymap – lives there and travels with the stick instead of touching the machine you plug it into.

Uninstalling Quill Converter never deletes that shared folder; QUILL or another family app may still be using it.

Safe Mode

Setting QUILL_SAFE_MODE=1 before launching starts Quill Converter in Safe Mode: the default keymap is used instead of your saved one, unlocks are not persisted, and Convert from URL is refused outright. Ordinary conversion still works completely – it is all local.

For scripts: `quill convert`

Everything above is also available without a window, over the same engine:

python -m quill convert INPUT... --to FORMAT [options]

Inputs can be files, folders, or glob patterns; folders mirror their tree. --preset picks a starting recipe (--list-presets prints them), --out sets the destination, --recurse descends into sub-folders, and --dry-run plans the batch and prints what it would do without converting anything.

Getting help

Support is run by Community Access, and the address is support@community-access.org. A person reads it, and replies come back by email.

The quickest way there is Help > Get Help from Support… (Ctrl+Alt+F2), which every app in the family answers with the same form: what kind of message this is, a subject, what happened, and – if you want an answer – an email address to reply to. What you expected and how to reproduce it are optional, and worth more than anything else when you can give them.

Press Send and your own mail program opens with the whole message already written, addressed to support, with Quill Converter’s name and version and your Windows version filled in at the bottom. Nothing is sent until you send it there, so you can read it over, add anything, or change your mind.

If this machine has no mail program set up – webmail only, say – the app puts the whole message on your clipboard and tells you the address, so nothing you typed is lost. And writing to support@community-access.org yourself always works just as well: there is no form you have to use. Say which app you were using and what happened.