Convert files in the browser

Open PowerIO Convert to convert a file, a folder, or a batch without installing PowerIO. Files stay on the computer. The same Rust parsers and writers run locally through WebAssembly.

1. Choose files, drop a folder, or select ZIP projects. PowerIO identifies each input format, including mixed transmission and distribution cases.
2. Choose one or more output formats. Transmission defaults to MATPOWER; distribution defaults to PMD engineering JSON. Each case can override those choices.
3. Convert, review the diagnostics, and download individual outputs or a ZIP containing all completed outputs and a conversion report.

The examples include a MATPOWER transmission case and a small OpenDSS feeder. The mixed example shows both in one batch.

Projects and recovery

Choose the complete folder or ZIP for an OpenDSS, PyPSA CSV, or CGMES project. Relative references stay within the supplied files. A project with several possible OpenDSS entry files asks which one to open. An incomplete project can accept missing files and retry. Formats can also be selected explicitly when detection needs help.

Each project permits up to 4096 files and 64 MiB of expanded input. ZIP archives have additional path and expansion checks. Batches have no fixed case-count limit; browser memory and local storage determine capacity. The command line is useful for larger projects.

A failed case does not prevent other cases from converting. Cancel stops the active worker and keeps completed results. Changing an input format, entry file, or dependency removes its old outputs before conversion. If a dropped file or folder cannot be acquired, its affected project stays blocked while independent cases continue. Remove that failed case and select its complete files or folder again; retry and format overrides cannot restore files that the browser did not acquire. Cancel also stops further acquisition.

Understand the result

Same-format emission preserves the source bytes. Cross-format emission reports data that the target cannot represent. A warning means the output needs review, even when a file was produced. The portal displays PowerIO’s diagnostic codes, messages, locations when available, and suggested actions. See Formats and fidelity for the supported profiles.

BMOPF outputs explicitly select 0.1.0 or the 0.2.0 proposal. The BMOPF task force maintains the collaborative distribution-system optimization work. GO Challenge 3 writing requires a complete SCUC solution. The converter does not solve a network or synthesize missing solution data.

PowerIO IR, geographic-only data, GridFM/Parquet, matrices, and solver operations belong in the package or terminal workflow. The portal provides matching CLI commands for the selected input and outputs.

Privacy, sharing, and help

The converter has no file-upload endpoint. Files, filenames, paths, and raw diagnostics never enter analytics. Completed outputs may use temporary browser storage. Clear all removes the session’s files; abandoned temporary files are removed on the next visit. Closing or reloading the tab discards the queue, so download results before leaving.

Optional Umami statistics help identify formats and parser problems that need work. They are off by default; enable them in the Privacy section. Only activity after opt-in is shared. Statistics include standard format names, broad outcomes, reviewed parser codes, software version, and coarse batch-size and elapsed-time ranges. Unknown codes become other. Electrical diagnostics and grid properties stay local. Duplicate problems and event limits reduce repeated reporting.

The analytics script runs in an isolated iframe that cannot read files or the converter page. Umami receives IP and browser connection metadata with its requests and derives browser/device, approximate location, and visit statistics from that metadata. See Umami metric definitions. Switch statistics off at any time; Do Not Track and Global Privacy Control also disable them. Conversion works with analytics blocked. The committed analytics policy template lists every permitted event and value. The build supplies the one permitted PowerIO version in the generated policy shared by the application and frame.

Share settings copies a link containing output preferences only. It never includes files or filenames. Report a conversion problem prepares an editable GitHub issue report with engine/build information, browser major version, format names, and diagnostic codes. Review the report and add a small, shareable example if needed. The locally downloaded conversion report is more detailed and can contain private filenames and messages; review it before sharing.