>Lots of third party libraries - most are not cheap... I don't think there are free ones. But you can potentially automate word if play fast and loose with the licensing.
>
>You can also look into PanDoc. I think it can do that conversion but it's a huge distribution and has to run as an external process.
>
>I've worked with AsPose components before which make it easy and fast, but it's not cheap.

Thanks

I also used Aspose for Html to PDF. I have tested Aspose.Words and it works great. It is also one that converts exactly as per what Word has. Unlike many converters, this is a great plus. However, as you say, the 999$ US license is a lot. Many says that it worths it is based on the fact that it works great. It is. I was able to test and have it running ok in minutes. My first research led me to this utility because I have used some of those utilities before. What I am trying to do is a small conversion that will occur very rarely. For now, I will have to avoid it based on the pricing.

The other ones, as you mentioned, that are doing a great job, are automation or things that require Microsoft Office to be available on the server, or at least, other related add-ins.

I will look at PanDoc.