Markdown is the everyday format of wikis, documentation sites and note-taking apps. When a PDF needs to become part of that world, retyping is the slow option. PDF to Markdown extracts the text of each page into a .md file, with a heading marking the start of every page, so you have an editable base to structure and link.
How to use PDF to Markdown
- Add the PDF. Scanned PDFs need OCR first.
- Select Convert to Markdown.
- Download the .md file.
- Add headings, lists and links to structure the content.
What the Markdown file contains
- A heading per page: Each PDF page begins with a level-one heading like Page 1, followed by the text extracted from that page.
- Easy to cross-check: The page headings make it easy to see where content came from and to cross-check it against the PDF.
- Plain UTF-8 text: The file is UTF-8 plain text, so it opens in any editor and in tools like Obsidian, GitHub, documentation sites and static site generators without any conversion step.
Structure you'll add yourself
- Structure isn't guessed: VelloDoc doesn't guess at structure: headings within a page, bold text, lists, tables and links aren't detected, and the text arrives as plain lines and paragraphs.
- Why that's deliberate: That's deliberate, because guessed structure is often wrong and harder to fix than to add.
- A few minutes of work: A few minutes promoting real headings with # symbols and turning lines into lists usually produces a clean document.
- Replace the page headings with meaningful titles once the content is organized.
Related conversions
- For plain text: For text without any Markdown markers, PDF to TXT produces a plain file, and for editing in a word processor, PDF to Word keeps page breaks.
- For scanned PDFs: Scanned PDFs need OCR PDF first.
- Going the other way: Once your Markdown is ready, Markdown to PDF turns it back into a formatted document.
- Where to read more: The format guide covers when Markdown is the right home for content.
When people use PDF to Markdown
Moving documents into a wiki
Bring policies and procedures that exist only as PDFs into a team wiki as editable pages.
Notes in Markdown apps
Import articles and papers into a Markdown note-taking app to highlight, link and annotate.
Documentation drafts
Start documentation for a website or repository from the text of an existing PDF manual.
Limitations to know
PDF to Markdown adds page headings and extracted text only. It doesn't detect headings, lists, tables, links or images within pages. Scanned PDFs need OCR first, and multi-column text may be reordered.
PDF to Markdown: common questions
Are headings and lists detected?
No. Each page gets a heading, and the page text follows as plain lines. Add structure yourself where it matters.
Why does the file contain only page headings?
The PDF has no text layer, typically because it's a scan. Run OCR PDF first, then convert again.
Are images included?
No. Save images separately with Extract Images and link to them from your Markdown.
Which Markdown flavor is used?
Only standard headings are added, so the file works in every Markdown flavor and tool.