PDF to Markdown Converter

Turn the text of a PDF into clean Markdown. Headings are found from font sizes, lines are joined into paragraphs, bullets and numbers become lists, text tables become pipe tables, and running headers and page numbers are dropped. Review and edit the result before downloading.

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PDF

Overview

What is PDF to Markdown?

PDF to Markdown turns the text of a PDF into Markdown you can paste into a README, a wiki, a notes app or a static site. It does more than copy the text: it works out which lines are headings, joins broken lines back into paragraphs, and turns bullets into lists and text tables into pipe tables.

PDFs have no hidden Markdown inside them. A PDF records where each word is drawn and in which font, and nothing more. This converter rebuilds the structure from those clues: size, weight, spacing and indentation. The result is usually a good first draft, but it is a reconstruction, so review it, especially for complex layouts.

How it works

How to convert a PDF to Markdown

  1. Open the PDF

    The whole document is converted straight away. The counts of headings, paragraphs, list items and tables are shown.

  2. Narrow it down

    Limit the pages, or turn table detection off if it splits text that is not really a table.

  3. Review and edit

    Compare the Markdown with the rendered preview, and fix anything directly in the editor.

  4. Copy or download

    Copy the Markdown or save it as a .md file. Your edits are included.

Examples

Examples: what becomes what

In the PDFIn the Markdown
24 pt title, 16 pt section, 13 pt subsection# , ## , ### (sizes ranked across the document)
Lines of 11 pt body textOne paragraph; "docu-" + "ment" joined back to "document"
• or – items, indented sub-items- item with nested - sub-item
1. 2. 3. or a) b) itemsNumbered list
Text aligned in columnsGitHub-style pipe table with a header row
Bold and italic words**bold** and *italic*
Courier or other monospace linesFenced code block
Running header on every page, page numbersRemoved

Headings

How headings are detected

First, the converter finds the body text size: the size used by most characters in the selected pages. Lines that are clearly larger are headings, and up to four distinct larger sizes become heading levels 1 to 4, biggest first.

Documents that mark headings with bold text at body size are handled too. A short, bold line that stands on its own after a gap becomes a heading. Headings found inside running headers or footers are ignored.

Because the levels are ranked within the pages you convert, a single chapter converted on its own may start at # even if it is a level-2 section in the full document.

Body size
11 pt
Larger sizes found
24, 16, 13 pt
Levels
#, ##, ###

Use cases

Use cases

Docs into Git

Move a PDF manual or handbook into a repository, where changes can be reviewed and versioned.

handbook.pdfhandbook.md

Notes and knowledge bases

Paste structured text into Obsidian, Notion, Confluence or a wiki instead of retyping headings and lists.

PDF## Section

Scanned documents

Run OCR PDF first, then continue here with the searchable result. There is no second upload.

OCR PDFPDF to Markdown

Tips

Tips for better Markdown

  • Convert only the pages you need. A cover page with a very large title can push real section headings down a level.
  • If paragraphs are being cut into small tables, turn off table detection and convert again.
  • Check numbered lists that restart in the original. Markdown renumbers lists automatically.
  • Use the Preview view to spot headings at the wrong level, then fix the number of # signs in the editor.
  • For a plain text copy without any structure, the PDF Text and Image Extractor is quicker.

Limitations

Limitations

Scanned PDFs

No text layer means no Markdown. OCR the file first, and expect any OCR errors to carry over.

Multi-column pages

Lines are read across the full page width, so text in two columns can be interleaved. Check newspaper-style layouts carefully.

Complex tables

Merged cells, cells with several lines and tables with ruling lines but uneven spacing may not convert cleanly.

Images, links and footnotes

Images are not included, link targets are not recovered, and footnotes stay where they appear on the page.

Privacy

Privacy

The conversion runs in your browser. The PDF and the Markdown are not uploaded to TryFormatter.

Related tools

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Frequently Asked Questions

Will the Markdown match the original document exactly?

Not always. The structure is rebuilt from font sizes, spacing and indentation, so headings, lists and tables are usually right, but unusual layouts need review. You can edit the Markdown before downloading.

How is this different from the Markdown converters elsewhere on TryFormatter?

Those convert between Markdown and HTML. This tool reads a PDF and reconstructs its structure from the page layout, which is a different problem.

Can it convert a scanned PDF?

Only after OCR. A scan has no text layer, so run it through OCR PDF first, then continue to PDF to Markdown with the searchable file.

Are tables converted?

Tables made of aligned text are turned into GitHub-style pipe tables with a header row. Tables with merged cells or multi-line cells may need manual fixes. You can turn table detection off.

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