How to convert Word to Markdown
- Select a .docx file, or drop it onto the box above.
- Look over the Markdown in the preview box. If you only need the text, copy it from there.
- Download the .md file. When the document has pictures, download the ZIP instead, which holds the .md file and every image.
What the Markdown keeps
Headings come from Word’s heading styles, so a line that was only made big and bold stays a normal paragraph. Bold, italic and strikethrough become Markdown emphasis, and text set in a code font such as Consolas or Courier becomes code. Bulleted and numbered lists keep their nesting. Tables turn into pipe tables with the first row as the header.
Each picture becomes a link such as , using the alt text set in Word.
Your document stays on your device
Your browser opens the .docx and writes the Markdown on your own computer or phone. A policy you’re moving into a wiki never passes through Oppermind, and once you close the tab the page holds neither the Word file nor the Markdown. This page counts visits without cookies unless you’ve turned analytics off, and sets analytics cookies only if you allow them, as our privacy policy explains.
Questions
Does my Word file get uploaded?
No. The conversion runs in this browser tab on your own device, and Oppermind’s servers never receive the file.
What gets left out?
Text boxes, charts, shapes, equations, footnotes, comments and embedded objects. If your document has any of them, a note above the preview lists what was dropped. Headers and footers are left out too, without a note. Underlining, colours and fonts have no Markdown form, so that text keeps its words but loses the styling. Tracked changes are read as if you’d accepted them.
How are tables handled?
They become pipe tables, and the first row is used as the header. Merged cells are split back out, with the text in the first of them. A Markdown table cell can’t hold a list or several paragraphs, so those are joined with line breaks.
Where do the images go?
The ZIP download holds the .md file with the images beside it, named image-1.png, image-2.jpg and so on, so the links work once you unzip it. The .md download on its own keeps the links but not the pictures.
Does it open .doc files?
No, only .docx. Save the older .doc as a .docx in Word and convert the new copy. If the document has a password, take it off in Word before you convert.
More doc tools
Microsoft Word is a trade mark of Microsoft. Oppermind is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by Microsoft.