How to convert a PDF to Markdown
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To convert a PDF to Markdown, open the PDF to Markdown tool and add your file — PDFER extracts the text, infers headings from font size, and downloads a .md file with # / ## / ### structure, all in your browser with nothing uploaded.
How headings are detected
PDFER measures the relative font size of each line: the largest lines become #, the next tier ##, then ###, and normal-size text is grouped into paragraphs. The result is portable Markdown you can drop into Obsidian, Notion, a wiki, or a Jekyll/Hugo site.
Step by step
Open the PDF to Markdown tool, add your PDF, click Convert to Markdown, and download the .md file. Open it in any editor or paste it straight into your notes app.
What converts well
Text-based documents with clear heading hierarchy convert cleanly — articles, reports, documentation. Bold and italic emphasis and paragraph structure carry over.
Complex fixed layouts, tables, and images are simplified: Markdown is about structured text, not pixel-exact layout. For tables specifically, PDF to Excel is the better tool.
Scanned PDFs need OCR first
Markdown conversion reads the PDF's text layer, so an image-only scan produces nothing. Run OCR first to add selectable text, then convert to Markdown.
Privacy and related formats
The whole conversion happens on your device, so the document is never uploaded. If you want plain unstructured text, use PDF to Text; for an editable word processor file, use PDF to Word.
Tools mentioned in this guide
Frequently asked
- How does it know what should be a heading?
- It infers heading levels from relative font size — the largest text becomes #, then ## and ### — and groups the rest into paragraphs.
- Does it keep images and tables?
- It focuses on text and heading structure; images and complex tables are simplified. Use PDF to Excel for tabular data.
- Why is my Markdown empty?
- The PDF is likely a scan with no text layer. Run OCR first, then convert to Markdown.
- Is my file uploaded?
- No. Extraction and Markdown generation both run in your browser, so the PDF stays on your device.