Markdown Import for Word and PowerPoint

A Visual Studio extension that converts Word (.docx) and PowerPoint (.pptx) files to Markdown and adds the result to your project, straight from Solution Explorer.

Features

Right-click any folder in Solution Explorer and choose Add Markdown file from Word or Add Markdown file from PowerPoint.
Pick a .docx or .pptx file. The extension creates a .md file with the same name in that folder and adds it to the project.
Preserves the structure of the source: headings, lists, tables, links, text formatting and code (see What gets converted).
Escapes Markdown special characters found in the source text, so the output renders the way the author intended.
Asks before overwriting an existing .md file.
Built on the official Open XML SDK. Microsoft Office does not need to be installed.
Writes UTF-8 files without a byte order mark.

Requirements

Visual Studio 2022 version 17.14 or later, or Visual Studio 2026 (64-bit).
.docx and .pptx files. The legacy binary formats (.doc and .ppt) are not supported.

Installation

Marketplace:
Manual: download the .vsix file from the Releases page and double-click it.

Usage

In Solution Explorer, right-click a folder.
Choose Add Markdown file from Word or Add Markdown file from PowerPoint.
Select the file in the dialog.
The Markdown file is created in the folder and added to the project.

What gets converted

Word (`.docx`)

Word	Markdown
Title, Heading 1 to 9, or any paragraph with an outline level	`#` headings (up to six levels)
Bulleted and numbered lists, including nested levels	`-` and `1.` lists with indentation
Bold, italic, strikethrough	`bold`, `italic`, `~~strikethrough~~`
Hyperlinks	`[text](url)`
Manual line breaks	Line breaks inside the paragraph
Monospace fonts (Consolas, Courier New and similar) or code styles	Inline code, or fenced code blocks for whole paragraphs
Quote and Block Text styles	`>` quotes
Tables	Markdown tables (the first row becomes the header row)

PowerPoint (`.pptx`)

PowerPoint	Markdown
Slide title	`#` heading
Slide without a title	`<!-- Slide N -->` comment
Body text	Bulleted list, indented according to the paragraph level
Numbered paragraphs	`1.` lists
Bold, italic, hyperlinks	`bold`, `italic`, `[text](url)`
Tables	Markdown tables
Slide boundaries	`---`

Example

A Word document with a heading, formatted text and inline code:

# Inline formatting

Normal text, **bold**, *italic* and ***both***, ~~struck~~.

A [link to Microsoft](https://www.microsoft.com) in the middle of a sentence, then `Console.WriteLine()` as inline code.

Known limitations

Both formats

Images, and the content of text boxes, are not converted.
Conversion runs on the Visual Studio UI thread, so very large files may freeze the IDE for a moment.

Word

Footnotes, endnotes, headers, footers and comments are ignored.
Deleted text in tracked changes is ignored.
Tables nested inside table cells are ignored.
Hyperlinks stored as complex fields (instead of regular hyperlinks) are kept as plain text.
Title and Heading 1 both map to a level 1 heading.

PowerPoint

Charts and SmartArt are ignored, as are footer, date and slide number placeholders.
Speaker notes are not included.
Text in body placeholders is treated as a bulleted list unless the paragraph explicitly turns bullets off. Bullet settings inherited from the slide layout or master are not resolved.
Text follows the order of the shapes in the file, which can differ from the visual order on the slide.
Hidden slides are included.

Author

Alessandro Del Sole

Markdown Import For Word And PowerPoint