Word to Markdown
Convert Word documents to Markdown in VS Code — keeping the structure of the
document, not just its text: headings, list numbering exactly as Word shows
it, the table of contents, bookmarks and cross-references, tables with merged
cells, footnotes, comments, tracked changes and images.
Works offline. The extension makes no network requests and sends no
telemetry. .docx files are read by the extension itself; old .doc files are
opened by Word or LibreOffice on your computer.
Convert a document
- In the Explorer, right-click a
.docx, .doc or .rtf file (or several)
and choose Convert to Markdown.
- Or run Word to Markdown: Convert to Markdown from the Command Palette
and pick the files.
<name>.md is written next to the document, and its images go to
<name>_images/. If the Markdown file already exists, the extension asks
before overwriting it.
What is kept
| In Word |
In Markdown |
| Headings (Heading 1–9, outline levels, Title) |
# … ######, with their numbers (# 1. Introduction, ## 1.2 Scope) |
Numbered lists 1. / 1) |
ordered lists starting at the same number |
Other numbering: a), (iv), IV., 1.2.3., § 5. |
the label exactly as Word shows it |
| Bulleted and multi-level lists |
nested - lists, following the indent you see in Word |
| Table of contents |
rebuilt as links to the headings |
| Bookmarks, cross-references, internal links |
anchors and [text](#anchor) links |
| Bold, italic, strikethrough |
**…**, *…*, ~~…~~ |
| Underline, highlight, superscript, subscript |
<u>, <mark>, <sup>, <sub> |
| Monospaced text, code styles, quotes |
`code`, fenced code blocks, > quotes |
| Tables |
GFM tables; HTML tables where cells are merged or nested |
| Footnotes, endnotes, comments |
GFM footnotes ([^1], comments as [^c1] with the author) |
| Tracked changes |
final text, original text, or both marked up |
| Images |
files in <name>_images/, linked with Word's alt text |
Charts and SmartArt graphics have no Markdown equivalent; the extension tells
you how many were left out. See Conversion details for
the full list, the table of contents, tables and old .doc files.
Settings
| Setting |
Default |
Purpose |
docxToMd.tables |
auto |
auto uses GFM tables and HTML only for merged or nested cells; gfm or html forces one format. |
docxToMd.trackedChanges |
accept |
accept keeps the final text, reject the original, markup both with <ins>/<del>. |
docxToMd.comments |
footnotes |
Comments as footnotes with the author, or omit. |
docxToMd.imagesFolder |
{name}_images |
Image folder next to the Markdown file; {name} is the document name. |
docxToMd.openAfterConversion |
editor |
After converting one document: editor, preview or none. |
docxToMd.libreOfficePath |
(empty) |
Path to LibreOffice's soffice, used for .doc files when Word is not available. |
The interface follows the editor's language (English and Polish).
Restricted Mode is supported; there the LibreOffice path from workspace
settings is ignored.
| |
