Microsoft PowerPoint is one of the most popular tools for creating presentations. However, PowerPoint files (.pptx) can be difficult to share and collaborate on. Converting PowerPoint presentations to Markdown provides a lightweight, plain text alternative that has several advantages.
Why Convert PowerPoint to Markdown
Here are some of the key benefits of converting PowerPoint files to Markdown:
- Portability – Markdown files are plain text so they can be opened on any device. PowerPoint files require having PowerPoint installed.
- Version Control – Markdown text files work seamlessly with version control systems like Git. Tracking changes is easy.
- Collaboration – Markdown files can be easily edited by multiple people for collaboration.
- Future Proofing – Plain text files have the best long-term compatibility and avoid lock-in.
- Lightweight – Markdown files take up much less disk space than bloated PowerPoint files.
- Publishing – Markdown can easily be converted to HTML, PDFs, and more for publishing.
How to Convert PowerPoint to Markdown
There are a few different tools available for converting PowerPoint (.pptx) to Markdown:
PowerPoint to Markdown Converters
- pptx2md – Open source command line tool that converts PowerPoint files to Markdown. It does a decent job at retaining formatting.
- Aspose PowerPoint to Markdown – Robust .NET and Java APIs for programmatically converting PowerPoint to custom Markdown.
- GroupDocs PowerPoint to Markdown – Free cloud-based API for converting PowerPoint presentations to Markdown online.
Presentation Authoring with Markdown
Instead of converting an existing PowerPoint, you can author presentations in Markdown from scratch. Some popular tools include:
- Marp – Open source Markdown presentation ecosystem focused on creating slide decks powered by Chrome.
- Remark – Simple Markdown-based presentation tool leveraging HTML and CSS.
Markdown Syntax for Presentations
The Markdown syntax used for authoring presentations is very similar to standard Markdown for documents. Here are some key differences:
Metadata
A YAML metadata header is used to configure the presentation:
---
title: Presentation Title
author: John Smith
---New Slides
Use three dashes surrounded by blank lines or level 1/2 headings to create new slides:
---
# Agenda
---
## Topic 1 Images
Standard Markdown image syntax works perfectly:
Additional Tips
Here are some other tips for working with Markdown presentations:
- Use horizontal rules (
---) or page breaks ([[PAGE]]) between slides - Add presenter notes by using HTML comments (
<!-- ... -->) - For code snippets, use fenced code blocks with language
- Use LaTeX for mathematical equations
- Apply color, size, bold, italic, etc. using Markdown formatting
Summary
Converting PowerPoint to Markdown or authoring presentations in Markdown provides a flexible, collaborative format. The Markdown syntax is focused on content without complex formatting yet keeps key slide elements like images, math, and code. For publishing and distribution, Markdown presentations can be converted to HTML, PDFs, PowerPoints, and more.
