Why a two-step workflow
The native .pages format is a proprietary Apple bundle (a folder pretending to be a file, with a private XML schema inside). It's not an open format and direct conversion is fragile across Pages versions. Apple's solution: every version of Pages includes "Export to → Word" as a one-click operation. The resulting .docx is a faithful representation, and our DOCX-to-Markdown pipeline takes it from there.
The workflow, step by step
1. Open the document in Pages. 2. File → Export To → Word… → choose .docx. 3. Save the .docx somewhere convenient. 4. Drop it into our converter. 5. Download the Markdown. The whole sequence takes under a minute. The DOCX intermediate is high-fidelity because Apple has invested heavily in DOCX compatibility (it's the format Mac users share with Windows colleagues).
What's preserved
Headings, lists, tables, bold/italic, hyperlinks, embedded images, footnotes — same as any DOCX conversion. Pages-specific features that don't exist in DOCX (some object styles, custom shapes) are simplified by Pages during export, not by our converter. If your document leans heavily on Pages-specific design features, consider whether Markdown is the right destination at all.