Slide decks exported as PDF are particularly easy to convert well — the structure is already there: one slide = one section, each bullet is a list item, the title is a heading. Our converter recognises slide-deck PDFs and emits the obvious Markdown.
Slide-deck detection
Three signals tell us a PDF is a slide deck: aspect ratio (16:9 or 4:3 instead of A4/Letter), one logical "slide" per page with sparse content, and consistent title positioning across pages. When all three match, the converter switches to slide mode: each page becomes a ## Slide N section, the largest text on the page becomes the slide title (### Title), and bullet text becomes Markdown list items.
Speaker notes
If the PDF was exported with speaker notes (often as a footer or in a "Notes Pages" view), we detect them and place them under each slide as a blockquote: > Notes:. The slide content stays first; the notes provide context for whoever's reading later.
Before / After
Before (PDF):
[Slide 1: Q4 Results]
• Revenue up 23%
• Margin expanded 4pp
• Headcount steady
[Speaker notes: emphasise the margin story, not just the topline]
After (Markdown):
## Slide 1: Q4 Results
- Revenue up 23%
- Margin expanded 4pp
- Headcount steady
> Notes: emphasise the margin story, not just the topline
Frequently asked questions
How does the converter detect a slide-deck PDF?
Aspect ratio (16:9 or 4:3 vs A4), sparse content per page, and consistent title positioning. When all three match, slide mode kicks in: one ## section per slide, list items for bullets.
Are speaker notes preserved?
When present in the PDF (most common when exported "with notes"), they're extracted and placed under each slide as a blockquote prefixed with "Notes:". The slide content stays primary; the notes are auxiliary.
How do bullet animations and builds get handled?
PDFs export the final state of every slide — animations and builds aren't represented. The output reflects what the audience saw at the end of each slide. If the source PDF was exported as "all build steps", you'll see one sub-slide per step.
Will images and diagrams from slides be preserved?
Images are extracted and saved alongside the .md file. Their captions (if present) and slide-relative position are recorded as Markdown image links. Diagrams as raster images are kept as-is; vector diagrams may need manual recreation if you want them editable.
Can I convert presentations from PowerPoint exports?
Yes — PowerPoint and Keynote both export PDF in the same general layout. Google Slides exports too. The converter doesn't need to know which tool produced the PDF; it just looks at layout signals.