PPS to Markdown API
POST /v2/convert/pps/to/md reads the text of a PowerPoint 97-2003 show and returns a Markdown outline with each slide title as a ## heading. The sample's lobby loop gives 610 bytes under four headings, from ## Welcome to the Riverside Clock Museum to ## Gift shop.
- Endpoint
- POST /v2/
convert/ pps/ to/ md - Accepts
- pps
- Sample timing
- 0.601 s median of 5 runsHow we measure
- Request size
- Up to 10 MB on the Free plan or 100 MB on paid plans, all files together
Request and response
Every sample below ran against the API before this page was published. Set PDFCONVERSIONAPI_KEY to your key and run it as is.
curl -sS -X POST \
https://api.pdfconversionapi.com/v2/convert/pps/to/md \
-H "Authorization: Bearer $PDFCONVERSIONAPI_KEY" \
-F File=@riverside-lobby-loop.pps \
-o response.json
# FileData is base64. Save the first file in converted/,
# or print the JSON error.
if jq -e '.Files' response.json > /dev/null; then
mkdir -p converted
name=$(jq -r '.Files[0].FileName' response.json)
jq -r '.Files[0].FileData' response.json \
| base64 --decode > "converted/$name"
else
cat response.json
fiimport base64
import os
import requests
key = os.environ["PDFCONVERSIONAPI_KEY"]
response = requests.post(
"https://api.pdfconversionapi.com/v2/convert/pps/to/md",
headers={"Authorization": f"Bearer {key}"},
files=[("File", open("riverside-lobby-loop.pps", "rb"))],
timeout=180,
)
result = response.json()
if not response.ok:
raise SystemExit(f"{result['Code']}: {result['Message']}")
os.makedirs("converted", exist_ok=True)
for file in result["Files"]:
path = os.path.join("converted", file["FileName"])
with open(path, "wb") as out:
out.write(base64.b64decode(file["FileData"]))
print(path, file["FileSize"], "bytes")
import { mkdir, readFile, writeFile } from "node:fs/promises";
import { join } from "node:path";
const form = new FormData();
const file = "riverside-lobby-loop.pps";
form.append("File", new Blob([await readFile(file)]), file);
const url = "https://api.pdfconversionapi.com/v2/convert/pps/to/md";
const key = process.env.PDFCONVERSIONAPI_KEY;
const response = await fetch(url, {
method: "POST",
headers: { Authorization: `Bearer ${key}` },
body: form,
});
const result = await response.json();
if (!response.ok) {
throw new Error(`${result.Code}: ${result.Message}`);
}
await mkdir("converted", { recursive: true });
for (const file of result.Files) {
const path = join("converted", file.FileName);
await writeFile(path, Buffer.from(file.FileData, "base64"));
console.log(path, file.FileSize, "bytes");
}
{
"ConversionCost": 1,
"ConversionTime": 0.601,
"Files": [
{
"FileName": "riverside-lobby-loop.md",
"FileExt": "md",
"FileSize": 610,
"FileData": "IyMgV2VsY29tZSB0byB0aGUg…"
}
]
}Response from our test run on 2026-11-03. ConversionTime shows the median of 5 runs. FileData is shortened here; the real response carries the whole file as base64.
The sample, converted
The same file the code sends. Download the input and the output and compare them yourself.
riverside-lobby-loop.md, 23 lines
## Welcome to the Riverside Clock Museum- Open Tuesday to Sunday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.- A fictional museum. Sample show for pdfconversionapi.com, released under CC0 1.0.## Guided tours today- Time Tour Meet at- 11:00 a.m. Tower clock movement Gallery 2- 1:30 p.m. Pocket watches Gallery 4- 3:00 p.m. Family tour, ages 6 and up Lobby## On the second floor- Gallery 3: clocks that run on water and sand - A working water clock refills at noon- Gallery 4: 214 pocket watches - Magnifiers at every case- Elevator next to the coat room## Gift shop- Closes at 4:45 p.m. Members save 10 percent.
- Input
- riverside-lobby-loop.pps (75 KB)
- Output
- riverside-lobby-loop.md (610 bytes)
- Source
- A five-slide self-running lobby show for a fictional clock museum, made by us and saved as a PowerPoint 97-2003 show with fades and 8-second timings; slide 4 is hidden. (CC0-1.0). How it was made
- Made by
- 2026-11-04, API build
9eeeb0640aba
Parameters
Send these as form fields next to the file. Names are case-insensitive. If you set one of the documented options below that we don't support yet, the request fails with a 400 that names it instead of returning a file made without it.
| Parameter | What it does |
|---|---|
ConvertHiddenSlidesboolean, default false | Include hidden slides. The sample then has a fifth heading, ## Staff only: closing checklist (hidden), and is 742 bytes. |
Passwordstring | Meant for encrypted shows, which can't be read yet: a locked test show gave 422 "the input file is password-protected" with and without its password. |
FileNamestring | Name of the .md file, without the extension. |
Not supported yet
Setting one of these to anything but its default returns 400.
| Option | What to do instead |
|---|---|
PageRange | Any value returns 400 "PageRange is not supported yet for PPS → MD". |
IncludeSpeakerNotes | Notes are left out; true returns 400. |
ListBulletChar | Bullets are always -; another character returns 400. |
Images | Pictures are dropped; none or any value but embed returns 400. |
SlideHeadings | Titles are always ## headings; false returns 400 "SlideHeadings is not supported yet for PPS → MD". |
What carries over, and what doesn't
Kept
- Slide titles as
##headings, one per visible slide; the welcome title, which wraps onto three lines on the slide, stays one heading - The tour table, one bullet per row with tabs between time, tour and meeting point
- Two-level lists: "A working water clock refills at noon" is indented under its gallery
- The banner text on the gift shop slide
Lost or not yet supported
- The clock picture, without a placeholder or alt text.
- Everything about the show: transitions, the 8-second timing and the loop.
- Speaker notes, and the hidden staff slide by default.
- Text styling such as the banner's bold white type.
Limits
- One .pps per request, up to 10 MB on the Free plan or 100 MB on paid plans.
- 120 seconds per conversion; longer requests end with 504.
- ConvertAPI doesn't offer this conversion, so its option names are not checked here: unknown ones are ignored, while the outline options above and office options such as
ConvertSpeakerNotes=Separatereturn 400. - A password-protected .pps is refused with 422 for now, whatever
Passwordsays.
Where teams use it
Checking what a looping screen says
Pull the text of a lobby or shop-window show into a review, a translation tool or a spell checker without the show taking over the screen when the file opens.
Keeping signage text in a content system
Store the outline of each show next to the file, so editors can search for a price, an opening time or a tour name across every loop you run.
Questions
Does the slide show start when the file is converted?
No. The show is opened as a document, saved as .pptx and outlined; nothing is played and the file's macros are never run.
What happened to the picture on the first slide?
Pictures are left out of the Markdown. The clock on the welcome slide leaves no trace, while the title and the opening hours under it are kept.
Is the output the same as for a .ppt?
Yes. Both are the same binary format and give the same kind of outline: a .ppt renamed to .pps converts here, and a .pps renamed to .ppt converts on /v2/convert/ppt/to/md.
Convert your first PPS file in a minute.