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pdfconversionapi

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
fi
200 OK0.601 s median1 file, 610 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.

ParameterWhat it does
ConvertHiddenSlidesboolean, default falseInclude hidden slides. The sample then has a fifth heading, ## Staff only: closing checklist (hidden), and is 742 bytes.
PasswordstringMeant 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.
FileNamestringName of the .md file, without the extension.

Not supported yet

Setting one of these to anything but its default returns 400.

OptionWhat to do instead
PageRangeAny value returns 400 "PageRange is not supported yet for PPS → MD".
IncludeSpeakerNotesNotes are left out; true returns 400.
ListBulletCharBullets are always -; another character returns 400.
ImagesPictures are dropped; none or any value but embed returns 400.
SlideHeadingsTitles 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=Separate return 400.
  • A password-protected .pps is refused with 422 for now, whatever Password says.

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.