Office To Md

by claude-office-skills9c4c7d5cd281MIT499 starsListed Oct 8, 2026Updated Oct 8, 2026Repository updated 8 months ago

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Instructions onlyDocuments & Office
AI-generated overview

Converts Office files such as Word, Excel, PowerPoint and PDF into Markdown using Microsoft's markitdown tool.

What it does
This skill guides an agent through converting Office documents into clean Markdown with the markitdown library, covering Word, Excel, PowerPoint, PDF, HTML, images and audio. It documents the Python API and command-line usage, shows example Markdown output for each format, and provides patterns for batch conversion, document archiving, wiki generation and building AI-ready corpora. It also lists limitations such as simplified formatting and unembedded images.
When to use it
Use it when you need to turn Word, Excel, PowerPoint or PDF content into Markdown for searching, version control or AI processing. It also suits bulk conversion of document folders into Markdown or JSON corpora.
Requirements
Requires the markitdown Python package (pip install markitdown), optionally with the images or audio extras for OCR and transcription. Image description needs a vision-capable LLM client and API credentials. The skill ships no scripts; it is instructions only.

Office to Markdown Skill

Overview

This skill enables conversion from various Office formats to Markdown using markitdown - Microsoft's open-source tool for converting documents to Markdown. Perfect for making Office content searchable, version-controllable, and AI-friendly.

How to Use

  1. Provide the Office file (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, PDF, etc.)
  2. Optionally specify conversion options
  3. I'll convert it to clean Markdown

Example prompts:

  • "Convert this Word document to Markdown"
  • "Turn this PowerPoint into Markdown notes"
  • "Extract content from this PDF as Markdown"
  • "Convert this Excel file to Markdown tables"

Domain Knowledge

markitdown Fundamentals

python
from markitdown import MarkItDown
# Initialize convertermd = MarkItDown()
# Convert fileresult = md.convert("document.docx")print(result.text_content)
# Save to filewith open("output.md", "w") as f:    f.write(result.text_content)

Supported Formats

FormatExtensionNotes
Word.docxFull text, tables, basic formatting
Excel.xlsxConverts to Markdown tables
PowerPoint.pptxSlides as sections
PDF.pdfText extraction
HTML.htmlClean markdown
Images.jpg, .pngOCR with vision model
Audio.mp3, .wavTranscription
ZIP.zipProcesses contained files

Basic Usage

Python API
python
from markitdown import MarkItDown
# Simple conversionmd = MarkItDown()result = md.convert("document.docx")
# Access contentmarkdown_text = result.text_content
# With optionsmd = MarkItDown(    llm_client=None,      # Optional LLM for enhanced processing    llm_model=None        # Model name if using LLM)
Command Line
bash
# Installpip install markitdown
# Convert filemarkitdown document.docx > output.md
# Or with output filemarkitdown document.docx -o output.md

Word Document Conversion

python
from markitdown import MarkItDown
md = MarkItDown()
# Convert Word documentresult = md.convert("report.docx")
# Output preserves:# - Headings (as # headers)# - Bold/italic formatting# - Lists (bulleted and numbered)# - Tables (as markdown tables)# - Hyperlinks
print(result.text_content)

Example Output:

markdown
# Annual Report 2024
## Executive Summary
This report summarizes the key achievements and challenges...
### Key Metrics
| Metric | 2023 | 2024 | Change ||--------|------|------|--------|| Revenue | $10M | $12M | +20% || Users | 50K | 75K | +50% |
## Detailed Analysis
The following sections provide...

Excel Conversion

python
from markitdown import MarkItDown
md = MarkItDown()result = md.convert("data.xlsx")
# Each sheet becomes a section# Data becomes markdown tablesprint(result.text_content)

Example Output:

markdown
## Sheet1
| Name | Department | Salary ||------|------------|--------|| John | Engineering | $80,000 || Jane | Marketing | $75,000 |
## Sheet2
| Product | Q1 | Q2 | Q3 | Q4 ||---------|----|----|----|----|| Widget A | 100 | 120 | 150 | 180 |

PowerPoint Conversion

python
from markitdown import MarkItDown
md = MarkItDown()result = md.convert("presentation.pptx")
# Each slide becomes a section# Speaker notes included if presentprint(result.text_content)

Example Output:

markdown
# Slide 1: Company Overview
Our mission is to...
## Key Points- Innovation first- Customer focused- Global reach
---
# Slide 2: Market Analysis
The market opportunity is significant...
**Notes:** Mention the competitor analysis here

PDF Conversion

python
from markitdown import MarkItDown
md = MarkItDown()result = md.convert("document.pdf")
# Extracts text content# Tables converted where detectedprint(result.text_content)

Image Conversion (with Vision Model)

python
from markitdown import MarkItDownimport anthropic
# Use Claude for image descriptionclient = anthropic.Anthropic()
md = MarkItDown(    llm_client=client,    llm_model="claude-sonnet-4-20250514")
result = md.convert("diagram.png")print(result.text_content)
# Output: Description of the image content

Batch Conversion

python
from markitdown import MarkItDownfrom pathlib import Path
def batch_convert(input_dir, output_dir):    """Convert all Office files to Markdown."""    md = MarkItDown()    input_path = Path(input_dir)    output_path = Path(output_dir)    output_path.mkdir(exist_ok=True)        extensions = ['.docx', '.xlsx', '.pptx', '.pdf']        for ext in extensions:        for file in input_path.glob(f'*{ext}'):            try:                result = md.convert(str(file))                output_file = output_path / f"{file.stem}.md"                                with open(output_file, 'w') as f:                    f.write(result.text_content)                                print(f"Converted: {file.name}")            except Exception as e:                print(f"Error converting {file.name}: {e}")
batch_convert('./documents', './markdown')

Best Practices

  1. Check Output Quality: Review converted Markdown for accuracy
  2. Handle Tables: Complex tables may need manual adjustment
  3. Preserve Structure: Use consistent heading levels in source docs
  4. Image Handling: Consider using vision models for important images
  5. Version Control: Store converted Markdown in Git for tracking

Common Patterns

Document Archive

python
import osfrom datetime import datetimefrom markitdown import MarkItDown
def archive_document(doc_path, archive_dir):    """Convert and archive Office document to Markdown."""    md = MarkItDown()    result = md.convert(doc_path)        # Create archive structure    date_str = datetime.now().strftime('%Y-%m-%d')    filename = os.path.basename(doc_path)    base_name = os.path.splitext(filename)[0]        # Save with metadata    output_content = f"""---source: {filename}converted: {date_str}---
{result.text_content}"""        output_path = os.path.join(archive_dir, f"{base_name}.md")    with open(output_path, 'w') as f:        f.write(output_content)        return output_path

AI-Ready Corpus

python
from markitdown import MarkItDownfrom pathlib import Pathimport json
def create_ai_corpus(doc_folder, output_file):    """Convert documents to JSON corpus for AI training/RAG."""    md = MarkItDown()    corpus = []        for doc in Path(doc_folder).glob('**/*'):        if doc.suffix in ['.docx', '.pdf', '.pptx', '.xlsx']:            try:                result = md.convert(str(doc))                corpus.append({                    'source': str(doc),                    'filename': doc.name,                    'content': result.text_content,                    'type': doc.suffix[1:]                })            except Exception as e:                print(f"Skipped {doc.name}: {e}")        with open(output_file, 'w') as f:        json.dump(corpus, f, indent=2)        print(f"Created corpus with {len(corpus)} documents")    return corpus

Examples

Example 1: Convert Documentation Suite

python
from markitdown import MarkItDownfrom pathlib import Path
def convert_docs_to_wiki(docs_folder, wiki_folder):    """Convert all Office docs to markdown wiki structure."""    md = MarkItDown()    docs_path = Path(docs_folder)    wiki_path = Path(wiki_folder)        # Create wiki structure    wiki_path.mkdir(exist_ok=True)        # Create index    index_content = "# Documentation Index\n\n"        for doc in sorted(docs_path.glob('**/*.docx')):        try:            result = md.convert(str(doc))                        # Create relative path in wiki            rel_path = doc.relative_to(docs_path)            output_file = wiki_path / rel_path.with_suffix('.md')            output_file.parent.mkdir(parents=True, exist_ok=True)                        # Write markdown            with open(output_file, 'w') as f:                f.write(result.text_content)                        # Add to index            link = str(rel_path.with_suffix('.md')).replace('\\', '/')            index_content += f"- [{doc.stem}]({link})\n"                        print(f"Converted: {doc.name}")                    except Exception as e:            print(f"Error: {doc.name} - {e}")        # Write index    with open(wiki_path / 'index.md', 'w') as f:        f.write(index_content)
convert_docs_to_wiki('./company_docs', './wiki')

Example 2: Meeting Notes Processor

python
from markitdown import MarkItDownimport refrom datetime import datetime
def process_meeting_notes(pptx_path):    """Extract and structure meeting notes from PowerPoint."""    md = MarkItDown()    result = md.convert(pptx_path)        # Parse the markdown    content = result.text_content        # Extract sections    sections = {        'attendees': [],        'agenda': [],        'decisions': [],        'action_items': []    }        current_section = None        for line in content.split('\n'):        line_lower = line.lower()                if 'attendee' in line_lower or 'participant' in line_lower:            current_section = 'attendees'        elif 'agenda' in line_lower:            current_section = 'agenda'        elif 'decision' in line_lower:            current_section = 'decisions'        elif 'action' in line_lower:            current_section = 'action_items'        elif line.strip().startswith(('-', '*', '•')) and current_section:            sections[current_section].append(line.strip()[1:].strip())        # Generate structured output    output = f"""# Meeting Notes
**Date:** {datetime.now().strftime('%Y-%m-%d')}**Source:** {pptx_path}
## Attendees{chr(10).join('- ' + a for a in sections['attendees'])}
## Agenda{chr(10).join('- ' + a for a in sections['agenda'])}
## Decisions Made{chr(10).join('- ' + d for d in sections['decisions'])}
## Action Items{chr(10).join('- [ ] ' + a for a in sections['action_items'])}"""        return output
notes = process_meeting_notes('team_meeting.pptx')print(notes)

Example 3: Excel to Documentation

python
from markitdown import MarkItDown
def excel_to_data_dictionary(xlsx_path):    """Convert Excel data model to data dictionary documentation."""    md = MarkItDown()    result = md.convert(xlsx_path)        # Add documentation structure    doc = f"""# Data Dictionary
Generated from: `{xlsx_path}`
{result.text_content}
## Usage Notes
- All tables are derived from the source Excel file- Review data types and constraints before use- Contact data team for clarifications
## Change Log
| Date | Change | Author ||------|--------|--------|| {datetime.now().strftime('%Y-%m-%d')} | Initial generation | Auto |"""        return doc
documentation = excel_to_data_dictionary('data_model.xlsx')with open('data_dictionary.md', 'w') as f:    f.write(documentation)

Limitations

  • Complex formatting may be simplified
  • Images are not embedded (use vision model for descriptions)
  • Some table structures may not convert perfectly
  • Track changes in Word are not preserved
  • Comments may not be extracted

Installation

bash
pip install markitdown
# For image/audio processingpip install markitdown[all]
# For specific featurespip install markitdown[images]  # Image OCRpip install markitdown[audio]   # Audio transcription

Resources

Source and attribution

Source:claude-office-skills/skillsinoffice-to-mdat commit9c4c7d5

License: MIT

Content belongs to its original authors. SourceWeft indexes it from a public repository.

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