Markdown slides: how to turn Markdown into PowerPoint or PDF
Markdown slides are slides written as plain text. A line that starts with ## begins a new slide, and the lines under it are what goes on that slide. You can write a whole deck in any text editor and keep it with the rest of your notes.
OpenSlides takes you from Markdown to slides in your browser. It picks a layout for every slide, so a list of figures becomes a bar chart and a list of months becomes a timeline. When the deck is ready, you can export it as a PowerPoint file or a PDF. It is free, and you do not need an account.
The short answer
Open the OpenSlides studio and choose New deck, then Start from your notes, no structure. Paste your Markdown or click Load a .md or .txt file. Click Plan it, choose a look and click Build the deck. Then use File → Export PowerPoint or File → Export PDF.
Step 1: Write the Markdown
Start with a # line. It becomes the title of the deck and its first slide. Then give each slide a ## heading. You do not need --- between slides, because every ## heading starts a new one.
What sits under a heading decides the kind of slide:
- Bullets become a list of points.
- A numbered list becomes a set of steps.
- Bullets written as "Label: number" become a bar chart.
- Bullets that start with a month, such as "October:", become a timeline.
- A line that starts with > becomes a quote. Add a second line such as "> — The club handbook" to name the source.
- A last section called "Next steps" becomes the closing slide.
Keep each point to one short line. This guide uses a book club's autumn plan:
# Riverside Book Club: autumn plan
## Reading list
- A novel set in a fishing town
- A short history of maps
- A collection of winter stories
## How a meeting works
1. Read the agreed chapters at home
2. Bring one question for the group
3. Vote on the next book before we leave
## Votes for next season
- Fiction: 14
- History: 9
- Poetry: 5
- Travel: 7
## Meeting dates
- October: the fishing town novel
- November: the history of maps
- December: winter stories and tea
## Our one rule
> Finish the chapter, then say what you think.
> — The club handbook
## Next steps
- Book the library room
- Send the reading list to new membersStep 2: Paste it into the studio
- Open the studio. On the start screen, choose New deck.
- Under "What are you making?", choose Start from your notes, no structure.
- Fill in What is it for?. The Plan it button stays grey until this field has text in it.
- Paste your Markdown into Your notes or document, or click Load a .md or .txt file and pick the file.
- Check Length. It starts at 8 slides and rises by itself when your Markdown has more headings, up to 20. If there are more sections than that, the plan names the ones that did not fit and offers Add them back.
Step 3: Check the plan and build the deck
Click Plan it. You get one card per slide, and each card shows its type. The sample gives eight: Title, Agenda, Points, Steps, Chart, Timeline, Quote and Closing. The studio added the agenda, "What we will cover.", on its own.
Click Choose a look. The same outline is drawn four ways: Solstice, Editorial, Swiss and Aurora. Select one and click Build the deck. A message confirms the result: "Built 8 slides — one step to undo."
Click through the slides before you export, and double-click any text to change it. Present shows the deck full screen, and Esc brings you back.
The box under the slide shows its speaker notes: the Markdown section the slide came from.
Step 4: Export to PowerPoint
Choose File → Export PowerPoint. The browser downloads a .pptx file named after the deck, in this case riverside-book-club-autumn-plan.pptx.
The sample came out as eight widescreen (16:9) slides. Inside the file:
- Headings and points are text boxes, not pictures.
- Charts, timelines and quotes are placed as pictures.
- Each slide keeps its speaker notes.
- The transitions between slides are kept. Effects on text and charts do not play, so each element shows its final state.
Edits you make in the studio go into the file too.
Step 5: Export to PDF
Choose File → Export PDF. You get one page per slide, and each page is an image of the slide as it looks in the studio. Send the PDF when people only need to read or print the deck, and the .pptx when someone needs to change the text.
Keep the Markdown as your source
The same Markdown gives the same plan every time, so your .md file is a good home for the deck's content. When the content changes, edit the file and build the deck again.
The studio also saves the deck in your browser as you work. To keep a copy of the designed deck, choose File → Save as .openslides.zip.
To make the slides move before you present them, see how to make an animated presentation. For every rule the studio uses to split notes into slides, see your first deck needs no AI key.
Your Markdown stays in your browser
Planning, building and exporting happen in the browser tab. Your Markdown and the deck stay in this browser's own storage and are not uploaded.
FAQ
Can I convert Markdown to PowerPoint for free?
Yes. Without AI, OpenSlides is free and needs no account. Build the deck from your Markdown and choose File → Export PowerPoint.
Can I open a .md file instead of pasting?
Yes. Click Load a .md or .txt file in step 2. The file's text appears in Your notes or document, ready to plan.
How many slides can one Markdown file make?
The Length setting goes up to 20. If your Markdown has more sections, the plan lists the extra ones, and Add them back puts them into the plan.
Do the animations carry over to PowerPoint?
No. Transitions between slides are kept, but effects on text and charts do not play. To show the motion, present from the studio.