Write once in Markdown, export a PDF and a PowerPoint

By Uxair Ijaz · 2026-10-22 · 2 min read

Markdown lets you write formatted documents in plain text: # for a heading, - for a bullet, **bold** for bold. Because the content is just text, the same file can become a polished PDF and a slide deck.

The Markdown you need

# Quarterly review

A short summary paragraph with **bold** and *italic* text.

## Highlights

- Revenue up 18%
- Two new markets
- Churn down to 2.1%

| Region | Sales |
| ------ | ----- |
| North  | 120k  |
| South  | 95k   |

> A quote or key takeaway.

That is enough for most documents. The editor's formatting bar inserts the syntax for you if you prefer clicking.

Making a PDF

1. Open Markdown to PDF and paste or write your text.
2. Pick a layout. Report adds a coloured title band and numbered sections; Magazine sets the text in two columns with a drop cap; Academic is quiet and serif; Minimal is all whitespace.
3. Pick a palette and a font. Ten colour palettes work with every layout.
4. Turn on Contents for a clickable table of contents, and Page numbers.
5. Choose page breaks if each top-level section should start a new page.
6. Click Save as PDF. The file is named after your first heading.

Making slides

1. Open Markdown to PowerPoint and paste the same text.
2. Slides split at each # or ## heading, or wherever you put a line with ---. The first slide becomes a title slide.
3. Pick a layout: Band puts the title in a colour bar, Sidebar adds a side panel, Cards turns short bullet lists into a grid of cards.
4. Choose a palette, a light, tinted or dark style, a font and 16:9 or 4:3.
5. Start a paragraph with Note: to make it speaker notes.
6. Download a real .pptx to keep editing in PowerPoint, Keynote or Google Slides, or a PDF with one slide per page.

Writing tips for both

• One idea per section. Short sections read better in a PDF and fit on a slide.
• Five bullets or fewer per slide; move the detail into speaker notes.
• Use tables for numbers, not long sentences.
• Keep the source. Your Markdown file is the master copy; regenerate the PDF and deck whenever it changes.