Converting office files to Markdown and back with MarkAny

I receive a vast array of files, from PDFs, Word documents, Excel spreadsheets, PowerPoint presentations, HTML pages, EPUB files, and photographs of whiteboards. The task of editing these various formats into structured Markdown used to be a laborious process. MarkAny simplifies this by batch-converting these formats into Markdown, while also allowing Markdown to be exported back into common file formats. It even features text recognition, allowing me to convert a picture of a page into structured text.

For instance, a PDF containing specifications is transformed into properly formatted headings and code fences that I can easily diff. A slide deck is converted into a separate section for each slide, making editing far simpler than dealing with embedded text boxes. A spreadsheet is converted into a table that I can review through a plain-text diff.

An EPUB or HTML page is consolidated into a single note. Even a photograph of a whiteboard is converted into text that I can correct, rather than a file that is essentially inaccessible.

Instead of converting each file individually, I take advantage of the batch function. I simply drop a folder of files into MarkAny, let the batch process complete, and then open the converted Markdown. I then make any necessary adjustments to the textual recognition where it may have faltered, such as merging columns, identifying headers that should be in the body text, and repairing tables that have lost a cell.

When the note is ready, I may need to convert it back into a Word file or a slide deck for someone who may not be able to open Markdown. Exporting from the cleaned Markdown is more convenient than editing the original binary. The trust lies in the Markdown copy I create.

However, there are certain limitations. Text recognition on handwriting is more of a draft than a final record and every line that comes from a photo requires my personal review. Scanned tables with merged cells often necessitate a manual rebuild. While MarkAny removes the retyping effort, it does not remove the need for proofreading, and for anything I plan to publish, this proofreading step remains critical.