Convert PowerPoint Presentations to Markdown in PHP

Overview

Aspose.Slides for PHP via Java enables conversion of presentation content to Markdown, letting you repurpose PowerPoint (PPT, PPTX) and OpenDocument (ODP) files for wikis, Git repositories, and static‑site generators. The API preserves slide hierarchy while producing lightweight, human‑readable Markdown, so you can automate documentation pipelines and keep source presentations and Markdown files in perfect sync.

Support for PowerPoint‑to‑Markdown conversion was implemented in Aspose.Slides 23.7.

Convert a Presentation to Markdown

This section explains how Aspose.Slides converts PowerPoint and OpenDocument presentations (PPT, PPTX, ODP) into clean Markdown, keeping the original slide hierarchy, text, and core formatting intact so you can reuse the content in documentation or version‑controlled workflows without extra manual effort.

1. Create an instance of the Presentation class to represent the presentation.
2. Use the save method to export it as a Markdown file.

This PHP code shows how to convert a PowerPoint presentation to Markdown:

$presentation = new Presentation("presentation.pptx");
try {
    $presentation->save("presentation.md", SaveFormat::Md);
} finally {
    $presentation->dispose();
}

Convert a Presentation to Markdown Flavor

Aspose.Slides lets you convert PowerPoint presentations to Markdown with basic syntax, as well as to CommonMark, GitHub‑flavored Markdown, Trello, XWiki, GitLab, and seventeen other Markdown flavors.

The following PHP code demonstrates how to convert a PowerPoint presentation to CommonMark:

$presentation = new Presentation("presentation.pptx");
try {
    $saveOptions = new MarkdownSaveOptions();
    $saveOptions->setFlavor(Flavor->CommonMark);

    $presentation->save("presentation.md", SaveFormat::Md, $saveOptions);
} finally {
    $presentation->dispose();
}

The 23 supported Markdown flavors are listed in the Flavor enumeration.

Convert a Presentation Containing Images to Markdown

The MarkdownSaveOptions class exposes properties and enumerations that let you configure the resulting Markdown file. For example, the MarkdownExportType enumeration specifies how images are handled: Sequential, TextOnly, or Visual.

By default, PowerPoint‑to‑Markdown export does not include images. To embed images, call markdownSaveOptions.setExportType(MarkdownExportType::Visual) and set the BasePath that specifies where the images referenced in the Markdown file will be saved.

Convert Images Sequentially

If you want the images to appear individually, one after the other, in the resulting Markdown, you must choose the Sequential option. The following PHP code shows how to convert a presentation containing images to Markdown:

$presentation = new Presentation("presentation.pptx");
try {
    $saveOptions = new MarkdownSaveOptions();
    $saveOptions->setShowHiddenSlides(true);
    $saveOptions->setShowSlideNumber(true);
    $saveOptions->setFlavor(Flavor->Github);
    $saveOptions->setExportType(MarkdownExportType::Sequential);
    $saveOptions->setNewLineType(NewLineType::Windows);

    $slideIndices = array(1, 2, 3, 4);
    $presentation->save("presentation.md", $slideIndices, SaveFormat::Md, $saveOptions);
} finally {
    $presentation->dispose();
}

Convert Images Visually

If you want the images to appear together in the resulting Markdown, you must choose the Visual option. In this case, the images are saved to the application’s current directory (and a relative path is generated for them in the Markdown document), or you can specify your preferred directory and folder name.

The following PHP code demonstrates the operation:

$presentation = new Presentation("presentation.pptx");
try {
    $outPath = "c:/documents";

    $saveOptions = new MarkdownSaveOptions();
    $saveOptions->setExportType(MarkdownExportType::Visual);
    $saveOptions->setImagesSaveFolderName("md-images");
    $saveOptions->setBasePath($outPath);

    $presentation->save("presentation.md", SaveFormat::Md, $saveOptions);
} finally {
    $presentation->dispose();
}

FAQs

What happens to additional slide layouts and master slides?

Layouts and master slides themselves are not exported: only the final content of each slide is written to Markdown, so background or placeholder elements appear merely as ordinary text or images where applicable.

Are animations and slide transitions preserved?

No. Because Markdown is a static format, animations, triggers, and transitions are omitted, leaving a linear text document with any embedded images in place.

Can hidden slides be included when exporting to Markdown?

Yes. By default, hidden slides are skipped. Enable the dedicated option in the save settings to include them, and the text and images from those slides will be inserted into the output document in their original sequence.