Need to convert your Word document to Markdown for GitHub, or your LaTeX paper to PDF for submission? Document format conversion is a common pain point—different platforms require different formats, and manual conversion often breaks formatting or loses mathematical content.

This comprehensive guide covers 21 document formats and 300+ conversion paths, with special focus on preserving mathematical equations and formatting integrity.

🎯 Try it now: Use our free Document Format Converter to convert between 21 formats including PDF, DOCX, Markdown, HTML, LaTeX, EPUB, ODT, PPTX, Jupyter notebooks, and more—with preserved equations and formatting.

💡 Pro tip: For documents with complex math, convert to LaTeX first (preserves all equations), then to your target format. This ensures mathematical content survives the conversion process.

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Why Document Format Conversion Matters

Common Scenarios

Academic Publishing: Convert LaTeX manuscripts to Word for journal submission systems that don't accept TeX files.

Technical Documentation: Transform Markdown docs to PDF for distribution or HTML for web publication.

Collaboration: Share work with colleagues who use different software (Word users receiving LaTeX files, etc.).

Archiving: Convert proprietary formats (DOCX) to open standards (Markdown, HTML) for long-term preservation.

Web Publishing: Transform academic papers (PDF/LaTeX) to web-friendly formats (HTML, Markdown) for blogs or documentation sites.

Supported Formats

PDF (Portable Document Format)

Use cases: Final distribution, printing, archiving, universal viewing

Pros:

• Universal compatibility
• Preserves exact layout
• Platform-independent
• Professional standard

Cons:

• Difficult to edit
• Large file sizes
• Not ideal for collaboration
• Limited accessibility features

Best for: Final versions, official documents, printed materials

DOCX (Microsoft Word)

Use cases: Collaborative editing, journal submissions, business documents

Pros:

• Track changes support
• Familiar to most users
• Rich formatting options
• Wide adoption

Cons:

• Proprietary format
• Version compatibility issues
• Math support varies
• Large file sizes

Best for: Collaborative writing, journal submissions requiring Word

Markdown

Use cases: Documentation, GitHub repos, static sites, note-taking

Pros:

• Plain text (version control friendly)
• Human-readable
• Future-proof
• Fast to write

Cons:

• Limited formatting options
• Inconsistent math support
• No track changes
• Multiple flavors (CommonMark, GitHub, etc.)

Best for: Technical documentation, README files, static site content

HTML

Use cases: Web publishing, email newsletters, online documentation

Pros:

• Universal web standard
• Rich multimedia support
• Accessibility features
• SEO-friendly

Cons:

• Verbose syntax
• Requires CSS for styling
• Security considerations
• Not print-friendly

Best for: Web content, online documentation, interactive guides

LaTeX

Use cases: Academic papers, books, complex mathematical documents

Pros:

• Professional typesetting
• Superior math support
• Plain text (version control)
• Consistent formatting

Cons:

• Steep learning curve
• Compile step required
• Limited WYSIWYG
• Less collaborative

Best for: Academic publications, technical papers, books with complex math

Additional Supported Formats

Our converter also supports:

E-Books & Publishing:

• EPUB (.epub) - Digital books and publications
• OpenDocument Text (ODT) (.odt) - LibreOffice Writer format

Presentations:

• PowerPoint (PPTX) (.pptx) - Microsoft PowerPoint presentations
• OpenDocument Presentation (ODP) (.odp) - LibreOffice Impress format

Data & Notebooks:

• Jupyter Notebook (IPYNB) (.ipynb) - Data science notebooks with code
• CSV (.csv) - Comma-separated values
• TSV (.tsv) - Tab-separated values
• JSON (.json) - Structured data format
• ODS (.ods) - OpenDocument Spreadsheet

Wiki & Documentation:

• MediaWiki (.wiki) - Wikipedia-style markup
• reStructuredText (RST) (.rst) - Python documentation standard
• DocBook (.dbk, .xml) - Semantic technical documentation

Modern Typesetting:

• Typst (.typ) - Modern LaTeX alternative
• ConTeXt (output only) - Advanced typesetting system

Basic Formats:

• Rich Text Format (RTF) (.rtf) - Universal rich text
• Plain Text (TXT) (.txt) - Unformatted text

Supported Format Conversions

Our Document Converter supports conversion between 21 different formats with 300+ conversion paths. Here's the complete reference:

All Supported Formats (21 Total)

#	Format	Extensions	Input	Output	Best For
1	Markdown	.md, .markdown	✓	✓	Documentation, GitHub, static sites
2	HTML	.html, .htm	✓	✓	Web publishing, online docs
3	LaTeX	.tex, .latex	✓	✓	Academic papers, technical writing
4	Word (DOCX)	.docx	✓	✓	Collaboration, journal submissions
5	PDF	.pdf	—	✓	Final distribution, printing
6	Rich Text (RTF)	.rtf	✓	✓	Cross-platform rich text
7	EPUB	.epub	✓	✓	E-books, digital publishing
8	OpenDocument (ODT)	.odt	✓	✓	LibreOffice, open standards
9	PowerPoint (PPTX)	.pptx	✓	✓	Presentations, slides
10	Plain Text (TXT)	.txt	✓	✓	Basic text, no formatting
11	Jupyter Notebook	.ipynb	✓	✓	Data science, code documentation
12	MediaWiki	.wiki, .mediawiki	✓	✓	Wikipedia, wikis
13	reStructuredText	.rst	✓	✓	Python docs, Sphinx
14	Typst	.typ	✓	✓	Modern academic typesetting
15	OpenDocument Spreadsheet	.ods	✓	✓	Tables, data
16	OpenDocument Presentation	.odp	✓	✓	LibreOffice presentations
17	CSV	.csv	✓	✓	Spreadsheet data
18	TSV	.tsv	✓	✓	Tab-separated data
19	JSON	.json	✓	✓	Structured data
20	DocBook	.dbk, .docbook, .xml	✓	✓	Technical documentation
21	ConTeXt	.context	—	✓	Advanced typesetting

Complete Conversion Matrix

Every format can convert to every other format (except where marked with —). Here's a simplified matrix of the most popular conversions:

From / To	Markdown	HTML	LaTeX	DOCX	PDF	RTF	EPUB	ODT	PPTX	TXT
Markdown	—	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓
HTML	✓	—	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓
LaTeX	✓	✓	—	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓
DOCX	✓	✓	✓	—	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓
RTF	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	—	✓	✓	✓	✓
EPUB	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	—	✓	✓	✓
ODT	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	—	✓	✓
PPTX	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	—	✓
TXT	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	—
IPYNB	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓

Additional formats: MediaWiki, RST, Typst, ODS, ODP, CSV, TSV, JSON, DocBook also support full bidirectional conversion to all formats above.

Popular Conversion Paths (Top 20)

Conversion	Use Case	Math Preservation	Formatting Quality
DOCX → PDF	Final distribution, printing	Perfect	Perfect
PDF → DOCX	Edit published documents	Excellent	Very Good
Markdown → HTML	Static sites, blogs, GitHub Pages	Excellent	Excellent
Markdown → PDF	Documentation distribution	Good	Good
LaTeX → PDF	Academic submission, publication	Perfect	Perfect
LaTeX → DOCX	Journal submission (Word-only)	Excellent	Very Good
LaTeX → HTML	Web publishing research papers	Excellent	Very Good
DOCX → Markdown	Documentation, version control	Good	Good
HTML → PDF	Archiving web content	Good	Good
IPYNB → HTML	Share Jupyter notebooks online	Excellent	Excellent
IPYNB → PDF	Print/archive data science work	Excellent	Very Good
RST → HTML	Sphinx documentation	Excellent	Excellent
MediaWiki → Markdown	Migrate wiki to GitHub	Good	Good
DOCX → ODT	Open format migration	Excellent	Excellent
EPUB → PDF	Print e-books	Good	Good
Typst → PDF	Modern academic typesetting	Excellent	Excellent
CSV → Markdown	Data tables to docs	N/A	Good
JSON → HTML	Data visualization	N/A	Good
PPTX → PDF	Distribute presentations	Very Good	Excellent
DocBook → HTML	Technical documentation publishing	Excellent	Excellent

Conversion Quality by Format Pair

Excellent Preservation (95-100%)

• LaTeX → PDF: Perfect rendering, industry standard
• DOCX → PDF: Near-perfect layout preservation
• Markdown → HTML: Native format relationship
• LaTeX → DOCX: Advanced math equation handling

Very Good Preservation (85-95%)

• PDF → DOCX: Good text and image extraction
• HTML → PDF: Clean rendering with CSS
• DOCX → LaTeX: Reliable conversion with proper styling
• LaTeX → HTML: Mathematical content preserved

Good Preservation (75-85%)

• PDF → Markdown: Text and structure maintained
• DOCX → Markdown: Formatting simplified
• HTML → Markdown: Content extracted cleanly
• Markdown → DOCX: Basic formatting preserved

Fair Preservation (60-75%)

• PDF → LaTeX: OCR-dependent for scanned docs
• Complex layouts: May require manual adjustment

Math Equation Support by Format

Format	Math Input	Math Output	Quality	Notes
LaTeX	✓✓✓	✓✓✓	★★★★★	Native math support, best quality
DOCX	✓✓✓	✓✓✓	★★★★★	Office Math/MathML
HTML	✓✓	✓✓✓	★★★★☆	MathML/MathJax support
Markdown	✓✓	✓✓	★★★★☆	LaTeX math blocks preserved
ODT	✓✓✓	✓✓✓	★★★★★	LibreOffice Math
EPUB	✓✓	✓✓	★★★☆☆	MathML support varies
IPYNB	✓✓✓	✓✓✓	★★★★★	LaTeX math in notebooks
RST	✓✓	✓✓	★★★★☆	Math directive support
Typst	✓✓✓	✓✓✓	★★★★★	Native math mode
PDF	—	✓✓✓	★★★★★	Output only (rendered)
PPTX	✓✓	✓✓	★★★☆☆	Office equation objects
MediaWiki	✓	✓	★★★☆☆	Math extension syntax
DocBook	✓✓	✓✓	★★★★☆	MathML elements
RTF	✓	✓	★★★☆☆	Basic equation support
TXT/CSV/TSV	—	—	—	No math support (plain text)

Legend: ✓✓✓ Excellent | ✓✓ Good | ✓ Basic | — Not applicable

File Format Specifications

Format	Extension	File Type	Typical Size	Compression	Text-Based
Markdown	.md	Plain text	Very Small	GZIP (90%+)	✓
HTML	.html	Plain text	Small	GZIP (80%+)	✓
LaTeX	.tex	Plain text	Small	GZIP (80%+)	✓
TXT	.txt	Plain text	Very Small	GZIP (90%+)	✓
RST	.rst	Plain text	Small	GZIP (85%+)	✓
MediaWiki	.wiki	Plain text	Small	GZIP (85%+)	✓
Typst	.typ	Plain text	Small	GZIP (80%+)	✓
JSON	.json	Plain text	Small	GZIP (80%+)	✓
CSV	.csv	Plain text	Very Small	GZIP (90%+)	✓
TSV	.tsv	Plain text	Very Small	GZIP (90%+)	✓
DOCX	.docx	ZIP archive	Medium-Large	Pre-compressed	—
ODT	.odt	ZIP archive	Medium	Pre-compressed	—
PPTX	.pptx	ZIP archive	Large	Pre-compressed	—
ODP	.odp	ZIP archive	Medium	Pre-compressed	—
EPUB	.epub	ZIP archive	Medium	Pre-compressed	—
PDF	.pdf	Binary	Medium-Large	Built-in	—
RTF	.rtf	Binary	Medium	Poor	—
IPYNB	.ipynb	JSON	Small	GZIP (80%+)	✓
DocBook	.xml	XML	Medium	GZIP (75%+)	✓
ODS	.ods	ZIP archive	Medium	Pre-compressed	—

Note: Text-based formats (✓) are version-control friendly and human-readable

Common Conversion Scenarios

Markdown to PDF

Why: Create polished, shareable versions of documentation

Conversion quality: ★★★★★ (Excellent)

What's preserved:

• Headers and structure
• Lists and emphasis
• Code blocks
• Links (as footnotes)

Watch out for:

• Math equations (use LaTeX math blocks)
• Custom styling (limited control)
• Image sizing (auto-scaled)

Best practices:

1. Use standard Markdown syntax
2. Include front matter for metadata
3. Test with sample before bulk conversion
4. Specify page size if needed

Word to Markdown

Why: Move Word docs to version control, GitHub, or static sites

Conversion quality: ★★★★☆ (Good to Excellent)

What's preserved:

• Text content
• Basic formatting (bold, italic)
• Headers (h1-h6)
• Lists
• Tables (as Markdown tables)

Watch out for:

• Complex formatting (lost)
• Embedded fonts (not converted)
• Precise spacing (adjusted)
• Custom styles (simplified)

Best practices:

1. Simplify Word doc first (remove custom styles)
2. Use heading styles correctly
3. Check for equations (may need manual LaTeX conversion)
4. Review and clean up output

LaTeX to PDF

Why: Generate final publication-ready document

Conversion quality: ★★★★★ (Excellent—native output)

What's preserved:

• Everything (PDF is LaTeX's native output format)
• Mathematical equations
• Bibliography
• Cross-references
• Custom formatting

Best practices:

1. Compile twice for cross-references
2. Include all figure files
3. Use standard document classes
4. Test with different PDF viewers

LaTeX to Word

Why: Journal submission requirements, non-LaTeX collaborators

Conversion quality: ★★★☆☆ (Moderate—depends on LaTeX complexity)

What's preserved:

• Text content
• Basic structure
• Simple equations (as Word equations)
• References

Watch out for:

• Custom macros (not converted)
• Complex packages (may break)
• Precise layouts (simplified)
• BibTeX (requires separate processing)

Best practices:

1. Use standard LaTeX commands
2. Minimize custom macros
3. Separate front matter/back matter
4. Review all equations in Word

HTML to Markdown

Why: Create documentation from web content, simplify markup

Conversion quality: ★★★★☆ (Good)

What's preserved:

• Text content
• Headers
• Links
• Lists
• Basic emphasis

Watch out for:

• CSS styling (lost)
• Complex layouts (simplified)
• JavaScript content (stripped)
• Embedded media (links only)

Best practices:

1. Clean HTML first (remove scripts, styles)
2. Use semantic HTML
3. Check relative vs. absolute links
4. Test rendered output

PDF to Markdown/Word

Why: Extract content from PDFs for editing

Conversion quality: ★★☆☆☆ (Poor to Moderate—depends on PDF source)

What's preserved:

• Text content (if not scanned)
• Basic structure (if well-formed)

Watch out for:

• Scanned PDFs (need OCR)
• Multi-column layouts (may scramble)
• Equations (often lost or mangled)
• Tables (may break)
• Page numbers, headers/footers (included as text)

Best practices:

1. Use high-quality source PDFs
2. Expect manual cleanup
3. OCR scanned PDFs first
4. Extract text selectively, not whole document

Preserving Mathematical Content

LaTeX Math in Markdown

Most Markdown processors support LaTeX math:

Inline math:

The equation $E = mc^2$ shows...

Display math:

$$
\int_{0}^{\infty} e^{-x^2} dx = \frac{\sqrt{\pi}}{2}
$$

Word Equation Objects

Microsoft Word has native equation editor:

• Word 2010+: Insert → Equation
• LaTeX-like syntax (limited)
• Convert to MathML internally
• May not survive conversion to other formats

HTML/MathML

For web documents:

<math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML">
  <mrow>
    <mi>E</mi><mo>=</mo><mi>m</mi><msup><mi>c</mi><mn>2</mn></msup>
  </mrow>
</math>

Or use MathJax for LaTeX rendering:

<script src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/npm/mathjax@3/es5/tex-mml-chtml.js"></script>
<p>\(E = mc^2\)</p>

Conversion Best Practices

Before Converting

1. Clean up source document:

• Remove unnecessary formatting
• Standardize styles
• Fix broken cross-references
• Update outdated content

2. Back up originals:

• Keep unmodified copies
• Version control if possible
• Document conversion settings

3. Choose appropriate format:

• Consider end use
• Think about future editing needs
• Factor in recipient capabilities

During Conversion

1. Use appropriate tools:

• Purpose-built converters (like ours)
• Not generic "save as" functions
• Validate with test documents first

2. Monitor conversion:

• Check for errors/warnings
• Review output immediately
• Compare side-by-side with source

3. Preserve metadata:

• Author information
• Title and description
• Creation/modification dates
• Copyright notices

After Converting

1. Thoroughly review:

• Check all sections
• Verify equations and figures
• Test all links
• Confirm formatting

2. Test compatibility:

• Open in target applications
• Check on different devices
• Verify with colleagues

3. Document changes:

• Note what was modified
• Record conversion settings used
• Keep conversion log

Troubleshooting Common Issues

Lost Formatting

Problem: Converted document looks nothing like original Solution:

• Simplify source formatting
• Use semantic markup (headers, emphasis)
• Avoid complex layouts
• Consider two-step conversion (source → intermediate → target)

Broken Equations

Problem: Math displays as raw code or symbols Solution:

• Ensure source uses standard LaTeX math
• Check target format supports math
• Use compatible equation formats
• Convert math to images if necessary

Mangled Tables

Problem: Table structure corrupted Solution:

• Use simple table layouts
• Avoid merged cells when possible
• Convert complex tables to images
• Manually rebuild in target format

File Size Bloat

Problem: Converted file is much larger Solution:

• Compress embedded images
• Remove hidden data
• Simplify formatting
• Use appropriate format (SVG vs PNG)

Encoding Issues

Problem: Special characters display incorrectly Solution:

• Use UTF-8 encoding throughout
• Avoid platform-specific characters
• Test with sample characters
• Use Unicode equivalents

Format Selection Guide

Choose PDF when:

• ✅ Distributing final versions
• ✅ Preserving exact layout is critical
• ✅ Recipients only need to view
• ✅ Printing professionally

Choose DOCX when:

• ✅ Collaborating with others
• ✅ Journal requires Word format
• ✅ Using track changes
• ✅ Complex formatting needed

Choose Markdown when:

• ✅ Writing documentation
• ✅ Using version control
• ✅ Publishing to static site generators
• ✅ Prioritizing readability

Choose HTML when:

• ✅ Publishing on the web
• ✅ Need interactive elements
• ✅ Require SEO optimization
• ✅ Accessibility is priority

Choose LaTeX when:

• ✅ Writing academic papers
• ✅ Complex mathematical content
• ✅ Precise typesetting needed
• ✅ Publishing in journals that accept LaTeX

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I convert scanned PDFs?

Scanned PDFs require OCR (Optical Character Recognition) first. Our converter works best with "born-digital" documents that have selectable text.

Will my formatting be preserved exactly?

Exact preservation depends on format compatibility. Conversions between similar formats (Markdown ↔ HTML) preserve more than distant ones (PDF → Markdown).

How do I handle bibliography/citations?

• LaTeX to Word: Use Pandoc with citation support
• Word to Markdown: Convert to plain text, use Markdown citation syntax
• Markdown to PDF: Use citation managers like Pandoc-citeproc

What about images and figures?

Images are handled based on conversion:

• Embedded images: Extracted and linked
• Vector graphics: May rasterize during conversion
• Complex figures: Consider extracting manually

Can I batch convert multiple files?

Currently, one file at a time for quality control. For batch conversion:

1. Test with representative sample
2. Document settings that work
3. Convert systematically
4. Validate each output

Are my documents private?

All conversions happen securely. Documents are processed and immediately discarded—never stored or shared.

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Start Converting Documents

Stop wrestling with incompatible document formats. Our Document Format Converter handles PDF, Word, Markdown, HTML, and LaTeX with preserved formatting and mathematical content.

Key features:

• ✅ Multiple format support
• ✅ Math equation preservation
• ✅ Structure integrity
• ✅ Instant conversion
• ✅ No software installation
• ✅ Free forever

Convert Documents →

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Need more conversion tools? Check out our Math Format Converter for LaTeX/MathML/AsciiMath conversion and Math to Image Converter for equation graphics.

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Have questions about document conversion? Contact us or explore our complete toolset.