PDF to Markdown Conversion Using Syncfusion Web API

5 Aug 20264 minutes to read

The Syncfusion PDF to Markdown Web API converts PDF documents into well-structured Markdown files while preserving the logical flow and readability of the content. It accurately extracts text, headings, tables, lists, and other structured document elements for seamless content conversion.

The API is useful for content migration, documentation generation, knowledge management systems, search indexing, and AI-powered document processing workflows.

Convert PDF to Markdown

To convert a PDF document to Markdown format, send a request to the /v1/conversion/pdf-to-markdown endpoint with the PDF document and conversion settings in the request body.

curl --location 'http://localhost:8003/v1/conversion/pdf-to-markdown' \
--form 'file=@Input1.pdf' \
--form 'settings={
  "File": "file"
}'
const formdata = new FormData();
formdata.append("file", fileInput.files[0], "Input1.pdf");
formdata.append(
  "settings",
  JSON.stringify({
    File: "file"      
  })
);

const requestOptions = {
  method: "POST",
  body: formdata,
  redirect: "follow"
};

fetch("http://localhost:8003/v1/conversion/pdf-to-markdown", requestOptions)
  .then((response) => response.text())
  .then((result) => console.log(result))
  .catch((error) => console.error(error));
var client = new HttpClient();
var request = new HttpRequestMessage(HttpMethod.Post, "http://localhost:8003/v1/conversion/pdf-to-markdown");
var content = new MultipartFormDataContent();
content.Add(new StreamContent(File.OpenRead("Input1.pdf")), "file", "Input1.pdf");
var settings = new
{
    File = "file",             
};

var json = JsonSerializer.Serialize(settings);
var settingsContent = new StringContent(json, Encoding.UTF8, "application/json");
content.Add(settingsContent, "settings");
request.Content = content;

var response = await client.SendAsync(request);
response.EnsureSuccessStatusCode();
Console.WriteLine(await response.Content.ReadAsStringAsync());

PDF to Markdown Settings

File

Specifies the form field key name of the uploaded PDF file to be converted to Markdown.

Password

Specifies the password required to open a protected PDF document before converting it to Markdown.

PDF to Markdown Job Response

Once the request is sent, a conversion job is created, and the API returns the job details as shown below.

{
    "jobID": "6be827c5-d86d-4fe5-9bd5-c8fd5887a455",
    "status": "requested",
    "createdAt": "2024-05-06T09:39:13.9505828Z"
}

Check PDF to Markdown Job Status

After submitting the conversion request, use the job ID to check the conversion status by sending a request to the /v1/conversion/status/{jobID} endpoint.

curl --location 'http://localhost:8003/v1/conversion/status/7d0b62cd-c5a1-4035-9728-50c4efd1f0e1' \
  --output Output.md
const requestOptions = {
  method: "GET",
  redirect: "follow"
};

fetch("http://localhost:8003/v1/conversion/status/4413bbb5-6b26-4c07-9af2-c26cd2c42fe3", requestOptions)
  .then((response) => response.text())
  .then((result) => console.log(result))
  .catch((error) => console.error(error));
var client = new HttpClient();
var request = new HttpRequestMessage(HttpMethod.Get, "http://localhost:8003/v1/conversion/status/ef0766ab-bc74-456c-8143-782e730a89df");
var response = await client.SendAsync(request);
response.EnsureSuccessStatusCode();
Console.WriteLine(await response.Content.ReadAsStringAsync());

You will receive one of the following job statuses while the conversion is in progress. When the job completed successfully, the generated Markdown file is returned.

Job Statuses:

  • Queued:
{
    "jobID": "4b2782b2-9f08-478b-98fc-4464bd219ca0",
    "status": "queued"
}
  • In Progress:
{
    "jobID": "ef0766ab-bc74-456c-8143-782e730a89df",
    "status": "in progress"
}
  • Error:
{
    "jobID": "ef0766ab-bc74-456c-8143-782e730a89df",
    "status": "error",
    "code": "500",
    "message": "Failed to convert the document to Markdown"        
}

NOTE

The Syncfusion Document Processing APIs are available as Docker-based services for simplified deployment and scalability. Try them from Docker Hub