Convert Markdown to Word and Word to Markdown in Python: Quickly and Easily

Markdown, a lightweight markup language, is ideal for online publishing and widely supported by text editors. Word documents, however, excel in creating professional, polished reports. Often, you may need to switch between these two formats—like turning Markdown notes into a ready-to-read Word report or simplifying a Word document for easier sharing. Python makes it easy to convert Markdown to Word and Word to Markdown, saving time and effort. This guide provides step-by-step instructions and code examples to streamline your workflow and handle conversions quickly and efficiently.

Python Library to Convert Between Markdown and Word Doc

Speaking of Python libraries, Spire.Doc for Python, Aspose.Words for Python via .NET, and python-docx of PyPI may come across your mind. These third-party libraries make conversion between Markdown and Word more easily than just Python alone. Among them, Spire.Doc (short for Spire.Doc for Python) stands out for its easy-to-understand APIs and timely technical support. You can install it using the pip command: pip install Spire.Doc.

Markdown vs Word: Choosing the Right Format for Your Documents

Markdown

Markdown, according to Wikipedia, is a lightweight markup language used to create formatted text with a plain-text editor. It allows you to apply simple formatting, such as bold, italics, tables, and links, using easy-to-remember syntax. Markdown files are compatible with many text editors and can be converted into various formats, including HTML and PDF. Its simplicity makes it ideal for data storage since it relies solely on plain text.

Word Documents

A Word document is a file created by Microsoft Word, widely used for creating and editing text-based content. Word supports advanced features such as precise layout, integration of graphics, tables, mathematical formulas, and more. It's versatile for document creation, and its content can be easily exported to other formats like PDF, text, or HTML for sharing and printing.

In comparison, Markdown is an excellent choice for quick note-taking, collaboration, or simple documents, while Word excels for complex layouts and professional, formal documents.

2 Steps to Convert Markdown to Word in Python

After viewing the preparation part above, it is time to talk about the main topic, converting Markdown to Word documents. With the help of Spire.Doc, you only need two main steps to finish the task: loading a Markdown file and saving it as a Word file. Let’s take a closer look.

Steps to convert Markdown to Word documents:

• Create an instance of the Document class.

• Load a Markdown file using the Document.LoadFromFile() method.

• Save the file as a Word document through the Document.SaveToFile() method.

Below is the code example of converting a Markdown file to a Word file:

from spire.doc import *
from spire.doc.common import *

# Create a Document object
document = Document()

# Load a Markdown file
document.LoadFromFile("/sample.md")

# Save the file as Word document
document.SaveToFile("/MDToWord.docx", FileFormat.Docx2016)

# Close the document
document.Close()

Quickly Convert Word Doc to Markdown Using Python

Like the conversion from Markdown to Word doc, converting Word documents to Markdown only needs two main steps as well. Check out the detailed steps and the practical code example below and see how it works.

Steps to convert Word doc to Markdown:

• Create a Document object.

• Read a Word document from files through the Document.LoadFromFile() method.

• Save the Word file as a Markdown file with the Document.SaveToFile() method.

Here is an example of converting a Word document to a Markdown file:

from spire.doc import *
from spire.doc.common import *

# Create an object of the Document class
document = Document()
# Load a Word DOCX file
document.LoadFromFile("/AI-Generated Art.docx")

# Save the Word file to a Markdown file
document.SaveToFile("/WordToMarkdown.md", FileFormat.Markdown)

document.Close()

The Conclusion

This page explains how to use Python to convert Markdown to Word and Word to Markdown. It also provides a comparison between the two formats to help you understand their differences. With clear, step-by-step instructions and code examples, you'll see that the conversion process is fast and straightforward!