# PDF Import and Export

Marked can open PDF documents (`.pdf`) directly. Drag a file to Marked or use File Open… (`⌘`+`O`). The document is converted to Markdown for preview and export.

PDF import works best on smaller, text-based PDFs (slides, articles, short reports). Large manuals, books, and scanned documents are supported but often convert slowly or imperfectly — see Limitations below.

Marked is still a preview tool: you do not edit the PDF inside Marked. Use `⌘`+`E` to open the PDF in Preview (or your system default), and Marked refreshes when the file changes on disk.

Contents

- How conversion works
- Cache and live preview
- Export and other features
- Limitations
- Related topics

## How conversion works

PDF import uses the pdf22md library (MIT License; see pdf22md License). Marked runs conversion in the background while showing a short Converting notice.

The converter:

- Extracts text from digital PDFs using PDFKit
- Uses Vision OCR on pages where embedded text is missing (common with scans)
- Detects headings from font size when possible
- Saves images into an `assets` folder next to the generated Markdown

Marked does not enable pdf22md’s optional AI cleanup in the app. Conversion quality depends on how the PDF was created.

## Cache and live preview

Converted Markdown and images are stored under Marked’s Watchers cache (`~/Library/Caches/Marked/Watchers/PDF/`). The original PDF path stays the document source for file watching.

When you save or replace the PDF in another application, Marked detects the change and re-converts automatically (same coalesced reload behavior as RTF and Scrivener).

## Export and other features

After conversion, Marked treats the document like other compiled sources: export, statistics, and most preview features run against the generated Markdown. Image paths in the preview point at cached assets until you export.

## Limitations

Set your expectations accordingly — PDF-to-Markdown is useful, not perfect.

What works well

- Vector and text-based PDFs with real embedded text (exported from Word, Pages, InDesign, etc.)
- Moderate length — a few dozen pages usually convert in reasonable time with good structure

What is unreliable

- OCR (scanned PDFs) — Vision fills in missing text, but accuracy is often poor compared with a dedicated OCR tool; expect typos, broken words, and missed columns
- Tables — layout is guessed from text positions; merged cells, nested tables, and complex grids rarely survive as clean Markdown tables
- Image placement — figures are extracted to `assets/`, but alignment, captions, and text wrap around images are not preserved reliably

Size and performance

- Large PDFs (user guides, textbooks, long manuals) may take a very long time to convert, use substantial memory, or fail to produce useful Markdown. Marked stays responsive while conversion runs in the background, but there is no guarantee a 500-page manual will finish successfully
- If conversion completes with little or no content, Marked shows an error rather than leaving a blank preview

Other limits

- Password-protected PDFs are not supported in v1
- Embedded PDF images in Markdown (`[]()` referencing a `.pdf` file) are unrelated to PDF import — only opening a `.pdf` as the main document triggers conversion

For Word documents, use Working with DOCX. For Rich Text, use RTF and RTFD Support.

## Related topics

- Opening Files — drag and drop, Open Recent, clipboard
- Exporting — save HTML, PDF, DOCX, and Markdown from the preview
- pdf22md License — third-party MIT license text

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