2 Open-Source Tools: Markdown to PDF/PPT – Quarkdown & Slidev

01 A Powerful Enhanced Markdown Typesetting Tool

This is a tool that equips Markdown with typesetting and programming capabilities.

Markdown is simple and easy to use, ideal for quick note-taking, but its typesetting ability is very limited, making it cumbersome to create complex papers or PPTs.

LaTeX, used for writing papers, offers exquisite typesetting and powerful functions, yet its syntax is overly complex, making writing feel like coding.

Quarkdown sits between Markdown and LaTeX. It retains Markdown’s readability while introducing logic control and typesetting functions similar to those of programming languages.

The core of Quarkdown lies in treating Markdown as a programmable source file. It not only converts text to HTML but also has a built-in Turing-complete scripting system.

In regular Markdown, you can only perform basic operations like bolding and italicizing text.

However, in Quarkdown, you can use variables, conditional judgments, loops, and even define functions.

Documents written with Quarkdown (with the .qd suffix) can be compiled into multiple target formats.

For knowledge bases or personal websites, it can generate continuously flowing HTML pages, similar to the display effects of Notion or Obsidian.

For academic papers or books, it supports paginated layouts in combination with paged.js. You can control headers, footers, and page numbers, ultimately outputting neatly typeset PDFs.

For technical sharing or speeches, it can directly generate slides based on reveal.js.

You don’t need to switch back and forth between PowerPoint and Markdown; simply mark page breaks in the source file to turn the document into a presentation.

Quarkdown is a typesetting system that strives to balance usability and functionality.

It is suitable for users who love Markdown’s simplicity but are frustrated by its limited typesetting capabilities. If you want to write books, papers, or slides in a coding-like way, this project is worth a try.

Open-Source Link: https://github.com/iamgio/quarkdown

02 Create PPTs with Markdown

Slidev is a PPT tool specifically designed for programmers, based on Vue 3 and Vite.

You only need to write a Markdown file, and Slidev can render it into a stunning PPT.

The biggest highlight of this tool is its deep integration with developers’ workflows.

Traditional PPT tools often perform poorly when displaying code, usually only supporting screenshots or plain text pasting.

Slidev has a built-in Shiki code highlighting engine, which can present code with the same appearance as in an IDE. Furthermore, its editor supports real-time coding capabilities.

You can directly modify the code on the slides during the presentation, and the audience can immediately see the running results after the code changes.

Interactivity is another key feature that distinguishes Slidev from static slides.

Since Slidev is essentially a Vue application, you can directly use HTML and Vue components in Markdown.

PPTs are no longer just static images and text; you can embed interactive charts, real-time data dashboards, and even complete web applications.

Additionally, Slidev has built-in Mermaid support. You can automatically generate flowcharts, sequence diagrams, and Gantt charts by writing text, eliminating the need to switch back and forth between external drawing tools.

In terms of performance, thanks to Vite’s underlying support, Slidev boasts extremely fast startup and hot update speeds.

The moment you save the Markdown file in the editor, the PPT in the browser updates synchronously without manual refreshing.

Moreover, the presentation mode is thoughtfully designed.

When presenter mode is enabled, you get an independent view to check notes, a timer, and a preview of the next slide, while the audience only sees the current slide.

It even supports remote control via mobile devices, freeing you from being tied to the computer during presentations.

Open-Source Link: https://github.com/slidevjs/slidev