To convert a ZIP, 7z or RAR archive to Markdown on Windows, add the archive to MD Factory as you would a document. There is no unpacking step. MD Factory saves a folder named after the archive next to it, with one Markdown file for each supported document inside.

This suits a client delivery, a downloaded set of reports or a course saved as one file. The archive stays closed, and you get the contents as Markdown you can search and read.

Cardboard archive boxes, one open with folders inside, beside a laptop on a dark desk.
Convert the contents without opening the box first.

Convert an archive

  1. Open MD Factory and add one or more archives. You can also drag them onto the window.
  2. Conversion starts right away. Each archive is one row in the list, whatever it contains.
  3. When the row shows its status, open the result folder next to the archive.

MD Factory reads ZIP, 7Z and RAR archives, including both RAR4 and RAR5. If you have many archives in one folder, add the folder instead. That works as described in our guide to converting a folder of documents.

The archive itself is not changed. Nothing is unpacked into your own folders; the only thing MD Factory adds is the result folder.

Where the results go

The result folder sits next to the archive and has the archive's name without the extension. Inside it, the folders of the archive are repeated, and each supported document has its own Markdown file:

Delivery/
  report.zip
  report/
    summary.md
    finance/
      budget.md

Here report.zip held a summary and a finance folder with a budget. If you keep the converted notes, move the whole result folder and not only the .md files.

The documents are converted the same way as single files. The guides for PDF and Word files describe what to expect from each format.

Files that cannot be converted

An archive often holds more than documents: program files, videos, a stray .DS_Store. MD Factory does not make Markdown for these. It reports them, and the archive gets the status Needs review.

Needs review here does not mean the conversion failed. The documents that could be converted are in the result folder. Read which files were skipped and decide whether you need any of them. If you do, unpack that file yourself and add it separately.

Archives inside archives

Archives are often packed into other archives, for example a monthly ZIP inside a yearly one. MD Factory opens an archive found inside your archive and converts its documents, one level deep. If documents sit in an archive nested deeper than that, unpack it yourself and add it separately.

Password-protected archives

A password-protected archive fails. MD Factory cannot convert it.

If you have the password, open the archive in your archiver, save the contents as a new archive without a password, and add that one. Keep the protected original wherever it was stored.

Converting the same archive again

When you convert an archive a second time, MD Factory replaces the result folder only if it is its own result and you have not edited it. If you changed anything inside, for example added notes to a Markdown file, the new result goes into a numbered folder such as report (2) and your edited copy stays as it was.

Check the result

Open the result folder and compare its structure with the archive: the folders should match, and each document you expected should have its Markdown file. Then open one or two files from different folders and compare them with the originals.

MD Factory converts the archive on your PC and uploads nothing. If the result folder is in a synced folder such as OneDrive, the files sync with it. See the MD Factory Privacy Policy for how the app handles your documents.