To extract the images from a PDF, Word or PowerPoint file, add it to MD Factory. The pictures are saved as PNG files in a folder next to the new Markdown file, and the Markdown links each one at the place where it appeared in the document.

You get the pictures together with the text around them. For the original image files exactly as Word, PowerPoint or Excel stores them, use the ZIP method further down.

Two printed pages with photos beside several loose picture prints, a lilac pencil and a steel ruler on a dark stone desk.
The pictures of a document, saved as separate files.

Extract the images

  1. Open MD Factory and click Add files, or drag the document onto the window. Click Add folder to take every document in a folder and its subfolders.
  2. Conversion starts right away. Wait until the row shows Completed, Needs review or Failed.
  3. Open the folder that contains the document. The pictures are in a folder named after it, with _images at the end.
Reports/
  Annual report.docx
  Annual report.md
  Annual report_images/
    image-5c2e9f0a4b7d13e86a21.png
    image-a91d03c7e2b84f56d0c3.png

A document without pictures gets no images folder. A picture that appears several times in a document is saved once. If MD Factory cannot write to the document's folder, the app asks where to save the results.

What each format gives you

DocumentPictures saved
PDFPictures and figures found on the pages
Word (DOCX)Pictures embedded in the document
PowerPoint (PPTX)Pictures on the slides
Excel (XLSX)Pictures placed on the sheets
Saved web pageImages saved with the page, in its _files folder
EPUB, FB2 and MOBIIllustrations from DRM-free books

Charts and SmartArt are not saved as images. The file is marked Needs review. To keep a chart, take a screenshot of it.

MD Factory reads DOCX, PPTX and XLSX files. Older DOC, PPT and XLS files are not converted: open them in Word, PowerPoint or Excel and save a copy in the newer format first.

File names, format and order

Every picture is saved as a PNG file, even when it was a JPG in the document, so a photo can take more space than it did inside the file. The names look like image-5c2e9f0a4b7d13e86a21.png and carry neither the original file name nor the page number.

To see which file is which, open the .md file in Notepad. Each picture is a line that starts with ![]( and the lines follow the order of the document. The brackets are empty because the pictures come out without alt text. Type a description between them if you need it, for a screen reader or for an AI agent that reads the file:

![Quarterly revenue by region](Annual%20report_images/image-5c2e9f0a4b7d13e86a21.png)

Spaces in the folder name are written as %20 in the link.

Pictures that do not come through

Click Needs review in the file's row to read the notes. For pictures, these are the messages you can meet:

MessageWhat happened
An external image or resource was skipped.The document links to a picture stored elsewhere, such as on a website, instead of containing it.
An image could not be exported.The picture the document points to is missing or damaged.
An image format is not supported.The app cannot convert the format of that picture.

Open the document and find the picture. To save one picture, right-click it in Word, PowerPoint or Excel and choose Save as Picture. Microsoft describes it in Save a picture or other graphic as a separate file.

Get the original image files out of Word, PowerPoint or Excel

A DOCX, PPTX or XLSX file is a ZIP archive, and the pictures inside it are stored as they were inserted. To copy them out:

  1. Make a copy of the file and work on the copy.
  2. In File Explorer, turn on File name extensions: View, then Show.
  3. Rename the copy so it ends in .zip, confirm the change, and open it like a folder.
  4. Open word/media for a Word file, ppt/media for PowerPoint or xl/media for Excel, and copy the files out.

Microsoft describes the same steps for PowerPoint in Extract files or objects from a PowerPoint file.

The files keep their original formats, such as JPG, PNG or EMF. Their names, like image1.png, do not show where each picture was used, so the result of MD Factory is easier to match with the text.

Images from a PDF

A PDF has no folder of pictures to open. MD Factory saves the figures it finds on the pages. Compare the images folder with the PDF to check that every figure you need is there and that none is cut off.

For a single figure, a screenshot is quicker: press Windows+Shift+S and select the area.

Images from many documents at once

Add a folder instead of a single file. Every document gets its own images folder next to its Markdown file, so the pictures of one document never mix with another's. The same picture used in two documents is saved once in each folder.

Which method to use

MethodBest forLimits
MD FactoryAll the pictures of one document or a whole folder, with the text around themPNG files with generated names
Rename to ZIPThe original files from a DOCX, PPTX or XLSXNot for PDFs. The names show nothing about where a picture sits.
Save as PictureOne picture in Word, PowerPoint or ExcelOne picture at a time
ScreenshotOne figure in a PDFResolution of your screen

Keep the images with the text

Move the Markdown file and its images folder together. If you move only the .md file in File Explorer, its picture links point to a folder that is no longer next to it. Open the file in its new place and scroll to a picture to check that it shows.

The same applies to the other formats: the PowerPoint guide and the Word guide list what else comes through.