Can I convert and translate DOCX with an API?

Yes. Use POST /api/v1/convert with target=markdown, optional use_ai=true, and target_lang. Auth with a fw_live_ API key. See the API docs for curl, Python, and JavaScript examples.

Does Word to Markdown keep headings, lists, and tables?

Yes. FileWorks extracts Word document structure — headings, numbered and bulleted lists, and tables — into Markdown syntax instead of dumping raw paragraph text.

Is there a file size limit for Word to Markdown?

Word files up to 50 MB are accepted, whether uploaded in the workspace or via the Convert API.

Online converter

Convert Word (DOCX) to Markdown — translate too

Move Word drafts into Markdown without hand-fixing headings and lists. FileWorks accepts .doc and .docx, extracts structure, and can translate into 19 languages in the same pass — then you edit in the workspace or export again as DOCX, HTML, or PDF.

Open workspace and convert

What you get

Support for .doc and .docx uploads
Editable Markdown preview with formatting toolbar
Optional AI reading when pages need stronger extraction
Translate into 19 languages in one pass; API for batch pipelines

How to convert

Upload a Word file in the workspace.
Optionally enable AI reading and choose a translation language.
Convert, review Markdown, then download or re-export to HTML, DOCX, or PDF.

Tips to get clean Markdown

If bullet indentation looks off after conversion, it's usually because the Word doc used manual spaces or tabs instead of real list styles — AI reading can often recover the intended structure.
Track changes and comments aren't preserved in Markdown by design — accept or resolve them in Word before converting if you need the clean final text.
For legacy .doc files with embedded OLE objects (old Excel charts, etc.), expect the surrounding text to extract but not the live chart — convert the source spreadsheet separately if you need that data.

How this compares to typical online converters

DOCX files carry heavier internal formatting than most converters expect. Here's where that usually breaks, and how FileWorks avoids it.

Aspect	FileWorks	Typical free converter
Nested or numbered lists	Preserved as ordered/unordered Markdown lists, including nesting	Nesting frequently collapses into a single flat list
Tables	Converted to Markdown pipe tables	Often rendered as tab-separated text, or dropped
Legacy .doc files	Accepted directly, same pipeline as .docx	Frequently unsupported, requiring a manual re-save to .docx first
Translation	Optional 19-language translation in the same pass	Not offered
Re-export	Export back to DOCX, HTML, or PDF after editing	One-way conversion only

Who uses this converter

Writers moving drafts and long reports from Word into Markdown-based docs tools
Developers feeding Word specs or requirements into coding agents and LLM prompts
Teams translating Word policies or contracts into another language in the same pass

Automate it with the Convert API

Same conversion, scripted. Auth with a fw_live_ API key from Profile; standard conversion is free up to the monthly page cap.

curl -s -H "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_API_KEY" \
  -F file=@report.docx \
  -F target=markdown \
  -F download=true \
  -o report.md \
  https://api.fileworks.ai/api/v1/convert

Full API docs — curl, Python, and JavaScript examples →

Frequently asked questions

Can I convert and translate DOCX with an API?: Yes. Use POST /api/v1/convert with target=markdown, optional use_ai=true, and target_lang. Auth with a fw_live_ API key. See the API docs for curl, Python, and JavaScript examples.
Does Word to Markdown keep headings, lists, and tables?: Yes. FileWorks extracts Word document structure — headings, numbered and bulleted lists, and tables — into Markdown syntax instead of dumping raw paragraph text.
Is there a file size limit for Word to Markdown?: Word files up to 50 MB are accepted, whether uploaded in the workspace or via the Convert API.