What does PDF to Markdown notes mean for these apps?
It means a clean Markdown version of your PDF, and the right way to get it into an app that deals with Markdown in its own way.
Markdown is plain text where a # at the start of a line is a heading, a dash is a bullet and pipes make a table. Notion and Obsidian grew up around it. Evernote, OneNote, Apple Notes and Logseq each handle it differently, and that is where a pasted PDF usually goes wrong.
ocrtomarkdown reads your PDF, scanned or not, joins the broken lines back into paragraphs, puts the headings in order and keeps tables as tables. Then it shapes the note for the app you picked. For apps that do not read Markdown, the Copy formatted button puts the note on your clipboard as rich text, so headings, lists and tables paste in as formatting and not as # and | characters.
From PDF to your app in five steps
- Drop your PDF aboveEvernote is selected on this page. Switch to OneNote, Apple Notes or Logseq in step 2 if that is your app.
- Pick your appEach one gets its own form. Evernote and Apple Notes stop at three heading levels, and Logseq gets an outline where every paragraph is a bullet.
- Check the previewThe Preview tab shows the note as it will look once it is formatted. The Markdown tab shows the exact text.
- Copy, copy formatted or downloadCopy Markdown for Evernote. Copy formatted for OneNote, and for Apple Notes on an older system. Download .md for Apple Notes on a newer system and for Logseq.
- Bring it into your appFollow the card for your app below. Each one says plainly what the app does with the note.
How each app takes the note
The steps differ because the apps differ. Here is what each one actually does.
Evernote: paste or import
Click Copy Markdown, click into a note and paste with Ctrl/Cmd+V. Evernote’s help page says plain text with Markdown converts to rich text on paste. If the # characters stay visible, paste again with Ctrl/Cmd+Shift+V. The desktop app’s import help also lists .md among the files that Settings, then Import turns into notes.
OneNote: copy formatted
OneNote does not import Markdown. Click Copy formatted and paste into a page, and headings, lists and tables arrive as formatting. Keep the .md file as a plain-text copy.
Apple Notes: import or copy formatted
With macOS, iOS or iPadOS 26 or later, Notes converts Markdown on import. On a Mac choose File, then Import Markdown. On iPhone or iPad open the file in Files, touch and hold it, then Share, then Notes. On older systems click Copy formatted and paste.
Logseq: pages folder
Save the downloaded file in the pages folder of your graph. If the page does not show up, try Re-index from the graph menu. Every paragraph, heading and list item is its own bullet, so the note reads as an outline.
What comes through in each app
| App | What you get |
|---|---|
| Evernote | Headings (three levels), nested lists, tables, links, bold and italic convert when you paste, and its import help lists .md as a file it can turn into a note too. |
| OneNote | No Markdown import. Copy formatted pastes headings, lists and tables as rich text. Look at how OneNote styles the headings after your first paste. |
| Apple Notes | Markdown is converted on import in macOS, iOS and iPadOS 26 and later. Apple does not list which elements convert, so look at the tables after your first import. |
| Logseq | Saved as an outline: every paragraph, list item and heading is a bullet. Tables stay as Markdown table text inside a bullet. |
| Pictures and diagrams | Left out in every app. You get the text and tables around them. |
| Page numbers and running headers | Removed when the same line repeats three or more times. |
The ticks here are about what the app can take, not about your particular PDF. A badly lit scan will still need a look.
Why Logseq gets an outline
Logseq keeps every note as an outline of bullets. In a file, a plain paragraph is not a bullet of its own: Logseq treats it as a continuation of the bullet above. A normal Markdown note would therefore collapse into one long block under its first line.
So the Logseq format gives every paragraph, heading, list item and table its own bullet. The outline is flat, because the converter cannot know which bullets you would nest under which heading. Press Tab on a bullet in Logseq to nest it.
Three ways to get a PDF into these apps
| Compared on | Retyping by hand | Generic OCR | ocrtomarkdown |
|---|---|---|---|
| Effort | Retype or copy page by page | Run OCR, then fix the output | Drop, pick your app, paste or import |
| Paragraphs | Rejoined as you go | A line break per printed line | Joined back into paragraphs |
| Headings | Styled by hand | Plain text, no levels | Real headings, capped to what your app handles |
| Tables | Rebuilt cell by cell | Rows of loose text | Tables kept as tables |
| OneNote and older Apple Notes | Formatted by hand | Plain text only | Copy formatted pastes headings, lists and tables |
| Running headers and page numbers | Skipped | Scattered through the text | Removed |
PDF to Evernote, OneNote, Apple Notes and Logseq: your questions
Can Evernote import a Markdown file?
Evernote’s import help lists .md among the files that Settings, then Import turns into editable notes in the desktop app, and says importing is not available on a mobile device. We have not tried the import ourselves, so test one file first. Pasting the Markdown into a note also works.
I pasted into Evernote and still see # characters. What now?
Evernote reads Markdown when it is pasted as plain text. Text copied with other formatting is treated as HTML and the Markdown is not parsed. Paste again with Ctrl/Cmd+Shift+V, which applies the Markdown in that case.
Can OneNote import Markdown?
No. OneNote does not read Markdown, so a Markdown file would show as plain text with # and | characters. Use Copy formatted and paste into a page, and keep the .md file as a plain-text copy.
What does Copy formatted do?
It puts the note on your clipboard in two forms at once, as rich text and as plain Markdown. An app that understands rich text pastes headings, lists and tables as formatting. An app that does not gets the plain Markdown.
Does Apple Notes import Markdown?
Yes, on macOS Tahoe 26, iOS 26 and iPadOS 26 or later, according to Apple’s own Notes help. On a Mac, choose File, then Import Markdown. On iPhone and iPad there is no menu item: open the file in Files, touch and hold it, tap Share, then Notes. On older systems use Copy formatted.
Where does an imported note end up in Apple Notes?
On a Mac, Apple says imported files go into an Imported Notes folder, under iCloud if you use it and under On My Mac if not. Each Markdown file becomes a new note.
Why is every paragraph a bullet in Logseq?
Logseq files are outlines. A plain paragraph in a file is only a continuation of the bullet above it, so the Logseq format gives every paragraph and heading a bullet of its own. Press Tab on a bullet to nest it.
Will it work with Bear, Craft, Joplin or Typora?
Any app that reads Markdown should take the Notion or Evernote format, which is plain Markdown with no properties block. We have not tested every app, so check the headings and tables after your first import.
Do scanned pages and handwriting work?
Scanned printed pages are read with OCR first, and a straight, sharp scan gives the best note. Handwriting is hit and miss, and this site does not promise it.
What happens to my file?
Files are processed in memory and deleted after conversion. A page that needs a second look may be sent to Google’s Gemini API. The privacy page has the details.
What does it cost?
3 files a day, up to 10 pages each, are free with no account. Pro is $6 a month for 150 files a month, files up to 150 pages, counted as 22,500 pages a month on your page code.