Pandoc is an “universal document converter”, with the ability to convert from multiple input formats (Markdown, reStructuredText, textile, HTML, DocBook, Microsoft Word docx, LibreOffice ODT, EPUB and many more) to even more output formats.

My primary usage of Pandoc is to generate nice looking template-based documents in Microsoft Word docx, HTML and EPUP from plaintext files written in Pandoc’s Markdown. As Markdown splits content from layout, you get consistent look and appearance across different documents, and you can customize output by using templates.

But also convert HTML to HTML is useful, to only keep structured text and apply own templates to the content.

Pandoc’s Markdown

Pandoc’s Markdown is an extended version of John Gruber’s Markdown syntax.

I really like the many possibilities it adds to the original Markdown.

Header1
=======

Header2
-------

# Header1

## Header2

### Header3

normal paragraph with **strong** text.

another paragraph with an [inline link](http://google.de) and
<http://another-link>. 

* Listitem
* Listitem
* Listitem

1. Listitem1
2. Listitem2

simple    table    with    header
------    -------  ------  -------
A         B        C       D
A         X        C       Y

+---------------+---------------+--------------------+
| grid          | table         |                    |
+===============+===============+====================+
| with support  | for multiple  | - block            |
|               |               | - elements         |
+---------------+---------------+--------------------+
| and other     | markdown      | **syntax support** |
+---------------+---------------+--------------------+

pipe    | tables
--------|--------
that do | not have to be
correctly | aligned
but | do not support block elements

Pandoc’s Markdown supports different table formats, and most PowerShell Format-Table Output renders perfectly fine as a “simple table” in Pandoc’s Markdown - so the following would be directly usable als markdown content:

PS C:\Windows> Get-ChildItem | Format-Table Name, LastWriteTime, Mode

Name                                   LastWriteTime       Mode
----                                   -------------       ----
addins                                 18.03.2017 22:03:33 d-----
appcompat                              05.05.2017 08:08:32 d-----
AppPatch                               16.11.2017 01:13:19 d-----
AppReadiness                           07.12.2017 10:47:44 d-----
assembly                               03.01.2018 02:14:50 d-r-s-
bcastdvr                               18.03.2017 22:03:33 d-----
Boot                                   18.03.2017 22:03:29 d-----
Branding                               18.03.2017 22:03:29 d-----

With this compatibility, it is really easy to generate nice looking documents based on content generated by PowerShell. Only Tables with Rows that do not fit in one line could not directly used from PowerShell output

Usage examples

Markdown to Microsoft Word .docx

pandoc -o "outputfile.docx" --toc --reference-doc="C:\Users\demo\Documents\layout.docx" sourcefile.markdown

Markdown to EPUB eBook-Format

pandoc -o "outputfile.epub" -s --toc sourcefile.markdown

Markdown to HTML

pandoc -o "outputfile.html" -s -t html5 --toc --toc-depth=2 sourcefile.markdown

HTML to HTML

pandoc -o "outputfile.html" -s --toc --toc-depth=2 sourcefile.html
pandoc -o "outputfile2.html" -s  http://thebackend.info/index.html

Installation

Installation with Chocolatey

choco install pandoc

Download and installation for Windows, macOS and Linux

Download Pandoc from pandoc.org/installing.html