Custom Word styling, no template file
Convert Markdown to Word with custom themes, fonts, and styling — no template file needed
Pandoc can apply a custom look to its Word output, but only if you first build and maintain a reference.docx file with the right styles. This page explains a simpler way to get a styled .docx straight from Markdown: pick a theme, font, and base size in the browser and download.
You searched for a Pandoc --reference-doc alternative because building a template .docx with correct Heading 1/2/3, Title, and Table styles is tedious.
You need the exported Word document to look consistent — headings, body text, and tables in the same font and color palette — without manual reformatting after export.
You want to change the look (font, base size, color theme) per document without maintaining multiple template files.
Example input
A realistic Markdown snippet before conversion.
# Quarterly Report
## Summary
Revenue grew 12% quarter over quarter.
| Metric | Q1 | Q2 |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Revenue | $1.2M | $1.35M |
| Customers | 420 | 470 |
## Next steps
- Expand the sales team
- Launch the new pricing pageExpected Word / Markdown output
What you should verify in the converted document.
- Headings, body text, and the table all use the selected theme, font, and base size automatically.
- No manual "select all, change font" pass is needed after opening the file in Word.
- The same Markdown can be re-exported with a different theme in seconds if a different audience needs a different look.
Workflow
How to get a cleaner document
Conversion quality improves when the source Markdown is explicit, diagrams are valid, and Word-only cleanup is saved for the final document.
- Step 1
Paste or upload your Markdown.
- Step 2
Open the theme selector and choose a document theme that matches the audience (academic, business, minimal, etc.).
- Step 3
Pick a font family and base font size for the whole document.
- Step 4
Download the .docx — headings, paragraphs, and tables already match the chosen style.
Common mistakes to avoid
- !Building a Pandoc reference.docx from scratch for a single one-off document, when a built-in theme would be faster.
- !Exporting with default styling and then manually reformatting every heading and table in Word.
- !Choosing a font that does not include the glyphs your document needs, for example CJK characters with a Western-only font.
- !Forgetting to check the live preview before export, so font or theme changes are only discovered after opening Word.
Why this workflow is different
- Choose from multiple built-in document themes that set heading styles, accent colors, and table formatting consistently.
- Pick a font family — including Times New Roman, Arial, Calibri, Georgia, and CJK-friendly fonts like SimSun and Microsoft YaHei — applied across the whole document.
- Adjust the base font size for the whole document in one step, instead of editing every paragraph and heading style in Word afterward.
Comparison
Pandoc vs Word plugins vs Google Docs vs Markdown to Word Converter
Frequently asked questions
Can I style Markdown to Word output without a Pandoc reference.docx?
Yes. Pick a built-in document theme, font, and base font size before exporting, and the headings, body text, and tables are styled consistently in the downloaded .docx.
Can I change the font for the whole document at once?
Yes. The font selector applies to the entire document, including headings, body text, and tables, so you do not need to reformat manually in Word.
Does this replace Pandoc --reference-doc for CI pipelines?
Not for automated pipelines that need a fixed corporate template every time. For one-off or ad hoc documents, a theme picker is faster than maintaining a reference.docx file.
Can I use a CJK font like SimSun or Microsoft YaHei?
Yes. The font list includes SimSun and Microsoft YaHei, which is useful when your Markdown contains Chinese, Japanese, or Korean text that needs to display correctly in Word.