Bridgex converts a wide range of common document formats to Markdown in a single action: open a file and the converted Markdown appears in the editor immediately. The conversion is powered by the Markitdown-rs library, which handles the parsing and text extraction for each supported format. This page walks through the full conversion workflow, the available file filters, format-specific behavior, and the limitations you should be aware of before using Bridgex in your workflow.Documentation Index
Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://mintlify.com/dev2forge/bridgex/llms.txt
Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.
Supported File Formats
Bridgex supports the following formats. When you open the file picker, these are grouped into named filter categories to make selection easier:| Filter label | Extensions |
|---|---|
| All allowed files | All of the below, combined |
| Excel | .xlsx, .xls |
| Word | .docx |
| PowerPoint | .pptx |
.pdf | |
| HTML | .html, .htm |
| Images | .jpg, .jpeg |
| CSV | .csv |
| RSS / XML | .xml, .rss, .atom |
| ZIP | .zip |
The All allowed files filter is always listed first and includes every extension from the other categories. Use it when you are not sure which filter to choose, or to browse a folder that contains mixed file types.
Conversion Workflow
Open the file picker
Press
Ctrl+O or go to File → Open in the menu bar. The native file picker for your operating system appears, pre-configured with the filters listed above.Select a file
Navigate to your file and select it. Only file types in the supported filter list are shown. If the All allowed files filter is active, all supported extensions are visible at once. Click Open (or equivalent on your OS) to confirm.
Conversion runs automatically
As soon as you confirm the selection, Bridgex calls
convert_from_path() with the file path and your saved LLM configuration. No additional action is required — the conversion begins immediately.Result appears in the editor
The converted Markdown text replaces whatever was in the left editor pane. The right preview pane re-renders immediately to show the formatted output. The source file path is stored internally so the save dialog can suggest a matching
.md filename.Format-Specific Behavior
JPEG Images (without LLM)
When a.jpg or .jpeg file is opened and no LLM is configured (or the API key field is empty), Markitdown-rs performs a basic conversion. For images, this typically yields minimal Markdown — usually just file metadata or an empty result — because image content requires AI description to be meaningful.
JPEG Images (with LLM configured)
When a.jpg or .jpeg file is opened and a valid LLM provider, model, and API key are configured, Bridgex appends an AI-generated image description to the Markdown output under a dedicated heading:
All Other Formats
Excel, Word, PowerPoint, PDF, HTML, CSV, RSS/XML, and ZIP files are converted using Markitdown-rs directly, without any LLM involvement. The converter extracts text content and structure from each format and produces Markdown output. The quality and completeness of the output depends on the source file’s structure and the capabilities of Markitdown-rs for that format.Error Handling
If a file cannot be converted, Bridgex writes a descriptive error message into the editor pane rather than showing a dialog. This keeps the workflow uninterrupted — you can see exactly what went wrong and try a different file immediately. Common error strings you may see:Conversion failed: <error detail>— a general conversion error returned by Markitdown-rsConversion failed for JPEG image: <error detail>— a JPEG-specific conversion error (returned when the converter raises an exception on a JPEG file)Conversion failed for JPEG image. Please check the image file and your LLM configuration.— returned when the JPEG conversion produces no output and no LLM description could be generatedUnsupported file type or unsupported format for markitdown-rs. Only JPEG images (.jpg/.jpeg) are supported for image descriptions.— the file extension was not recognised by the converter
Limitations
- Only the file formats listed above are supported. Other formats will produce an unsupported-format error in the editor.
- Image conversion without LLM configuration produces limited results — JPEG is the only image format supported.
- Conversion is synchronous; very large files may cause a brief unresponsive period.
- There is no batch conversion — files are opened and converted one at a time.
- The editor does not have find-and-replace, multi-cursor, or other advanced IDE features. It is intended for light review and touch-up of converted output only.