Start here
How to use markdown in four simple pages – three, if you discount ‘flavours’, which is only added to aid your understanding
Markdown is a lightweight mark-up language. It is used by writers, documentation creators, bloggers, mathematicians, scientists, project managers, task managers, and journal keepers. It is probably being used by someone sitting near to you.
It’s uses are wide, and it is spreading. LibreOffice, a free and private office suite of applications, has recently been adopted by the Austrian military to replace its reliance on Microsoft. LibreOffice has plans to introduce markdown.
Markdown is a simple way of formatting text. When you add bold, italics, numbered lists, bullet points, headings, and so on to text, you are formatting it. Markdown – as originally planned – was a set of rules, or syntax, that formatted text for web pages. It is still used for that purpose today, but it has also been adopted by the writing community to suit their needs. That is, to make it easier to write without the need to reach for the mouse every couple of minutes to format some text.
To format text on web pages, people use Hypertext Markup Language, better known as HTML. But HTML can be complex, with numerous tags, such as <div>, <menu> and <ul>, not forgetting the accompanying closing tags as well: </div>, </menu> and </ul>. Computers have no trouble reading these because they follow the syntax, but the tags make it difficult for humans to read HTML, so it’s not user friendly.
Markdown was created by John Gruber and Aaron Schwartz in 2004. The original syntax for markdown is on Gruber’s website, Daring Fireball.
But, there’s more to markdown than HTML. With built-in parsers, or readers, it can be used to generate stunning presentations (IA Presenter) and beautiful, readable documentation, fit to grace any boardroom.
Writing in markdown
You can create markdown files using:
- A basic text editor, such as Notepad, TextEdit or VS Code
- Dedicated markdown editors for macOS, Windows, Linux, iOS and Android
- Web-based markdown editors such as Dillinger or StackEdit.
Markdown files typically use the .md or .markdown extension.
Markdown is a lightweight markup language used to add formatting elements to plain text documents. It has become one of the most widely used mark-up languages in the world.
Unlike WYSIWYG editors such as Microsoft Word, markdown requires you to insert formatting syntax directly into the text. For example:
# Heading Onecreates a heading**bold text**produces bold text.
Markdown syntax is intentionally simple and readable, even without rendering. This design allows markdown documents to be easily understood in their raw, plain text form. Not all markdown editors, such as nvALT, provide a real-time preview, but most editors have this facility.
Why use markdown?
There is no need to frequently reach for the mouse to format text, allowing you to maintain your train of thought. Writers can focus on creating content without being distracted by formatting issues. Compared to traditional WYSIWYG editors, such as Microsoft Word, markdown enables you to:
- Keep both hands on the keyboard for a greater level of efficiency
- Quickly format the text you produce with simple mark-up symbols
- And avoid complex menu operations and formatting settings.
| Benefit | Description |
|---|---|
| Versatile | Used for websites, documents, notes, books, presentations, emails and technical documentation. |
| Portable | Works across different applications without locking you into proprietary formats. |
| Platform-independent | Can be written and viewed on any device or operating system. |
| Future-proof | Markdown files remain readable as plain text, ensuring long-term accessibility. |
| Ubiquitous | Supported across major platforms like GitHub, Reddit and various editors. |
Less of a learning curve
Compared to mark-up languages, such as HTML, markdown syntax is simple, with most people able to master the basics in under an hour.
For instance, the most common mark-up symbols number fewer than ten:
#for headings*for emphasis or lists>for blockquotes or quotes[]()for links![]()for images.
The markdown process
Markdown documents are typically converted into HTML or other formats for viewing or publishing. This process involves four main steps:
- Create a markdown file using a text editor or your favourite markdown application.
- Open the file in a markdown app.
- Convert the markdown content to HTML or another format (e.g. PDF, RTF).
- View or publish the formatted output.
Note that the markdown application and processor (or parser) are distinct components, though many tools bundle both together.
Compatibility
Most text editors, code editors and note-taking apps support markdown. That makes it flexible. If you want to change from using one markdown editor to another – no problem. Simply move or copy across the files and start typing away.