How to open a Markdown file as a proper document

Markdown files open directly in Write by Zaweba. Choose the .md file and Write reads the Markdown, turning headings, emphasis and lists into real formatting on real pages. From there you can edit it like any document, print it, export it as a PDF or save it as .docx.

What a Markdown file actually is

Markdown is plain text with a few simple marks for formatting. A line starting with a hash is a heading, words between asterisks are emphasised, and lines starting with a star or a number form a list. It is popular because it is easy to type in any editor and easy to read even without formatting. README files for software, notes from apps such as note takers and wiki pages are often written in it.

The catch is that a Markdown file looks like code when you open it in Notepad. All the hashes and asterisks are still there, and there are no pages. Someone who has been sent a set of notes in Markdown usually wants to see it the way the writer meant it to look.

Opening one in Write

Start Write and open the .md file from the File menu. Write's own Markdown reader turns the marks into formatting on the page, so the hashes and asterisks give way to headings, emphasis and lists.

Check that the section titles carry Write's heading styles. Headings fill the navigation pane and the table of contents, so a long set of notes becomes much easier to move around in once they are in place.

Turning it into a finished document

Once the file is open, you can treat it as a normal document. Add a title page, change the body font, put page numbers in the footer, insert a table of contents, or add a picture. If the notes were rough, the UK English spell check will catch the slips.

When you are done, save in the format the next reader needs. A .docx file opens in almost any word processor, and Write's own .zawr format is a .docx inside. Export as PDF gives a fixed layout to send or print. Export as HTML makes a single self-contained web page.

Saving back to Markdown

You can save the document as Markdown again, which is useful if the file lives in a project that expects .md. Pictures are saved as separate files beside the Markdown file, because Markdown itself only refers to images rather than holding them.

Markdown is a much simpler format than a word processor document, so some things you add in Write have no Markdown equivalent. Page setup, headers and footers, colours and exact spacing are examples of the kind of thing that cannot be written into plain Markdown. When a save would lose something, Write lists what would go and asks first. If the list includes work you care about, keep a .docx or .zawr copy as your main version and save the Markdown copy separately.

Good habits with Markdown files

Keep the original .md file until you are sure the converted document is right. Markdown comes in a few dialects, and the occasional unusual mark may not come through as the writer expected, so glance through the document after opening it. Headings and lists are the parts to check first, since they shape the rest.

For anyone who is handed notes in Markdown and needs a document to print, sign or send, Write by Zaweba does the job in a couple of clicks, without an account or an internet connection.