Life in Plain Text

Converting Markdown Documents to Other Formats

While it’s not necessary to convert your plain-text Markdown documents into any other file format, doing so is a common practice. The simplicity of plain-text editing makes it an ideal starting place for creating more complex documents.

For example, you can write an essay in a plain-text editor using Markdown syntax, then port the content to Microsoft Word or Google Docs when you’re done. No more waiting an eternity for Word to start up. No more interface clutter from the vast array of options built into Word that your current project has no need for.

Conversion Tools

  • Since 2004, Jon Gruber, Markdown’s co-inventor, has provided a simple web interface for converting Markdown documents into HTML: Markdown Dingus. Paste your Markdown into the text box, preview, convert, then copy the HTML output. Writing web pages in your Brightspace courses? This is one dead-simple way to do that and have more control over how your pages look. Write in Markdown, convert with the Dingus, find the HTML source button in the Brightspace editing toolbar (</>), paste in the Dingus’ HTML output, and save. If you know a little CSS, you can go back into your new page’s source (click </> again) and take even finer-grained control over the page’s appearance. For example, you can limit the page’s width. (By referencing an external style sheet, you can control your pages’ appearance across your entire site.)
  • JotBird offers to publish your Markdown as a web page for 30 days free of charge. For a yearly subscription fee, the service offers permanent links, custom URLs, and themes.
  • On GitHub, pages in your repository written in Markdown are automatically converted to HTML. With GitHub Pages, you can publish your repository as a website. Add Jekyll to the mix to take advantage of a wide range of ready-to-use themes and features for your GitHub pages site.
  • Zettlr is free, open-source software that contains a plain-text editor, allows you to preview how your Markdown will look once converted, and serves as a complete environment for managing an academic project, including citations. Using hashtags in front of keywords, and internal links between your plain text files, you can easily make connections across ideas and documents.
  • Obsidian has similar features. It’s not open-source, but it’s free to use. Paid plugins and services, including a service for publishing your Markdown projects on the web, are also available.
  • There are many online converters such as Markdown to Word. You’ll want to examine them thoroughly and consider your security and privacy needs before using any of them.
  • Marked is a feature-rich, paid (one-time or subscription) app for macOS.
  • If you’re comfortable working at the command line, you may be interested in the extremely powerful and flexible Pandoc.

Using Markdown in Google Docs

In Google Docs (as well as Slides and Drawings), if you go to Tools > Preferences, you can check a box to “Enable Markdown.”

With Markdown enabled, Docs will recognize your Markdown syntax and instantly convert it to the appropriate formatting. For example, type

Markdown
# My heading

and Docs will immediately convert it to a properly formatted, level-one heading.

You can also create a complete document in your plain-text editor of choice using Markdown, then, in Google Docs, select Edit > Paste From Markdown to have Docs instantly convert your Markdown to formatted text.

Finally, you can go in the other direction, converting any Google Doc to Markdown, by selecting File > Download > Markdown (.md).

Using Markdown in Word

Britva Technologies makes a Markdown add-in for Word available in the Microsoft marketplace. The add-in allows you to compose directly in Word using Markdown and see a preview of the rendering formatting. As with Google Docs, you can also paste Markdown from a plain-text editor into Word; the add-in will instantly convert your Markdown to formatted text.

Using Markdown in Gmail

Markdown Here is a browser extension that enables you to write an email in Markdown, then convert it to HTML with a single click before sending. As with document creation, writing emails in Markdown means spending less time pressing buttons and looking for dropdowns in order to achieve the formatting you want. According to the developer’s privacy policy, the extension “collects no user or usage data”; “does not read or modify any part of any site besides the contents of the focused edit control, and only when the user tells it to do so”; and “makes no external requests at all. All rendering is done locally.” As with any third-party extensions, you should thoroughly examine the documentation, including the privacy policy, before deciding that you’re comfortable using it.

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