What you should know
Markdown (MD) is a lightweight markup language created in 2004 to write in plain text while producing a structured document. A hash for a heading, asterisks for emphasis: the syntax stays readable even before conversion.
It is the format of choice for developers, technical documentation and blogs. It converts as easily to HTML as to PDF, and remains versionable line by line.
Strengths
- Readable as-is, with no particular software
- Minimal syntax, learned in minutes
- Natural conversion to HTML, PDF and Word documents
- Ideal for collaborative work and version tracking
Limitations to know
- No single standard: syntax variants abound
- No fine layout: widths, columns and advanced styles are missing
- Complex tables and footnotes vary between tools
- Once converted to PDF, the link to the source is lost
When to use it
Write in Markdown for documentation, a readme, a blog post or any note meant to be version-controlled. For a contract, an invoice or a carefully laid-out document, use a word processor or PDF.
Quality, size and compatibility
Markdown to PDF keeps headings, lists, links and code blocks, and applies a stylesheet to the output. It is a lossless conversion of content: only non-standard elements from some variants may be interpreted differently.
Frequently asked questions
- Is Markdown suitable for an official document?
- Rarely as-is. It excels for writing, but the final output of a contract or thesis needs controlled layout: convert to PDF with an appropriate stylesheet.
- Why does my Markdown table look wrong in PDF?
- Tables are among the areas where Markdown variants diverge. A wide table may overflow the page: simplify it or split it before conversion.