Editor and live preview
OpenMarkdown edits the Markdown itself. What you see is rendered, and the file on disk is exactly the text you typed.
Three modes
Section titled “Three modes”The button at the top of the window cycles through three modes. Each tab remembers its own.
| Mode | What you see | Editing |
|---|---|---|
| Live preview (default) | Rendered. The line your cursor is on shows its Markdown, so you can edit it. | Yes |
| Source | Every marker visible, all text one size, with colour for headings, links and code. Good for commit messages and prompts. | Yes |
| Reading | The clean rendered page, no cursor. | Only task checkboxes |
Switching is instant and keeps your place.
Formatting
Section titled “Formatting”Type Markdown, or use the keys: ⌘B bold, ⌘I italic, ⇧⌘X strikethrough, ⌘E inline code, ⌘K link. Pressing one again on formatted text removes it. All shortcuts: Keyboard shortcuts.
Blocks
Section titled “Blocks”Tables, callouts, code blocks, math and frontmatter render as blocks. The arrow keys move into and out of them like any other line.
- Tables: click a cell to edit it; arrow keys move between cells. Wide tables scroll sideways.
- Callouts: insert one from the command palette (Insert Callout: Note, Tip, Important, Warning, Caution). Its text stays editable in place.
- Code blocks: typing
```closes the fence for you. A copy button sits on each block. - Frontmatter: YAML at the top of a file shows as a Properties block.
If a block cannot render, it shows its source instead, so nothing you wrote disappears.
Lists and headings
Section titled “Lists and headings”Tab and ⇧Tab (or ⌘] and ⌘[) indent and outdent a list item, and numbered lists renumber themselves. ↩ on an empty item steps out a level, then out of the list.
Headings and lists fold. Point at a heading and click the arrow that appears to its left; a folded heading keeps its arrow so you can open it again. Folding only changes the view, never the file.
Drag a file from the sidebar into a note to insert a relative link to it. While typing a link, OpenMarkdown suggests files in the workspace and headings in the note.
Copying
Section titled “Copying”Two ways to copy a selection, in any mode:
- Copy as plain text (⇧⌘C): what you see, without the Markdown markers.
- Copy as Markdown source: the exact text in the file. In the command palette.
What renders
Section titled “What renders”The full list, and the few places OpenMarkdown's Markdown differs from GitHub's: Markdown dialect.