Forum Discussion
How can we paste markdown into one of these posts, to get formatted text?
Pasting markdown into the text entry box does not create formatted text. It just puts in the characters that the markdown is using.
Publishing does not convert it to formatted text.
The Help icon in the formatting bar gives a pop up with three tabs, one of which is for Markdown Syntax.
Which strongly implies that markdown is a supported format.
Markdown is VERY commonly used and a straight paste is incredibly useful.
4 Replies
hi stormin​ I think the confusion is that the editor supports Markdown syntax, but that doesn't necessarily mean you can paste a complete Markdown document and have it automatically converted into formatted content.
In most cases, the formatting toolbar is the safer option for creating headings, lists, links, code blocks, etc. If you paste Markdown directly into the editor, it may simply be treated as plain text rather than being parsed and converted.
It would definitely be useful if the Tech Community editor supported pasting Markdown and automatically converting it to formatted text, especially for technical posts where Markdown is commonly used.
If you're creating longer technical content, you may need to use the editor's formatting tools or paste the content in smaller sections and apply the formatting manually. Hopefully Microsoft can consider adding direct Markdown paste/import support in the future.
Thank you.
I did try putting in markdown syntax as I typed, but it doesn't convert to formatting. As you can see below.Unless it HAS converted to formatting, in which case it did it after I submitted this reply
# Heading##Heading
I think the key point is that the Markdown syntax shown in the editor's help doesn't necessarily mean the editor will automatically convert Markdown as you type or paste it.
For example, # Heading would normally be interpreted as a Markdown heading by a Markdown parser, but if the Tech Community editor is a rich-text editor, it may simply treat it as plain text unless the formatting is applied through the editor's toolbar.
It would be interesting to know whether the Markdown is converted after posting or if it remains exactly as entered. If it remains as plain text, then it looks like the Markdown help is more of a syntax reference rather than an indication that the editor supports full Markdown parsing.
