・ Updated: Getting Started & Templates

Written and tested by the MD Converter editorial team

Markdown Document Converter Quick Start in 4 Steps

The fastest way to create HTML or PDF with Markdown Document Converter: import Markdown, check the preview, adjust margins and page breaks, and export.

What you'll learn

  • The four-step path from a Markdown file to HTML or PDF
  • The differences between import options (file, paste, sample, and more)
  • What you can adjust in Preview: margins, page numbers, page breaks, and images
  • Browser-only processing, and when remote images or fonts still make network requests

This is the quick-start version. For a control-by-control reference, see the Markdown Document Converter User Guide.

Start in 4 steps

Step 1: Open a tool and import Markdown

Open "Markdown to PDF" for a printable document or "Markdown to HTML" for a single web file. On the start screen, choose one of these:

OptionWhat it does
Choose fileOpen a .md file (up to 10 MB). You can also drag and drop it onto the page
Paste MarkdownPaste into the dialog and click Import (up to 2 MB)
No file? Try a sampleExplore the controls with an example document, no file required
More ways to import (PDF)A public GitHub .md URL, a Markdown + image folder, or a Markdown + image ZIP

If your Markdown references images by relative path, import the folder or ZIP so those images resolve.

Step 2: Check the preview

The print-style preview appears as soon as the document loads. In the PDF tool it is split into A4 portrait pages, and the page strip on the left jumps to the cover, table of contents, or any page. Check that headings, lists, tables, code blocks, and images look right.

The preview is read-only. To change the text, edit the .md file in your own editor and import it again.

Step 3: Adjust the layout (optional)

In the PDF tool, the toolbar and preview provide these controls:

  • Margins — choose 10 to 30 mm (applied to all four sides)
  • Page numbers — toggle with the "1/n" button
  • Background color — pick a page color from the round swatch
  • Page breaks — click a block to insert or remove a break; drag the ⋮⋮ handle to move one
  • Cover and TOC — open them from "Cover" and "TOC" in the page strip
  • Images — select an image to resize it with its handles and align it left, center, or right

Before importing, you can pick a preset under "Choose a layout by purpose" (specification, proposal, meeting notes, and so on). It sets the cover, TOC, margins, and page numbers together. Use Undo, Redo, or the history button to step back through layout changes.

Step 4: Save as PDF or HTML

  • Save as PDF — click "Save as PDF" at the bottom to open the browser print dialog, then choose "Save as PDF" as the destination. Keep the paper at A4 and the scale at 100%, and start with the browser margin set to None.
  • Download HTML — in the HTML tool, the button at the bottom saves one HTML file with styles and images included.

Open the saved file once and check the last page, images, and links before sharing it.

Local processing and network requests

Loading, converting, previewing, and downloading local files or pasted Markdown runs in your browser; the source is not uploaded to this site's servers for conversion. Importing from a GitHub URL contacts GitHub, and remote images or web fonts contact their hosts. For confidential documents, remove remote assets and follow your organization's policy.

FAQ

HTML or PDF — which should I use?

HTML for web pages or portals; PDF for printing, sharing, or formal submission. Cover pages, TOC pages, and page-break controls are available in the PDF tool.

Will a page reload lose my work?

A reload keeps the imported Markdown and your settings in the browser. Navigating from the tool to another page, or opening the tool fresh, resets the editing state, so keep your original .md file.

Can I use images?

Yes. Drop PNG, JPEG, GIF, or WebP files onto the preview and they are inserted near the drop position. Limits: 5 MB per image and 20 MB in total. HTML exports embed the images in the file.

How do I control page breaks?

Leave page-break markup out of the Markdown and adjust breaks in Preview: click a block to insert or remove one, and drag the ⋮⋮ handle to move it. See Markdown Document Converter Page Breaks.

Why does the PDF look different from the preview?

In the print dialog, set paper to A4, scale to 100%, start with margins set to None, and turn headers and footers off. For deeper diagnosis, see Why Markdown PDFs and Print Look Broken.

Try the four steps

Convert Markdown to PDF (open tool)

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