What Is Markdown: a Simple Explanation and How to Write in It

Ekaterina PavlovaOctober 6, 20263 min read

Markdown is a way to format text with ordinary characters. A hash # at the start of a line makes a heading, asterisks **around a word** make it bold, and a dash - starts a list item. Files in this format end with .md.

Why Markdown

People love Markdown because it is simple and reliable:

Opens anywhere. It is plain text — you can read it on any computer, even without special software.
Never breaks. The file won't get messed up when opened in another app or on another computer.
Easily turns into other formats. Markdown can become a Word document, a PDF or a web page.

That's why people use Markdown for instructions, knowledge bases, notes and documentation.

What Markdown looks like

What you need	How to write it in Markdown	Result
Heading	`# Heading`	A large heading
Bold text	`important`	important
Italics	`emphasis`	emphasis
List	`- item`	A bulleted list item
Numbered list	`1. item`	A numbered item
Link	`[text](https://gram.ax)`	text
Image	`![](picture.png)`	An image in the text

Looks unusual? That's normal. That's exactly why it is easier to write in an editor where all of this is done with buttons.

How to write Markdown without symbols

In Gramax, Markdown looks like a regular document:

Open app.gram.ax and click Create New.
Type your text. To make a heading, a list or bold text, use the buttons on the toolbar — just like in Word.
That's it. Your text is already saved in Markdown.

If someone sent you text full of hashes and asterisks, click Source text in the bottom toolbar, paste it and click Source text again. Instead of symbols, you will see a neatly formatted document.

Try it right now

Copy this text and paste it into Gramax via Source text:

# Shopping list

Buy **today**:

- milk
- bread
- apples

You will see a heading, a bold word and a list — without a single extra symbol.

Open Gramax

Markdown or Word

Word is handy when you need to write a document once and send it. Markdown is better when the text lives for a long time: instructions, a knowledge base, notes you keep adding to.

In Gramax you don't have to choose: you write like in Word, store in Markdown, and when you need to send a document to a colleague, you save it to Word or PDF with one button. And if your documents are already in Word, you can move them to Markdown by simply copying and pasting.

Frequently asked questions

Question	Answer
What is Markdown in simple words?	It's a way to format text with ordinary characters: a hash makes a heading, asterisks make bold text, a dash starts a list item.
Do I need to learn Markdown?	No. In Gramax you format text with buttons, like in Word, and Markdown is created for you.
What is a file with the .md extension?	It's a text in Markdown format. See how to open an MD file.
How do I make a table in Markdown?	The easiest way is the table button in Gramax. Read more in the article about Markdown tables.
How do I save Markdown to Word?	In Gramax, it's one Export button. Step by step — in this guide.
Is it free?	Yes, you can use Gramax for free right in your browser.