How to Open an MD File: the Easiest Way

An .md file is a text document in Markdown format. If you open it in Notepad, you will see text mixed with strange symbols: #, **, -.

How to open an MD file in a minute

1. Open the file in Notepad: right-click the file — Open with — Notepad. On a Mac, use TextEdit. Select all the text and copy it.
2. Open app.gram.ax and click Create New.
3. Click Source text in the bottom toolbar and paste the text.
4. Click Source text again. Done — instead of symbols, you see a neat document.

Now you can read and edit the text like a regular document: Gramax takes care of all the markup.

What is an MD file

MD is short for Markdown. Such files often come with programs (a README.md file with a description), note-taking apps save them, and people write instructions and documentation in them.

Inside, it's just plain text. The file is safe to open: there is nothing in it except words and formatting symbols.

Why Notepad shows hashes and asterisks

Notepad shows the text as is, together with the formatting symbols. For example, # Hello is the heading "Hello", and **important** is the word "important" in bold. Gramax understands these symbols and shows the text the way the author intended.

Other ways

You can also open an MD file:

• In Notepad or TextEdit — to take a quick look at the text. There will be no formatting.
• On GitHub or GitLab — if the file is stored there, it is shown formatted right away.

But if you need not only to look but also to edit the text, Gramax is the easiest way.

Frequently asked questions