Release 1.3.3

Markdown Edit 1.3.3 is all about cosmetics.

• Background matches Editor Background Color - When viewing only the
  editor and not the preview, the window background matches the editor
  background. This make the background seamless with the editor, which is less
  distracting in my opinion. Strictly cosmetic.
• Smaller Horizontal Scrollbar - Matches the width of the vertical
  scrollbar.

Release 1.3.2

Fixed a spelling error.

Release 1.3.1

Don't let the minor point release fool you. Version 1.3.1 is a significant update.

What's New

1. Improved syntax highlighting: Syntax highlighting is now based on an abstract syntax tree instead of regular expressions. What? That's a fancy way of saying the syntax highlighting is more accurate than previous versions.
2. Added line numbering settings to the settings dialog.

Available on the Downloads Page

Details

Markdown Edit offers visual hints in the editor for headings, lists, links, etc. This is often referred to as syntax highlighting. It's an enhancement to plain text that, if used wisely, can aid in visualizing the document structure.

Programmers are accustomed to seeing this kind of highlighting in their editors. It can make the text easier to comprehend. Or it can be gaudy if not judiciously applied (like the Brain Salad Surgery Theme).

Typically, the types of languages used by programmers are context-free, regular grammars and can be highlighted using simple pattern recognition (a.k.a. regular expressions). Markdown (or CommonMark if you prefer) is difficult to highlight due to its structure and expressiveness. As such, regular expressions can misinterpret many aspects of properly formatted Markdown documents.

Another approach to syntax highlighting is to build a data structure that represents the actual structure of the document as interpreted by Markdown. This is often referred to as an abstract syntax tree (AST). The AST allows the editor to understand the structure of the document. This understanding can lead to more accurate syntax highlighting.

Another benefit of the new highlighter is that the font size of the level 1 and 2 headings can be made larger to add emphasis.

Thanks go out to Kārlis Gaņģis, the author of the excellent CommonMark.NET library that powers Markdown Edit.

Release 1.3.0

This release of Markdown Edit adds a settings dialog for common settings. The original key-bindings for opening the settings files still work. The settings dialog is provided for those who prefer a GUI interface.

To open the settings dialog, click the "Gear" icon in the title bar. A panel will slide in from the right as pictured below.

The dialog presents only the most routinely changed settings. To access all settings, you'll still need to edit the settings files directly. This is a calculated guess on my part. Settings dialogs can be imposing and confusing. The goal was to expose only those settings that are routinely changed.

There is also a small enhancement to numbered lists. Inserting a new item in a numbered list will renumber the subsequent items in the list. This only works on insert. If you delete an item in a numbered list it will not renumber the items. You can join and split lines to renumber if required.

Release 1.2.0

What's New

• Snippets extended to support substitution parameters
• New snippets added for quick insertion of links and images
• List continuations add list markers as you type
• Scroll to last position in recent documents
• Mission Statement and Contributor Guidelines added

Snippets

Snippets can now include substitution parameters. This allows the snippet to prompt for additional text after being triggered. Sounds complicated but in practice it's simple to use. Let's look at an example:

link    [$link_name$]($link_url$) $END$

When triggered, the snippet will expand as [link_text](link_url), with link_text, highlighted. Type the link text and press TAB. Now the link_url text is highlighted. Enter the link URL and press Enter. The cursor moves one space past the closing parenthesis.

Try it and you'll see that it's an easy and natural workflow.

The list of default snippets is extended. If you're upgrading from an earlier version you can add them manually by pressing F6 and copying the text below.

row       $DATE("f")$ $END$
date      $DATE("d")$ $END$
time      $DATE("t")$ $END$

img       ![$alt_text$]($image_url$) $END$
link      [$link_text$]($link_url$) $END$

tm        ™
cp        ©
reg       ®

List Continuations

List continuations supply the next list marker when composing unordered or ordered lists. This is particularly handy when creating numbered lists. It's automatic and requires no keyboard shortcut.

Start as list as usual. When you're ready to add the next list item, simply press Enter. The next list marker will automatically be added after the new line.

Scroll to Last Position

Markdown Edit remembers the last cursor position when the document is saved. Open it from the Recent Files dialog and it will scroll to that position. This feature can be disabled if desired in the user settings.

Release 1.1.0

Snippets

Snippets allow the quick insertion of words or phrases by typing a trigger word and then the TAB key. This can improve the speed and proficiency of writing documents.

Snippets are inserted by typing a trigger-word and then the TAB key. For instance, type date+TAB. The word date is replaced by the current date and time.

To define additional snippets press F6.

Snippets consist of a single line starting with:

• a single trigger word (can include non alpha-numerics)
• one or more spaces
• text that will replace the trigger word

There are special keywords that can be used in snippets.

• $END$ - Sets the cursor position after insertion
• $DATE$ - Insert the current date and time.
• $DATE("format")$ - Inserts a date with the given format. See http://www.dotnetperls.com/datetime-format for a list of support formats.
• \n - insert a new line

Custom Key Bindings

Press F10 to edit the key bindings. Make your changes and save. The changes take affect immediately.

Other Changes

• Changed the inline code block and link highlighting in the Paper theme.
• Bold, Italic and Inline Code Block shortcuts will automatically select the current word if there is no selection
• RemoveF5 date insertion in favor of snippets
• Add syntax highlighting for lists
• Bug fixes

Version 1.0.3

Minor update.

• Update syntax highlighting to work with lists
• Fix not scrolling to bottom in preview
• Add new paper theme

Version 1.0.2

• Add keyboard shortcuts to Recent Files dialog
• Fix bugs in Find/Replace
• Fix syntax highlighting bug for referenced links

Version 1.0

The venerable 1.0 release is here.