Google is including Markdown assist to Google Docs on the internet, letting you format your doc utilizing textual content shortcuts moderately than keyboard ones. In a weblog put up saying the function, Google says it’s doing this by way of its autocorrect function, so it’ll mechanically format the textual content for you after you kind it in Markdown format. For instance, in the event you kind “# Google Docs is getting extra Markdown assist” it’ll mechanically get transformed to a degree one heading.
Google says that Docs already supported a number of Markdown autocorrections for bulleted and numbered lists, and checkboxes. It’s including a lot wider assist, although — now you can use Markdown so as to add headings, daring and italicize textual content (or do each), strikethrough (although it’s completed utilizing a – on both facet of your content material, moderately than the normal ~), and hyperlinks. That’s a removed from full implementation of Markdown, however at the least it covers most of what I personally use the language for.
To activate the function, go to Instruments > Preferences, and test the “Mechanically detect Markdown” field. If you happen to don’t see it, it will not be rolled out to your account but — Google says it might take “longer than 15 days” for the function to indicate up for everybody (personally, I needed to attempt three completely different Google accounts earlier than I discovered one which had it).
If you happen to’re used to writing in Markdown in different functions, Google Docs’ implementation might be going to take some getting used to (even ignoring the seemingly non-standard strikethrough syntax and absent choices). Fairly than displaying you your marks in plain textual content, it makes use of them to mechanically apply formatting after which removes them. That’s completely different from how most different textual content editors show Markdown by default — normally, you’ll nonetheless be capable of see the marks, with the editor additionally including some kind of formatting to provide you an thought of the way it’ll look whenever you publish.
Whether or not you want this strategy or not might be a private choice. Google’s implementation in all probability received’t enchantment very a lot to the individuals who use Markdown to get full management of their textual content (with out having to hassle with HTML’s annoying closing tags). However for anybody who simply needs the power to make use of Markdown as a shortcut to formatting, and doesn’t care about fussing round with plaintext, Google’s approach might be comparatively approachable — as an alternative of choosing textual content and urgent Command / Management + L to insert a hyperlink, you may simply kind a number of brackets and parentheses.
(It’s additionally in all probability price noting that this implementation is way friendlier for whenever you share a doc with a coworker who doesn’t know what Markdown is.)
Google says the function is off by default — in all probability a good selection, because it’s straightforward to think about lots of people getting confused if typing a pound register entrance of one thing mechanically switched it to be a header — and that it’s coming to “Google Workspace prospects, in addition to legacy G Suite Fundamental and Enterprise buyer,” alongside private accounts. Now in the event you’ll excuse me, I believe it’s time to start out a marketing campaign to get Google so as to add a Vim mode to Docs, because it’s moving into the behavior of including enjoyable nerdy options.
