Markdown widget

The Markdown widget is a formatted note that is easy to take with you. It formats as you type, with a toolbar for bold, headings, lists, task lists, quotes, code and links, and a / menu for adding blocks. When you are done, copy it out as markdown, or export it as an HTML file or a PDF.

Pick Markdown for a single note you will share or move somewhere else. For a larger document that lives on the desk, with AI draft and living summaries, use a Page.

More about this widget Coming soon

Before you start

• The Markdown widget is included on every plan.
• Letting AI draft points, and AI Assist, need AI to be set up: PlexiDesk credits while you are signed in, or your own Anthropic key. See AI credits and where your AI runs Coming soon.

Add a Markdown widget

1. Open the desk.
2. Click Add widget in the middle of the header.
3. Click Markdown.

The widget appears beside the widget you touched last. It grows taller as you write, up to a limit, and then scrolls.

Other ways to add one:

• Quick-add key. Click an empty part of the desk so that no widget is selected, then press M. See Add widgets with a single key.
• Tool rail. Rest the pointer on the tool rail at the right of the desk and click Add widget. Click Advanced, then Markdown under Notes. Or type markdown in the search box.
• Command palette. Press ⌘ K on a Mac or Ctrl K on Windows, type add markdown and choose Add Markdown.
• From another widget. Right-click another widget's title bar, or text you have selected in it, and choose Create & link > Markdown. The new widget appears to the right of it, linked to it. It starts with a copy of the text you selected, or of all the text when you right-click a Sticky, Note or Markdown widget.

In the Add widget menu, Markdown is in the Write & capture column, after Note. You can also type markdown in Search widgets… at the top of the menu and press Enter to add the first match.

Write and format

Click in the widget and type. Formatting appears as you go, and your text saves as you type.

The toolbar

Rest the pointer on a button to see its name. From left to right:

A button is highlighted while the text at your cursor uses that format.

Shortcuts as you type

At the start of a line, type one of these followed by a space:

Type three backticks and a space for a code block, and three dashes on an empty line for a divider.

The / menu

1. Type / in the text. A menu opens at your cursor.
2. Click Heading 1, Heading 2, Heading 3, Bullet list, Numbered list, Task list, Quote, Code block, Divider or Link.

The / you typed is removed and the block is added. To close the menu without choosing, press Esc or click anywhere else.

Add a link

1. Select the words you want to link.
2. Click Link in the toolbar.
3. In the Link URL window, type or paste the address, then click Set link.

To remove a link, click in it and click Link again. Web addresses you type or paste become links on their own.

Paste markdown and tables

Paste markdown from anywhere and it arrives formatted, with headings, lists and links in place. A markdown table, with a header row, a row of dashes and then one row per line, becomes a real table.

Copy it out

Click Copy as markdown in the toolbar. The whole note is copied as markdown text, ready to paste into anything that reads markdown, such as a code repository, a wiki or another notes app.

To copy only part of it, select the text and press ⌘ C (Ctrl C on Windows).

Export as HTML or PDF

1. Click Export as HTML or Export as PDF at the right end of the toolbar.
2. In the save window, choose where to save the file. It is named after the widget's title, or after the first line of the note if you have not named the widget. Change the name if you like.
3. Click Save.

A line under the toolbar confirms Saved and the file's name. If you close the save window instead, it says Export cancelled.

• HTML saves one self-contained file with its own clean styling. It opens in any web browser.
• PDF saves an A4 document with the same styling.

To export the text of a Sticky, Note or Page, copy it into a Markdown widget first with Create & link > Copy into > Markdown on that widget's right-click menu.

Let AI draft points

AI can suggest points for the note from what the desk is about. It looks at the desk's name and notes, the widget's title, what is already in it and the other widgets on the desk.

1. On an empty Markdown widget, click Set up with AI at the bottom of the widget. On one that already has text, right-click its title bar and choose Build with AI.
2. The Set up with AI window drafts a short list of points.
3. To steer it, type what to focus on in the box at the top, then press Enter or click Redraft.
4. Untick any points you don't want. They all start ticked.
5. Click Add. The button shows how many points are ticked.

The points are added as a bulleted list at the end of the note. To close the window without adding anything, click Cancel.

The sparkle button at the start of the widget's title bar opens the same window. It reads Write with AI on an empty widget and Rewrite with AI once it has text, and its tooltip says Draft the points from what this desk is about. In both cases the points you tick are added at the end, and nothing changes until you click Add. See Use a widget's AI button.

Rewrite text with AI Assist

1. Select some text and right-click it.
2. Choose AI Assist, then an action such as Summarise, Simplify, Change Tone or Translate.
3. Read the result. Click Apply, Copy, Regenerate or Discard.

Apply puts the result in place of the text you selected. If it cannot place it exactly, for example when your selection runs across formatting, it adds the result as a new sticky beside the widget instead and leaves your note as it was.

To work on the whole note, right-click the title bar and choose AI Assist. Then Apply replaces the whole note. See AI Assist: rewrite, summarise and translate text.

Copy, move and share

• Copy text. Right-click the title bar and choose Share > Copy text to copy the note's markdown.
• Copy it into another widget. Right-click the title bar, choose Create & link, and under Copy into pick Sticky, Note or Page. A new widget appears to the right with a copy of the text, linked to this one, which stays as it is.
• Share the widget. Right-click the title bar and choose Share > Share.... See Share a widget, document or file Coming soon.
• Live view. When you publish a live view of the desk, people with the link see the note's text. See Publish a live view of a desk.

Bring in an existing markdown file

To keep a file's text in a Markdown widget, open the file in any text editor, copy everything, and paste it into a new Markdown widget. It arrives formatted.

You can also bring a .md or .txt file in with Import file…: rest the pointer on the tool rail, click Add widget, then Import file… and choose the file. The file arrives as a Page, with its headings, lists, task lists, quotes and code blocks. See Turn a file into a widget.

Good uses

• A README, a release note or a how-to you will paste into another tool.
• Meeting minutes you export as a PDF and send round.
• A checklist with headings, using task lists you tick off.

Common questions

Markdown or Page?

Use Markdown for one note you will copy out or export. Use a Page for a document that stays on the desk and grows, with AI draft, living summaries and to-do lists. A Page has no file export.

What name will the exported file have?

The widget's title if you have named it, otherwise the first line of the note, with any heading marks removed. You can change the name in the save window.

I typed / and a menu appeared

That is the / menu for adding blocks. Press Esc to close it and carry on typing.

Related tasks

• Write and capture widgets
• Page widget
• Note widget
• AI Assist: rewrite, summarise and translate text
• Turn a file into a widget