Markdown Guide.md
1 # Markdown Guide 2 ## What the heck is markdown and why should I care? 3 4 Learning Markdown and incorporating it into your daily routine through tools like Obsidian offers advantages such as simplicity, efficiency, portability, structured organization, and the development of a transferable skill. 5 6 Markdown's straightforward syntax enables quick formatting and content-focused writing, while Obsidian's features enhance note-taking, knowledge management, and productivity. Not to mention, its an easy and valuable skill to learn! 7 8 **Now it’s time to learn how to write beautifully structured notes without taking your hands off the keyboard!** 9 10 --- 11 ## Paragraphs 12 13 To create paragraphs, use a blank line to separate one or more lines of text. 14 15 ``` 16 This is a paragraph. 17 18 This is another paragraph. 19 ``` 20 21 Multiple blank spaces 22 23 ## Headings 24 25 To create a heading, add up to six `#` symbols before your heading text. The number of `#` symbols determines the size of the heading. 26 27 ```md 28 # This is a heading 1 29 ## This is a heading 2 30 ### This is a heading 3 31 #### This is a heading 4 32 ##### This is a heading 5 33 ###### This is a heading 6 34 ``` 35 36 # This is a heading 1 37 38 ## This is a heading 2 39 40 ### This is a heading 3 41 42 #### This is a heading 4 43 44 ##### This is a heading 5 45 46 ###### This is a heading 6 47 48 ## Bold, italics, highlights 49 50 Text formatting can also be applied using [Editing shortcuts](https://help.obsidian.md/Editing+and+formatting/Editing+shortcuts). 51 52 |Style|Syntax|Example|Output| 53 |---|---|---|---| 54 |Bold|`** **` or `__ __`|`**Bold text**`|**Bold text**| 55 |Italic|`* *` or `_ _`|`*Italic text*`|_Italic text_| 56 |Strikethrough|`~~ ~~`|`~~Striked out text~~`|~~Striked out text~~| 57 |Highlight|`== ==`|`==Highlighted text==`|==Highlighted text==| 58 |Bold and nested italic|`** **` and `_ _`|`**Bold text and _nested italic_ text**`|**Bold text and _nested italic_ text**| 59 |Bold and italic|`*** ***` or `___ ___`|`***Bold and italic text***`|**_Bold and italic text_**| 60 61 ## Internal links 62 63 Obsidian supports two formats for [internal links](https://help.obsidian.md/Linking+notes+and+files/Internal+links) between notes: 64 65 - Wikilink: `[[Three laws of motion]]` 66 - Markdown: `[Three laws of motion](Three%20laws%20of%20motion.md)` 67 68 ## External links 69 70 If you want to link to an external URL, you can create an inline link by surrounding the link text in brackets (`[ ]`), and then the URL in parentheses (`( )`). 71 72 ```md 73 [Obsidian Help](https://help.obsidian.md) 74 ``` 75 76 [Obsidian Help](https://help.obsidian.md/) 77 78 You can also create external links to files in other vaults, by linking to an [Obsidian URI](https://help.obsidian.md/Extending+Obsidian/Obsidian+URI). 79 80 ```md 81 [Note](obsidian://open?vault=MainVault&file=Note.md) 82 ``` 83 84 ### Escape blank spaces in links 85 86 If your URL contains blank spaces, you must escape them by replacing them with `%20`. 87 88 ```md 89 [My Note](obsidian://open?vault=MainVault&file=My%20Note.md) 90 ``` 91 92 You can also escape the URL by wrapping it with angled brackets (`< >`). 93 94 ```md 95 [My Note](<obsidian://open?vault=MainVault&file=My Note.md>) 96 ``` 97 98 ## External images 99 100 You can add images with external URLs, by adding a `!` symbol before an [external link](https://help.obsidian.md/Editing+and+formatting/Basic+formatting+syntax#External%20links). 101 102 ```md 103  104 ``` 105 106  107 108 You can change the image dimensions, by adding `|640x480` to the link destination, where 640 is the width and 480 is the height. 109 110 ```md 111  112 ``` 113 114 If you only specify the width, the image scales according to its original aspect ratio. For example: 115 116 ```md 117  118 ``` 119 120 >[!tip] Tip 121 >If you want to add an image from inside your vault, you can also [embed an image in a note](https://help.obsidian.md/Linking+notes+and+files/Embed+files#Embed%20an%20image%20in%20a%20note). 122 123 ## Quotes 124 125 You can quote text by adding a `>` symbols before the text. 126 127 ```md 128 > Human beings face ever more complex and urgent problems, and their effectiveness in dealing with these problems is a matter that is critical to the stability and continued progress of society. 129 130 \- Doug Engelbart, 1961 131 ``` 132 133 > Human beings face ever more complex and urgent problems, and their effectiveness in dealing with these problems is a matter that is critical to the stability and continued progress of society. 134 135 - Doug Engelbart, 1961 136 137 > [!Tip] 138 You can turn your quote into a [callout](https://help.obsidian.md/Editing+and+formatting/Callouts) by adding `[!info]` as the first line in a quote. 139 > - See [[Custom Callouts]] for a list 140 141 ## Lists 142 143 You can create an unordered list by adding a `-`, `*`, or `+` before the text. 144 145 ```md 146 - First list item 147 - Second list item 148 - Third list item 149 ``` 150 151 - First list item 152 - Second list item 153 - Third list item 154 155 To create an ordered list, start each line with a number followed by a `.` symbol. 156 157 ```md 158 1. First list item 159 2. Second list item 160 3. Third list item 161 ``` 162 163 1. First list item 164 2. Second list item 165 3. Third list item 166 167 ### Task lists 168 169 To create a task list, start each list item with a hyphen and space followed by `[ ]`. 170 171 ```md 172 - [x] This is a completed task. 173 - [ ] This is an incomplete task. 174 ``` 175 176 - [x] This is a completed task. 177 - [ ] This is an incomplete task. 178 179 You can toggle a task in Reading view by selecting the checkbox. 180 181 Tip 182 183 You can use any character inside the brackets to mark it as complete. 184 185 ```md 186 - [x] Milk 187 - [?] Eggs 188 - [-] Eggs 189 ``` 190 191 - [x] Milk 192 - [x] Eggs 193 - [x] Eggs 194 195 ### Nesting lists 196 197 All list types can be nested in Obsidian. 198 199 To create a nested list, indent one or more list items: 200 201 ```md 202 1. First list item 203 1. Ordered nested list item 204 2. Second list item 205 - Unordered nested list item 206 ``` 207 208 1. First list item 209 1. Ordered nested list item 210 2. Second list item 211 - Unordered nested list item 212 213 Similarly, you can create a nested task list by indenting one or more list items: 214 215 ```md 216 - [ ] Task item 1 217 - [ ] Subtask 1 218 - [ ] Task item 2 219 - [ ] Subtask 1 220 ``` 221 222 - [ ] Task item 1 223 - [ ] Subtask 1 224 - [ ] Task item 2 225 - [ ] Subtask 1 226 227 Use `Tab` or `Shift+Tab` to indent or unindent one or more selected list items for easy organization. 228 229 ## Horizontal rule 230 231 You can use three or more stars `***`, hyphens `---`, or underscore `___` on its own line to add a horizontal bar. You can also separate symbols using spaces. 232 233 ```md 234 *** 235 **** 236 * * * 237 --- 238 ---- 239 - - - 240 ___ 241 ____ 242 _ _ _ 243 ``` 244 245 --- 246 247 ## Code 248 249 You can format code both inline within a sentence, or in its own block. 250 251 ### Inline code 252 253 You can format code within a sentence using single backticks. 254 255 ```md 256 Text inside `backticks` on a line will be formatted like code. 257 ``` 258 259 Text inside `backticks` on a line will be formatted like code. 260 261 If you want to put backticks in an inline code block, surround it with double backticks like so: inline ``code with a backtick ` inside``. 262 263 ### Code blocks 264 265 To format a block of code, surround the code with triple backticks. 266 267 ```` 268 ``` 269 cd ~/Desktop 270 ``` 271 ```` 272 273 ```md 274 cd ~/Desktop 275 ``` 276 277 You can also create a code block by indenting the text using `Tab` or 4 blank spaces. 278 279 ```md 280 cd ~/Desktop 281 ``` 282 283 You can add syntax highlighting to a code block, by adding a language code after the first set of backticks. 284 285 ````md 286 ```js 287 function fancyAlert(arg) { 288 if(arg) { 289 $.facebox({div:'#foo'}) 290 } 291 } 292 ``` 293 ```` 294 295 ```js 296 function fancyAlert(arg) { 297 if(arg) { 298 $.facebox({div:'#foo'}) 299 } 300 } 301 ``` 302 303 Obsidian uses Prism for syntax highlighting. For more information, refer to [Supported languages](https://prismjs.com/#supported-languages). 304 305 Note 306 307 [Source mode](https://help.obsidian.md/Editing+and+formatting/Edit+and+preview+Markdown#Source%20mode) and [Live Preview](https://help.obsidian.md/Editing+and+formatting/Edit+and+preview+Markdown#Live%20Preview) do not support PrismJS, and may render syntax highlighting differently. 308 309 ## Footnotes 310 311 You can add footnotes[[1]](https://publish.obsidian.md/#fn-1-6766dfd5e47944eb) to your notes using the following syntax: 312 313 ```md 314 This is a simple footnote[^1]. 315 316 [^1]: This is the referenced text. 317 [^2]: Add 2 spaces at the start of each new line. 318 This lets you write footnotes that span multiple lines. 319 [^note]: Named footnotes still appear as numbers, but can make it easier to identify and link references. 320 ``` 321 322 You can also inline footnotes in a sentence. Note that the caret goes outside the brackets. 323 324 ```md 325 You can also use inline footnotes. ^[This is an inline footnote.] 326 ``` 327 328 Note 329 330 Inline footnotes only work in reading view, not in Live Preview. 331 332 ## Comments 333 334 You can add comments by wrapping text with `%%`. Comments are only visible in Editing view. 335 336 ```md 337 This is an %%inline%% comment. 338 339 %% 340 This is a block comment. 341 342 Block comments can span multiple lines. 343 %% 344 ``` 345 346 ## Learn more 347 348 To learn more advanced formatting syntax, such as tables, diagrams, and math expressions, refer to [Advanced formatting syntax](https://help.obsidian.md/Editing+and+formatting/Advanced+formatting+syntax). 349 350 To learn more about how Obsidian parses Markdown, refer to [Obsidian Flavored Markdown](https://help.obsidian.md/Editing+and+formatting/Obsidian+Flavored+Markdown). 351 352 353 ---