mdViewer - Markdown Viewer

• Lightweight, WYSIWYG, AI conversation management assistant
• Super conversion: supports multiple file formats
• Command-line support

What is Markdown

Markdown is a lightweight markup language co-designed by John Gruber and Aaron Swartz in 2004. Its core goal is to allow users to quickly write formatted text using simple, intuitive syntax while maintaining readability and cross-platform compatibility without relying on complex layout tools.

Why Use Markdown

Markdown's popularity is closely tied to AI tools like Deepseek and Doubao. Copying content from their chat interfaces often pastes Markdown-formatted text (full of symbols like * and #). A Markdown veiwer (like mdViewer) is essential for reading such content.

• Minimal and memorable syntax: Uses a few special characters (e.g., #, *, []()) for formatting, requiring no complex code. Beginners can learn it in minutes.
• Plain text, high compatibility: Markdown files (.md) are pure text and can be opened in any text editor (Notepad, VS Code, Notes). They can be easily converted to HTML, PDF, Word, eBooks, etc., adapting to websites, documents, notes, blogs, and more.
• Focus on content, not layout: Users don't need to adjust fonts, indentation, or alignment—just write and use simple marks to format, greatly improving writing efficiency (ideal for programmers, writers, students, etc.).
• Wide support: Most mainstream tools and platforms support Markdown, e.g., Notion, Obsidian, GitHub, GitLab, VS Code, Typora, etc.

Usage Help

File operations:

• New: Ctrl+N to create a new Markdown document
• Open: Ctrl+O or via menu to open a Markdown file
• Save: Ctrl+S or via menu to save the current file
• Save As: via menu to save current content as a new file
• Preview in browser: open preview in system default browser

Editing operations:

• Find: Ctrl+F to open find dialog
• Find next: F3 to find next match
• Find previous: Shift+F3 to find previous match
• Replace: Ctrl+H to open replace dialog

View operations:

• Dark mode: toggle dark/light mode for editor and preview
• Refresh preview: F5 to manually refresh (usually auto-refreshes)
• Font settings: set fonts separately for editor and preview areas
• Markdown syntax support

Preview features:
Right-side preview area shows real-time Markdown rendering. Dark mode affects both editor and preview appearance. Full preview can be opened in the system browser.

Super Conversion: Pro Edition Exclusive

• Convert Epub, HTML, Excel, PDF, Word, PPT and other formats to Markdown
• Markdown to HTML: convert current Markdown content to HTML file
• Markdown to PDF: convert current Markdown content to PDF file
• Markdown to Word: convert current Markdown content to Word document
• Markdown to Plain Text: extract plain text from current Markdown
• If you have an Azure account, audio files (Mp3, M4a) can be converted to Markdown

Changelog

• v0.18Pro: Auto table of contents generation; super conversion tool provided separately for faster startup
• v0.17Pro: Migrated to PyQt5, using QWebEngineView for excellent rendering
• v0.16Pro: Added super conversion, supporting multiple file formats
• v0.15: Added DOCX export; optimized UI and system stability
• v0.14: Added TXT export (strips Markdown syntax)
• v0.13: Added print functionality
• v0.12: Added .md file association, command-line arguments, and drag-and-drop to open .md files
• v0.11: Added browser preview with better font layout
• v0.10: Basic Markdown editing and preview

Environment

• QSettings storage: On Windows, QSettings is saved in the registry at HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\username\mdViewerPro. On macOS/Linux, it is saved in the configuration directory.
• Tested on 64-bit Windows 10/11
• Windows 7 is not supported (missing required files)
• Antivirus software (e.g., 360) may falsely flag Python-packaged applications