Getting Started
Up and running in 60 seconds
Step 1: Open a Markdown File
There are several ways to open a markdown file:
- Double-click any .md or .markdown file in Finder
- Drag and drop a file onto the Markdown Lens icon
- Right-click a file → Open With → Markdown Lens
- Use File → Open (⌘O) from within the app
Step 2: Explore the Toolbar
The toolbar at the top of the window provides quick access to common actions:
- Print – Print the document
- Edit – Open in your configured external editor
- Export PDF – Save as a PDF file
- Export HTML – Save as self-contained HTML
- Export DOCX – Save as a Microsoft Word document
- Document Health – Toggle the Document Health sidebar
- Search – Find text in the document
- Zoom In/Out – Adjust the preview size
- Preferences – Configure the app
- Help – Open the help documentation
Step 3: Customize (Optional)
Open Preferences (⌘,) to customize Markdown Lens:
General Tab
- Toggle toolbar and status bar visibility
- Set your preferred external editor for the Edit button
Extensions Tab
- Enable/disable math rendering (KaTeX)
- Enable/disable diagram rendering (Mermaid)
- Enable/disable syntax highlighting
- Enable/disable footnotes
Document Health Tab
- Enable/disable spell check and choose your English dialect
- Toggle the technical jargon dictionary (670+ programming terms)
- Enable/disable structural linting
- Configure portability detection and target platforms
PDF Tab
- Choose paper size (Letter, A4, etc.)
- Adjust margins
- Configure code block wrapping
Keyboard Shortcuts
| Action | Shortcut |
|---|---|
| Open File | ⌘ O |
| Close Window | ⌘ W |
| Find in Page | ⌘ F |
| Find Next | ⌘ G |
| Find Previous | ⇧ ⌘ G |
| Zoom In | ⌘ + |
| Zoom Out | ⌘ - |
| Actual Size (100%) | ⌘ 0 |
| Export to PDF | ⇧ ⌘ E |
| Export as Word Document | ⌥ ⌘ E |
| Toggle Document Health | ⇧ ⌘ D |
| ⌘ P | |
| Preferences | ⌘ , |
Live Reload
Markdown Lens automatically watches for changes to your file. When you save changes in your text editor, the preview updates instantly.
This works with any editor: VS Code, Vim, BBEdit, Sublime Text, TextEdit, or whatever you prefer.
Tips
- Multiple windows: Open multiple markdown files at once—each opens in its own window.
- Click links: Click any link to a local .md file to open it in a new window.
- Dark mode: Markdown Lens automatically follows your macOS appearance setting.
- Zoom is remembered: Each document remembers its zoom level.
- Check before sharing: Open the Document Health sidebar (⇧⌘D) to catch spelling errors, structural issues, and platform compatibility problems.
Sample Files
Want to explore all the features? Download our sample files that showcase everything Markdown Lens can do:
The download includes:
- Project-Overview.md – Tables, task lists, links, formatting
- API-Documentation.md – Code blocks with syntax highlighting
- System-Architecture.md – Mermaid diagrams (flowcharts, sequence, ER)
- Research-Notes.md – Math equations and footnotes
- AI-Code-Review.md – ASCII art and code review examples
These files use a fictional "Weather Dashboard" project theme to demonstrate realistic documentation scenarios.
Need More Help?
Check out our Support page for answers to common questions, or contact us directly.