How to Use Gedit as a Markdown Editor

Edited 2 days ago by ExtremeHow Editorial Team

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Gedit is a simple and powerful text editor that comes pre-installed with many Linux distributions such as Ubuntu. It is commonly used to edit code and write plain text documents. Gedit is a great tool for editing Markdown files because it is lightweight, extensible, and easy to use.

Markdown is a lightweight markup language with a plain-text-formatting syntax. It is often used to write README files, blogs, and other forms of online content where HTML might be too complex. Because of its simplicity and readability, Markdown has become incredibly popular.

Setting up Gedit for Markdown editing

By default, Gedit does not come with support specifically for Markdown. However, you can extend its functionality with some plugins and settings. The following steps will guide you in configuring Gedit to become an effective Markdown editor.

Step 1: Install Gedit plugins

To extend the functionality of Gedit, you should install some plugins that can better help you edit Markdown. On Ubuntu or Debian, you can install these plugins via the terminal:

sudo apt install gedit-plugins

After installation, open Gedit, go to the menu and select Preferences. Under the Plugins section, you will find a list of available plugins.

Activate useful plugins for Markdown editing, such as:

• Snippets: Allows you to store and reuse text snippets, which is especially useful for inserting Markdown formatting code that you use often.
• Spell Checker: Helps you identify and correct spelling mistakes in your text.
• Bracket completion: This feature automatically closes brackets, providing convenience when writing structured annotations such as lists or citations.

Step 2: Syntax highlighting

Syntax highlighting makes it easier to read and edit Markdown by displaying different elements in different colors. Currently, Gedit does not have built-in Markdown syntax highlighting, but you can add it by creating a custom language file.

To add syntax highlighting for Markdown in Gedit, follow these steps:

1. Go to the directory where the Gedit syntax files are located, typically /usr/share/gtksourceview-3.0/language-specs/.
2. Create a new file called markdown.lang in this directory.
3. Open markdown.lang and copy the following content into the file:

<?xml version="1.0"?> <language id="markdown" _name="Markdown" version="1.0" _section="Scripts" _mimetypes="text/x-markdown" xmlns="http://www.gnome.org/gtksourceview/lang-spec" > <metadata> <property name="version">1.0</property> <property name="globs">*.md</property> <property name="mimetypes">text/x-markdown</property> <property name="line-comment-start"><!--></property> </metadata> <styles> <style id="comment" name="Comment">s</style> <style id="keyword" name="Keyword" /> <style id="string" name="String" /> </styles> <definitions> <context id="numbers" style-ref="def:keyword"> <match>\d+</match> </context> <context id="comments" class="comment" style-ref="def:comment"> <start>\<!--></start> <end>--></end> </context> <context id="bold" class="text"> <start>\*\*</start> <end>\*\*</end> </context> <context id="italic" class="text"> <start>_</start> <end>_</end> </context> <context id="headers" class="markup.header"> <start>^#+</start> <include>#stay</include> </context> </definitions> </language>

After saving the file, restart Gedit. It will now automatically detect and apply syntax highlighting for files with .md extension.

Step 3: Configure tab preferences

Proper tabbing in Markdown can help maintain a clean and consistent document format. Within Gedit, you can configure the operation of tabs by accessing

Go to Edit > Preferences, then the Editor tab:

• Edit tabs as spaces: Turn this on to replace tabs with spaces, ensuring consistency across different editors.
• Set the number of spaces for each tab stop. Usually 2 or 4 spaces are set per tab.

Basic Markdown syntax

Now let's take a look at some basic Markdown syntax that you might find useful when using Gedit as a Markdown editor:

Header

Headers in Markdown are created using # symbol. The number of # symbols determines the header level. For example:

# H1 ## H2 ### H3

Emphasis

Styles such as bold and italic are achieved by using asterisks or underscores.

**This is bold text** *This is italic text* __This is bold text__ _This is italic text_

Lists

Markdown supports both ordered and unordered lists, via numeric and asterisk characters:

1. First item 2. Second item - First item - Second item * Alternative bullet

Link

Links are formatted using parentheses and brackets. For example:

[This is a link](http://example.com)

Images

You can also embed images using the same syntax:

![Alt text](image-url.jpg)

Using Gedit for efficient Markdown workflow

With Gedit set up for Markdown editing, it's helpful to use additional features and organize your workflow efficiently. Here are some additional tips:

Use of snippets

Use the Snippets plugin to create reusable blocks of Markdown code. This saves time when writing repetitive elements like headers or lists. For example, create a snippet to insert boilerplate text for a blog post that includes placeholders for headers and content.

Use of previewers

Although Gedit itself doesn't offer a Markdown preview feature, you can use external tools to render and preview your writing. Applications like Mark My Words, Markdown Viewer, or a browser-based Markdown viewer can complement Gedit. Simply save the file in Gedit and refresh or open it in your Markdown preview app.

Get organized with file management

To efficiently manage Markdown projects with Gedit:

• Create directories for each project to keep files organized.
• Use meaningful file names to easily identify the content, for example, blog-post-title.md.
• Use version control systems like Git to keep track of changes and revisions for large projects.

Installing additional tools for advanced Markdown editing

While Gedit itself offers a strong text editing experience, consider complementing it with additional tools to take full advantage of its capabilities:

Using Git for version control

Installing Git allows you to track changes to your Markdown files over time, collaborate with others, and manage revisions effectively. Install Git using:

sudo apt install git

Initialize Git in your project directory and start making changes. This ensures that your writing process is preserved at different stages.

Markdown linters and formatter

Linters help ensure that your Markdown follows consistent formatting and style rules. A popular tool is markdownlint, which can be installed via Node.js:

sudo npm install -g markdownlint-cli

Check for style or syntax issues by running markdownlint yourfile.md in the terminal. This helps maintain readability and consistency in your document.

Text expander tool

You can further boost productivity by using the Text Expander tool, which generates Markdown templates with a single keystroke, reducing time spent on routine tasks.

Final thoughts

Once properly configured, Gedit provides a versatile and efficient environment for Markdown editing. Although it is a simple text editor by nature, its extensibility through plugins makes it a valuable tool for both novice and experienced users. With the addition of syntax highlighting, the ability to manage snippets, and adding external previewers or linters, you turn Gedit into a comprehensive Markdown editor that fits your needs.

Remember to keep practicing and exploring additional features to improve your setup. Markdown offers simplicity and power in text editing, and with Gedit, you can enjoy a streamlined and productive writing experience.

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