Markdown: Sorry no sale here

Estimated reading time at 200 wpm: 6 minutes

I used Microsoft Word for decades. Same with Google Docs. They worked fine. I never thought about changing. Then, about six months ago, I stumbled into Markdown. Not because I was looking for it, but because I got fed up, about formatting that never stayed put and with files that bloated to megabytes.

Turns out, the answer had been sitting there the whole time. I just didn’t know it existed. Markdown is not some new geek thing. It has been there as a format for ages. Where MS Word would use a over 60 kilobytes, Markdown might use 3 kb for the same text content. That’s say 20 times better and with no file compression.

I know what many will be thinking – because most people are lazy as F* – though I’m no mind reader. It’ll be something like, “OMG! More software. I can’t take it.. life’s too complicated. I’m on a digital detox!” Well, if you’re that type, move right on now.

The Problem: Most People Have Never Heard of Markdown

Ask ten people what Markdown is; nine will say something about a sale at the local department store. The tenth might vaguely recall that Reddit uses something weird for formatting.

That’s the real problem. Not that Markdown is hard. Not that it’s limited. People simply don’t know it exists.

And for the few who have heard of it? They assume it’s for computer geeks who live in terminals and speak in command lines; not for normal humans writing normal things.

The Editors You’ve Never Heard Of

Yes ‘editors’ means word-processors if you’re from the era of Luddites. When people finally discover Markdown, they usually stumble across three editors:

Typora – The gold standard. What-you-see-is-what-you-get, but for Markdown. It hides the syntax until you need it. Beautiful. Simple. No longer open source, but still excellent.

MarkText – The open source Typora clone that actually works. Cross-platform. Fast. Does exactly what you want without asking permission.

Zettlr – More powerful. More complicated. Zettlr assumes you want to see the raw syntax at all times. Some people love this. Others (like me) find it gets in the way.

I tried all three. Zettlr is great for working on different views of the same document. So one can work on different parts displayed on one view. Or one can have multiple files in one view (difficult to explain here). Typora was perfect but isn’t free anymore. MarkText landed right in the sweet spot: totally free and totally easy for most things.

The Genuine Disadvantage (And How To Fix It)

Here’s the honest truth. Markdown is brilliant for writing. For drafting. For notes that need to move between computers and operating systems without breaking.

But sometimes you need to send someone a .docx file. Sometimes your boss expects tracked changes. Sometimes a publisher demands a properly formatted Word document.

This is where people give up. They think: “Markdown can’t do that, so Markdown isn’t for me.”

Wrong.

There’s a plugin called Writage. It’s free initially on a trial basis, then lifetime one off fee. It installs directly into Microsoft Word. Once it’s there, you can open any Markdown file in Word and save it as a .docx. Formatting intact. Tables. Lists. Headings. Everything.

You can write in markdown, open a markdown file in MS Word (after Writage installed), then export through Word when you need the heavy lifting. Best of both worlds. No compromise.

Getting Started on Windows

Installing MarkText

The easiest method is direct download:

1. Go to the MarkText releases page on GitHub
2. Download marktext-setup.exe (the 64-bit installer)
3. Double-click the downloaded file
4. Follow the installation wizard. The default settings are fine.

Complete Installation Guide for BigLinux (Manjaro/Arch Based)

Installing MarkText via Flatpak (Recommended)

Flatpak is the most durable option on Manjaro. System updates won’t break it.

First, ensure Flatpak is ready:

# Add the Flathub repository if you haven't already
flatpak remote-add --if-not-exists flathub https://flathub.org/repo/flathub.flatpakrepo

# Make sure Flatpak is installed
sudo pacman -S flatpak

When prompted, type Y to confirm the installation.

Launch MarkText

Method 1 – Terminal:

flatpak run com.github.marktext.marktext

Method 2 – Application Menu:
Look for “MarkText” in your system application menu. It may appear under “Office” or “Utility” categories.

Verify the Installation

Once MarkText opens:

1. Type # Test Heading on the first line
2. Press Enter
3. Type 1. First item then press Enter
4. Type 2. Second item

If you see proper heading formatting and an auto-numbered list starting at “1”, the installation succeeded.

Keyboard Shortcuts Confirmed Working on This Setup

Updating MarkText in the Future

When new versions are released, update using:

flatpak update com.github.marktext.marktext

Removing MarkText (If Needed)

flatpak uninstall --user com.github.marktext.marktext

Alternative AUR Method (Not Recommended)

Flatpak method more reliable. Not explored here.

Converting Markdown to DOCX on BigLinux (Without Word)

Since Writage requires Microsoft Word (Windows only), use Pandoc instead:

bash

Install Pandoc

sudo pacman -S pandoc

Convert your markdown file to Word format

pandoc mydocument.md -o mydocument.docx

Pandoc preserves headings, lists, tables, and basic formatting. For complex documents, you can open the resulting .docx in LibreOffice or Google Docs for final polishing.

Final Thoughts

Markdown won’t replace Word for everyone. But for the work that matters most—the actual writing—it’s hard to beat. Some people will be thinking, “Dear God! Complicated. Two formats, conversions – I have enough to deal with!” Markdown is not for those types of people. They’re unable understand that ‘format’ doesn’t really matter.

I gleefully use Markdown files in MS word. When I’m ready for some specific purpose I can convert with couple clicks to .docx from .md files straight from MS Word in W11 or via pandoc in Linux.

Everyone can have a clean, durable setup on both Windows and BigLinux. MarkText version 0.19.0 runs identically on both platforms. Ctrl+G turns paragraphs into numbered lists. Ctrl+H does bullets. No fuss. No fighting the software.

The plugins (Writage for Windows, Pandoc for Linux) handle the occasions when someone needs a .docx file. Everything else stays in plain text where it belongs.

Most people will never discover this workflow. They’ll keep wrestling with formatting that drifts and files that bloat. That’s fine because everyone has choice! But you see a better way.