Generating PDF Output

Markdown Monster creates HTML output when it transforms your Markdown document, and you can print the rendered HTML output to a printer or a PDF document.

There are a couple of ways to do this:

  • Use the File -> Save to - > Save to Pdf menu option
  • Use the File -> Print Output -> Save As Pdf Browser Printing
  • Use an external Browser's Print Options

Generating a PDF using the Save As Pdf Dialog

The easiest way to create a PDF document is to use the PDF Dialog to generate a PDF document:

This option uses wkhtml2pdf to convert HTML output from your rendered content to PDF using a print centric approach that allows for document customization options and proper page breaking.

For more detail on options and limitations of this approach for PDF generation please see:

Save as PDF Dialog

Built in Printing

Alternately you can use the built-in Browser PDF printing facility either in the Preview browser in Markdown Monster or in your system Web Browser.

To do this:

  • Open your document
  • Make sure the Preview is open
  • Press ctrl-P or File->Print Output->Save to Pdf
  • Pops up browser's Print Dialog
  • Select Save as PDF

This brings up the browser's print dialog that lets you print to PDF output:

You can also use this mechanism to print output to a printer.

Using an External Web Browser Instance

If you don't want to use the built-in printing based on Microsoft Edge Chromium's WebView, you can also use an external browser, by choosing File -> View in Web Browser or Alt-v-b which opens your Windows configured Web browser.

You can then use that browser's print facility to print the document to a printer or PDF document and use your favorite browser's facility to perform print tasks.

PDF Output Generation is not Perfect

Please keep in mind that PDF output generation is not pixel perfect compared to your HTML output. It works well for most use cases, but the output generation for each mechanism has some limitations.

wkhtml2pdf Limitations

  • Single Font Support
  • No syntax coloring for code snippets
  • Code snippets can break mid-code
  • Depending on theme used, code may not be visible
  • Recommend you use the Pdf Output Print Theme
  • No control over page breaks
  • Limited print control options
  • Can't specify a custom title header
  • Doesn't generate a table of contents

Consider Packaged HTML Output

If you want true HTML representation of your Markdown Conent you can use the Save to -> Save To Html option and Save Markdown Output as HTML. There are options to create packaged HTML that is self contained that makes it easy to create local content that can be viewed as HTML in any browser getting the same output that you are seeing in the preview.

See also

Save As PDF Dialog

© West Wind Technologies, 2016-2023 • Updated: 04/12/22
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