Markdown to HTML — copying clean markup or downloading a page

The converter has three outputs. Plain text strips formatting, rich text keeps it for pasting into documents, and HTML source gives you the markup itself.

Rich text or HTML source?

They come from the same conversion, so the difference is where the result is going:

• Rich text goes on the clipboard as formatted content. You paste it into Word, Gmail or Google Docs and the application reads the formatting.
• HTML source is the text of the markup, shown for you to read and copy. You paste it into something that expects code: a website editor’s “HTML” or “source” view, a newsletter tool, or a content management system.

If you can see the formatted result appear when you paste, you wanted rich text. If you are pasting into a box that shows angle brackets, you wanted HTML source.

Two ways to take it

Copy puts the markup on the clipboard. It is a fragment — headings, paragraphs, lists and tables — ready to drop inside an existing page.

Download .html saves a complete standalone page that opens in any browser. Use it to share a document with someone who has no editor, or to keep a readable copy.

What to expect

• Headings, lists, tables, links and emphasis become the matching HTML elements.
• Settings such as how links or images are handled apply here too.
• The output is structure, not design. Your website’s own stylesheet decides how it looks, which is usually what you want.

Before you publish

Read the result once. Markdown that looked fine as a draft sometimes has a stray heading level or a list that did not nest the way you meant, and it is easier to fix in the source pane than in the finished page.