How to get started with Markdown in the Notepad app for Windows 11

by

In the new version of Windows 11, the Notepad application now supports Markdown (.md) files natively. This means you can effortlessly read and write formatted text, as well as create text files using Markdown language, all without needing additional tools. Essentially, this built-in functionality provides a Markdown rendering experience much like that of contemporary text editors.

Markdown has been around for quite some time now. It’s a straightforward tool for enhancing the appearance of text documents using basic syntax. With it, you can effortlessly incorporate various formatting elements like headers, bullet points, bold, italics, hyperlinks, and much more into plaintext.

In this tutorial, I’ll walk you through the process of making, accessing, modifying, and checking Markdown documents using the revised Notepad application on Windows 11.

Get started with Markdown on Notepad for Windows 11

Here are the guidelines on how to activate, utilize, and deactivate markup language feature in your Notepad application (in case it isn’t active yet).

This way of paraphrasing aims to make the instructions easier to understand by using a more conversational tone and simplifying the technical terms.

Enable Markdown in Notepad

To enable the markup language in Notepad, use these steps:

  1. Open Notepad.
  2. Click the Settings (gear) button in the top-right.

  1. Turn on the “Formatting” toggle switch under the “Text Formatting” section.

After you complete the steps, you can start using Markdown in Notepad.

Format text with Markdown

To create a Markdown document, use these steps:

  1. Open Notepad.
  2. Click the File menu and select the Save as option.
  1. Confirm the file name with the “.md” extension (for example, myTextFile.md).
  2. Click the Save button.

Once in the Markdown text file, you can now start composing your content using syntax.

If you’re unfamiliar with this markup language, the Notepad application provides a toolbar located near the “File” menu where you can select various formatting options to apply to your text.

You have the option to assign titles, subtitles, headings, subheadings, sections, subsections, and main content using the “H1” menu as a guide.

Here’s another way of expressing it: Apart from using regular text, you can additionally format your content with bullet points, numbered lists, bold, italics, and even links. Enjoy the versatility!

To compose text using syntax, you can toggle between formatted and raw views by navigating to the “View” menu, selecting “Markdown”, and choosing either the “Formatted” or “Raw Syntax” mode.

Absolutely, you can peek at the Markdown code directly by toggling to the Syntax view. Alternatively, you can compose your text using the provided formatting options in the Markup view as well.

These are some of the markup supported in Notepad:

  • # H1 (title)
  • ## H2 (subtitle)
  • ### H3 (heading)
  • #### H4 (section)
  • ##### H5 (subsection)
  • **Bold text**
  • *italic text*
  • – First item
  • 1. First item

As a tech enthusiast, when I need to insert a link in my text, I simply select the words I want linked, then press `Ctrl + K` to open the link dialog box. After confirming the webpage URL, I click the “Insert” button and voilà! The link is added. If I’m working in raw mode, I use the easy-to-remember syntax: `[Click here](https://some-domain.com)`. Easy peasy, right?

As a researcher, I often find myself toggling between plain text and formatted views for clarity. You can do this effortlessly by selecting the “Clear formatting” option from the toolbar whenever you’re viewing the ‘Formatted’ mode.

Disable Markdown in Notepad

To disable Markdown in Notepad, use these steps:

  1. Open Notepad.
  2. Click the Settings (gear) in the top-right.
  1. Turn off the “Formatting” toggle switch under the “Text Formatting” section.
  1. Click the Turn off button.

After you complete the steps, you can continue using Notepad in plain text.

When working with Notepad and its markup language, remember that its syntax support is less extensive than what you might find in other text editors. This could lead to encountering warnings about unsupported syntax if you’re accustomed to using Markdown in various other tools.

Microsoft aims to update the Notepad experience for all users, but adding Markdown support isn’t intended to replace existing text editors. Instead, the main goal is to incorporate fundamental features that cater to developers who utilize “.md” files for README documents, changelogs, and various other types of files. This will minimize the reliance on third-party applications and offer a built-in method to preview formatted content directly within Notepad.

More resources

Read More

2025-08-04 13:11