Markdown that will not render
If part of a note shows the raw characters you typed instead of the formatting you expected, it is almost always one of two things: a construct Notate does not render, or a small syntax detail. Nothing is ever lost either way, because the note is a plain text file, so you can fix it and carry on.
Constructs Notate does not render
Markdown has no single standard, and every editor draws its own line. These are the ones Notate leaves as plain text.
| You wrote | What happens | What to do instead |
|---|---|---|
$E = mc^2$ or $$…$$ | Math stays literal, dollar signs and all | Write the expression in words, or keep it in a code block so it at least reads as notation |
> [!NOTE] | Renders as an ordinary quote with [!NOTE] visible | Use a quote with a bold lead-in, such as > **Note.** … |
<div>, <kbd>, any HTML tag | The tags show as text | Use markdown for the formatting you want |
[[Note title|other label]] | The link does not resolve | Wiki-links have no alias syntax. Use [other label](link) when the text has to differ |
==**bold** inside a highlight== | The asterisks stay visible | Highlights do not combine with other inline marks. Put the highlight inside the bold instead |
Syntax details that catch people out
A divider turned into a heading. Three dashes directly underneath a line of text make that line a heading, not a horizontal rule. Leave a blank line above the dashes and you get the divider you wanted.
A line break did nothing. Pressing Enter once does not break a line; markdown joins it to the line above. End the line with two spaces or a backslash, or leave a blank line to start a new paragraph.
A tag did not register. A tag needs at least one character that is not a digit, so #1 stays a number, and the hash has to start the line or follow a space. Tags inside code spans and fenced blocks are skipped on purpose.
Frontmatter is not missing. The YAML block at the top of a note is metadata rather than content, so it never appears in the rendered note. Use the </> button in the row above the text to see it.
Checking the syntax
The markdown guide renders every construct Notate supports next to the source that produced it, including what Notate does not render. If something is not behaving, comparing against the matching row there is the quickest way to see whether the syntax or the support is the problem.