Read and Write modes

Short answer: Unmarked has two modes. Read shows the finished document with no Markdown syntax. Write shows the source, with the syntax hidden until your cursor reaches it. Press ⌘E, or use the Read/Write control in the toolbar, to switch.

Which mode a document opens in is up to you: choose Read, Write or Last used under Settings ▸ General ▸ Open documents in.

Read mode: the finished document

Read mode is the rendered document, nothing else.

• Links are clickable.
• Task checkboxes are clickable, and toggling one saves the change straight to the file.
• Math is typeset, and code blocks are colored by their language.
• Images zoom, and Live Text means you can select the text inside them.
• Select text and copy it, the way you would in any document.

Use it when you're reviewing, reading something long, or handing the screen to someone who shouldn't have to look at raw Markdown.

Write mode: clean source, syntax that gets out of the way

Write mode is a source editor, but a quiet one. The Markdown syntax dims so the prose stays in front of you, and it reveals at the cursor when you're on a line that has it. So you see ## Heading as a heading most of the time, and you see the ## when you land there to edit it. Equations stay as the LaTeX you typed until you switch back to Read.

What's in Write mode:

• Smart continuation. Press Enter inside a list or a quote and the next line keeps it going.
• Tab to indent, ⇧Tab to outdent.
• A floating format toolbar when you select text.
• A + button on an empty line, and an Insert menu in the menu bar, for tables, code blocks, lists, quotes, dividers, and images.
• A copy button on a code block, which appears while your cursor is inside it.
• Find with ⌘F, full undo and redo, and spell and grammar check (on by default, toggle it off in Settings if you'd rather).

Present from either mode

Present is a full-screen view of the same document, not another editing mode. Start it from Read or Write with the play button or ⌥⌘P. See how headings and dividers become slides.

Note: Read and Write keep their own typography, so you can tune each one to the job. Set them both under Typography in Settings.