It’s official, Marked 3 is out! This update represents the largest release of Marked since its inception.

Microsoft Word

One of Marked’s weakest points in V2 was its poor support for exporting DOCX documents. Marked 3 outputs 100% accurate DOCX files, with element styles, built-in templates, and even converts math equations to Word’s native format. Changes tracked with CriticMarkup are also added as change tracking to the DOCX file itself.

But it’s also 2-way. You can open a DOCX file in Marked and it will convert it to Markdown. You can edit in Word and see the changes in Marked, and you can use Marked’s extensive export options to convert to other formats.

This improvement makes Marked (and Markdown) far more feasible in a business environment, allowing you to work in Markdown but still share documents in a format just about every business uses.

More Flavors

Marked 3 switches its GitHub Flavored Markdown support to CommonMark (GFM), which is what GitHub actually uses these days. You can still use the Discount renderer, but it’s no longer the default.

Marked 3 also supports Kramdown, which is a bit slower than other processors, but adds important features like Inline Attribute Lists (IALs), which let you add classes and IDs (among other attributes) to any block element. Combined with Custom Styles, you can create fully-styled documents with way more flexibility than just standard Markdown elements.

Apex support is coming soon, but I didn’t want to focus on it for the initial release. Once that’s in place, you won’t have to pick and choose a processor anymore, you’ll be able to use all of the various Markdown syntax with one processor.

Custom Rules and Styles

Marked 2 could run one Custom Processor and one Custom Preprocessor. Marked 3 extrapolates that to a rules-based system that lets you run different Custom Rules based on things like file extension or location, metadata type, etc. Then you can combine any series of actions to take on the matching documents using a standard Rule editor. Search and replace text, modify metadata, run scripts, Quick Actions, and Shortcuts, and more.

There’s also a Custom Style generator built in, which lets you generate and tweak Custom Styles. Use the Style Manager to enable/disable styles (including built-in styles), re-order them (affecting keyboard shortcuts) and add/delete Custom Styles. There’s even a built-in Style Stealer that lets you grab the styles for existing blogs and sites and apply them to your own documents.

The Dingus

It’s a bit “hidden” because it’s not at all Marked’s primary focus, but there’s a built-in “Dingus” that lets you test syntax and see how the different Markdown flavors will render it. You can apply any Style loaded in Marked to the preview.

But that’s not all. It also has file open and save capabilities, and can tie in to Marked’s actual previews, where you can run Custom Processors and take advantage of all of Marked’s features. This editor has your basic Markdown features, with shortcuts for emphasis, links, etc., and things like automatic list and block quote continuation.

Speed Reading

It’s far from the banner feature, but I also added a Speed Reading mode to Marked 3. It uses Rapid Serial Visual Presentation (RSVP) to present one word at a time with a red anchor character. With it I’m able to read about 750 WPM, but you can adjust from 300 to 1000. It makes getting through long articles and documnents a breeze. Combined with Marked 3’s ability to import web pages and convert them to Markdown, it’s a great way to get through a lot of content.

So Much More

There are so many new features that I couldn’t possibly list them all here. There’s a summary on the homepage, and you can see the massive changelog for more details. I don’t expect anyone to read the whole thing, but if you’re into that kind of thing, check it out. Maybe you just want to ⌘+F your way through it.

Get It Today!

You can find links to all of the versions at markedapp.com. It’s available on the Mac App Store and for direct purchase through Paddle. It’s also available on Setapp, which in the grand scheme of things is the most affordable option, given everything else you get with a subscription.

Marked 3 is primarily available as a subscription, which I know will upset some people, but it allows me to just constantly be adding to and improving the app without having to focus on major releases (or get stuck in the position I did with Marked 2 where I kept releasing new features without requiring an upgrade, which meant people who paid $10 ten years ago never gave me another dime).

However, there are permanent unlock licenses available for all versions, including through Setapp (soon). The price is steep, but you’re just paying for a couple years of standard pricing and then it’s yours forever.

I’m releasing Marked 3 at a temporary introductory price of $2.99/month, which is a steal. The price will go up in a few weeks, depending on how the rollout goes.

Marked 2 will continue to be available for those who don’t need everything Marked 3 offers. It will always be a one-time purchase, but won’t see a lot of updates, other than to keep it running as new OS versions come out. {.warn}