Converting Markdown on the fly to simple html (no longer works here)

[Jason Davies]

Afternoon (evening, morning)

Let me preface this by saying I'm probably the least techy member of this select group so please tailor replies to just below what you consider 'idiot' on that count.

Many years ago, I set up BBEdit to convert selected text (or front window) from markdown to html. I set a keystroke to it and completely forgot how I did it. I think it was via a package on https://www.bbeditextras.org/packages/.

Somehow recently I/an update broke whatever I did and have not been able to sort out a new system.

What I want to do is very simple and Gruber would approve. I want markdown text I've selected to be converted to (simple) html, without CSS or creating code for a whole independent page. Every method I've found (eg Raycast extensions) creates very busy results but mostly I'm working with snippets (such as editing an existing blog page in MarsEdit which lets me edit in BBEdit).

(I could do what I did in the 90s for LaTeX before we had pandoc and simply put together a find/replace script but I can't work out how to create lists properly and am rubbish at coding/similar...)

Any help appreciated:)

Cheers,

Jason

--

https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7213-2147

Davies, J. P. (2025). Landscapes of Liminality: Towards a Map. In A. S. Webb (Ed.), 2025 New Horizons in Threshold Concepts (Vancouver B.C.).

Davies, J. P. et al (eds.). (2024). Threshold Concepts in the Moment. Brill.

Mosurinjon S., Davies. J. P. (2024) 'Secularism as a Universalising Threshold Concept' in Davies et al (2024), 72--85.

[Brian Forte]

On Fri, 24 Apr 2026 16:08:41 +0100, Jason Davies wrote:
> Many years ago, I set up BBEdit to convert selected text (or front
> window) from markdown to html. I set a keystroke to it and completely
> forgot how I did it. I think it was via a package on
> https://www.bbeditextras.org/packages/.

You might have had the Markdown BBEdit extension package installed.

It is still listed among the [User-created packages][1] but the
[link][2] no longer works. The link now redirects to a generic
‘something’s coming’ page.

> What I want to do is very simple and Gruber would approve. I want
> markdown text I've selected to be converted to (simple) html,
> without CSS or creating code for a whole independent page. Every
> method I've found (eg Raycast extensions) creates very busy results
> but mostly I'm working with snippets (such as editing an existing
> blog page in MarsEdit which lets me edit in BBEdit).

It is, however, entirely possible, you were using Gruber’s original
perl filter.

And that can still be downloaded and made available in BBEdit to do
pretty much exactly what you describe above.

01. Visit the [Markdown project page][3] on Daring Fireball.

02. Download the [Markdown 1.0.1 PKZip file][4].

NB: The next step assumes your browser downloads files to
`~/Downloads`. That is, the *Downloads* folder in the
*your-username-here* folder in the *Users* folder of your Mac.

03. Switch to the Finder and choose **Go → Downloads** from the menu
bar (or press ⌘-⇧-L).

04. Double-click the downloaded file, `Markdown_1.0.1.zip`, in the
opened Downloads window.

05. Archive Utility will launch and unZip the file, putting a folder,
`Markdown_1.0.1`, into the Downloads folder.

06. Double-click the folder, `Markdown_1.0.1` to open it in the
Finder.

07. This folder should have the following contents:

`Mardown.pl`
`License.text`
`Markdown Readme.text`

08. Switch to BBEdit.

09. Choose **BBEdit → Folders → Text Filters** from the menu bar.

10. You will be switched back to the Finder and the folder, `Text
Filters` will be open.

(Gruber’s own instructions on the Markdown project page refer to a
`Unix Filters` folder. That was the name of the folder used by
BBEdit for such files back in 2004. It is not the name of the
folder used by BBEdit for such files now.)

11. Drag the file `Markdown.pl` from the `Markdown_1.0.1` to the `Text
Filters`.

12. Switch back to BBEdit.

13. Choose **Text → Text Filters** from the menu bar.

14. A command, **Markdown** should be listed in the **Text Filters**
sub-menu.

This command is what you use to convert the markup of selected text
from Markdown to HTML.

(And, FYI, I ran the above procedure just now, including letting the
filter run over the text of this Markdown-marked-up e-mail, and it all
worked as expected.)

Hope this helps,

Regards,

Brian Forte.
--
Brian Forte
<bfo...@adelaide.on.net>


[1]: <https://bbeditextras.org/packages/>

[2]: <http://www.ranea.org/bbedit-markdown.html>

[3]: <https://daringfireball.net/projects/markdown/>

[4]: <http://daringfireball.net/projects/downloads/Markdown_1.0.1.zip>

[Brian Forte]

On Fri, 24 Apr 2026 16:08:41 +0100, Jason Davies wrote:

> I set a keystroke to it and completely forgot how I did it.

And, as an addendum to my earlier message to the list regarding this.

To apply a keyboard chord to an available BBEdit command:

1. Switch to BBEdit.

2. Choose **BBEdit → Settings** from the menu bar.

3. Select **Menus & Shortcuts** from the sidebar.

4. Choose **Text** from presented list of menu names.

5. Click the dislosure triangle next to the **Text Filters** menu item
listed in the right-hand column of commands in the Text menu.

6. Click the *click to set* string next to the listed **Markdown**
command.

The *click to set* string becomes editable.

7. Type the keyboard chord you want to use to invoke the **Markdown**
text filter.

I did this, just now, and set ^⌥⌘M (Ctrl-Option-Command-M) as the
keyboard chord. And my copy of BBEdit did not present an alert
telling me this particular chord was already being used to invoke
another command.

Hope this also helps.