User Guide

Nabu is a native macOS Markdown editor that transforms your documents into beautifully formatted PDFs and Word documents with zero external dependencies. No Pandoc, no LaTeX, no command-line tools required.

Made by JT @ UncSoft

Getting Started

Nabu provides a distraction-free writing environment with a live preview. Simply start typing in the editor on the left, and watch your formatted document appear on the right.

View Modes

Use the view mode picker in the toolbar or keyboard shortcuts to switch between:

Templates

Quickly start new documents with pre-built templates. Go to File > New from Template and choose from:

Tip: You can also insert template content into an existing document by right-clicking in the editor and selecting from the Templates submenu.

Quick Tips for Perfect PDFs

Getting your PDF to look just right is easy with these formatting tools:

Page Breaks

If your PDF is clipping text or splitting content awkwardly between pages, use page breaks to take control:

[pagebreak]

Insert [pagebreak] before headings, tables, or images to ensure they start on a fresh page. This is especially useful for:

• Keeping tables from being split across pages
• Starting new chapters or sections on their own page
• Preventing images from being cut off

Fine-Tuning Your Layout

In the PDF Export Preview (click Export), you can adjust:

Pro Tips

• Wide tables getting cut off? Try Landscape orientation or reduce margins
• Text too small in print? Increase the font size scale in export settings
• Want consistent formatting? Check "Remember settings" to save your preferences
• Preview before exporting — the thumbnail view shows exactly how each page will look

Markdown Syntax Reference

Tip: You don't need to memorize all this syntax! Nabu provides several ways to quickly insert Markdown:

• Right-click in the editor to access the Insert menu (select text first for formatting options like bold/italic)
• Click the + button in the toolbar for quick access to all Markdown elements
• Use the Edit > Insert menu from the menu bar
• Use keyboard shortcuts like ⌘B for bold, ⌘I for italic, ⌘K for links

Text Formatting

Headings

# Heading 1
## Heading 2
### Heading 3
#### Heading 4
##### Heading 5
###### Heading 6

Links and Images

Hyperlink:

[Link Text](https://example.com)

Image:

![Alt text](path/to/image.png)

HTML Image with Size:

<img src="image.png" width="200" height="100" alt="Description">

Lists

Bullet List:

- Item one
- Item two
- Item three

Numbered List:

1. First item
2. Second item
3. Third item

Task List:

- [x] Completed task
- [ ] Pending task

Code Blocks

Wrap code in triple backticks with an optional language identifier for syntax highlighting:

```swift
func greet(name: String) {
    print("Hello, \(name)!")
}
```

Supported languages include: Swift, Python, JavaScript, TypeScript, SQL, HTML, CSS, JSON, Bash, and many more.

Blockquotes

> This is a blockquote.
> It can span multiple lines.

This is a blockquote. It can span multiple lines.

Tables

| Header 1 | Header 2 | Header 3 |
|----------|----------|----------|
| Cell 1   | Cell 2   | Cell 3   |
| Cell 4   | Cell 5   | Cell 6   |

Horizontal Rule

---

Page Breaks

Insert a page break for PDF export:

[pagebreak]

Footnotes

Here is a sentence with a footnote[^1].

[^1]: This is the footnote content.
Footnotes appear at the bottom of the page

CSS Styling

Nabu supports inline CSS for custom styling. These styles are preserved in PDF exports.

Text Colors

<span style="color: red;">Red text</span>
<span style="color: blue;">Blue text</span>
<span style="color: green;">Green text</span>
<span style="color: #ff6600;">Custom hex color</span>

Red text Blue text Green text Custom hex color

Many more colors supported!

Text Alignment

<div style="text-align: center;">Centered text</div>
<div style="text-align: right;">Right-aligned text</div>

Regular text

Text Size

<span style="font-size: 18px;">Larger text</span>
<span style="font-size: 12px;">Smaller text</span>

Larger text Smaller text

Backgrounds and Borders

<span style="background-color: yellow;">Highlighted</span>
<div style="border: 1px solid #ccc; padding: 10px;">Box with border</div>

Highlighted

Underline

<span style="text-decoration: underline;">Underlined text</span>

Underlined text

The Editor

Editor Themes

Nabu includes multiple syntax highlighting themes for the editor. Click the paintbrush icon in the toolbar to select a theme.

Dark Themes:

• Atom One Dark
• Monokai
• Dracula
• Nord
• Tomorrow Night
• Solarized Dark

Light Themes:

• Atom One Light
• GitHub
• Xcode
• Solarized Light
• Tomorrow

Choose System to automatically switch between light and dark themes based on your macOS appearance settings.

Line Numbers

Toggle line numbers on/off using the line number button in the toolbar.

Scroll Sync

Nabu can synchronize scrolling between the editor and preview. Enable it with the scroll sync button in the toolbar.

Two sync modes are available (toggle when scroll sync is enabled):

Insert Menu

Click the + button in the toolbar to quickly insert Markdown elements:

• Formatting (bold, italic, code, etc.)
• Headings (H1-H6)
• Lists (bullet, numbered, task)
• Links and images
• Code blocks, blockquotes, tables
• Page breaks, footnotes, and Table of Contents
• CSS styles (colors, alignment, boxes)

Table of Contents

Nabu can automatically generate a Table of Contents from your document headings. Press ⌘⇧T or use Insert > Table of Contents to insert a TOC at the cursor position.

The generated TOC includes:

• All headings (H1-H6) in your document
• Proper indentation based on heading level
• GitHub-style anchor links for navigation

Outline Sidebar

Toggle the Outline Sidebar to see a navigable list of all headings in your document. Click the outline icon in the editor toolbar or press ⌘⇧O.

Features:

• Shows all headings with visual hierarchy
• Click any heading to jump to that location
• Color-coded by heading level (H1=blue, H2=green, H3=orange)
• Automatically updates as you edit

Focus Mode

Enter Focus Mode for distraction-free writing by pressing ⌘⇧F or clicking the glasses icon in the toolbar. Focus mode hides all toolbars and UI chrome, leaving just your content.

• Move your mouse to reveal the exit button
• Press ⌘⇧F again or click the X to exit
• Toggle preview visibility while in focus mode

Preview Themes

Select a preview theme from the palette menu in the toolbar. Preview themes affect the visual appearance of your document in the preview pane and in exported files.

Exporting Documents

Quick Export (PDF)

Press ⌘E or click the Export button for quick PDF export using your current settings.

PDF Export with Preview

When exporting, you'll see a preview sheet with:

• Page thumbnails on the left (click to enlarge)
• Settings panel on the right

Page Setup Options

Paper Size:

• US Standard: Letter, Legal, Tabloid, Executive, Statement, Folio
• ISO A Series: A3, A4, A5, A6
• ISO B Series: B4, B5, B6
• Custom dimensions

Orientation:

• Portrait
• Landscape

Margins: Adjustable margins for top, bottom, left, and right (in points, where 72 points = 1 inch).

Page Numbers:

• Enable/disable page numbers
• Position: Top or bottom, left/center/right
• Format: Arabic (1, 2, 3), Roman (i, ii, iii), Letters (A, B, C)

DOCX Export

Export to Microsoft Word format (.docx) for editing in Word, Google Docs, or other word processors.

DOCX Options:

• Compatibility mode (Word 2007 through Word 365)
• Table of contents generation
• Heading styles for document outline

Keyboard Shortcuts

File Operations

View

Export

Editing

Text Navigation

Working with Images

Local Images

For local images, Nabu needs folder access to display them in the preview. When you open a document with local image references, click the folder icon in the toolbar to grant access to the document's folder.

![My Photo](./images/photo.jpg)

Web Images

Web images work without additional permissions:

![Logo](https://example.com/logo.png)

Resizing Images

Use HTML for precise control over image dimensions:

<img src="photo.jpg" width="400" alt="My Photo">

Pasting Images from Clipboard

Nabu supports pasting images directly from your clipboard. Simply copy an image (screenshot, from a web page, or another app) and paste with ⌘V in the editor.

When you paste an image:

1. The image is saved as a PNG file in an images/ folder next to your document
2. Markdown is automatically inserted: ![image-timestamp](images/image-timestamp.png)
3. The image appears in the preview immediately

Note: Your document must be saved first before pasting images. If you paste into an unsaved document, you'll be prompted to save it first.

Tips and Best Practices

1. Save frequently — Use ⌘S to save your work
2. Use headings — They create structure and improve readability
3. Preview before export — Check your document in the preview pane
4. Choose the right theme — Academic for formal documents, Modern for technical content
5. Use page breaks — Insert [pagebreak] before major sections for clean PDF layouts

Known Limitations

DOCX Images

Important: Images in your Markdown are shown as placeholders in DOCX exports. This is a deliberate design choice for maximum compatibility.

To add images to your Word document:

1. Export to DOCX
2. Open in Microsoft Word
3. Find the image placeholder text: [IMAGE: description]
4. Replace with your actual image using Insert > Pictures

CSS Support

• Basic inline CSS is supported in PDF exports
• Complex CSS (animations, transitions, flexbox, grid) may not render as expected
• Some CSS properties are stripped for security in the preview

Syntax Highlighting in Exports

Code syntax highlighting in the editor uses your chosen editor theme. In exports, code blocks use a neutral monospace style that prints well on paper.

File Formats

Nabu works with multiple file formats:

All files are saved as UTF-8 encoded text.

HTML Live Preview

Nabu includes a unique feature for HTML files: live preview rendering. When you edit an HTML file, the preview pane renders your HTML in real-time, updating instantly as you type.

This makes Nabu a powerful tool for:

• Prototyping web pages
• Testing HTML snippets
• Previewing email templates
• Editing static HTML content

Note: For HTML files, PDF export renders the raw HTML source rather than the rendered page. To print or save a rendered HTML page, use Open in Browser from the export menu, which opens the document in your default browser where you can print or save it.

Document Type Detection

Nabu automatically detects the document type based on file extension. You can also manually switch the rendering mode using the document type picker in the toolbar:

• Markdown — Default for .md files, renders Markdown syntax
• HTML — Renders HTML in the preview pane
• Code — Syntax highlighting for programming languages
• Plain Text — No formatting, displays text as-is

Use Auto-detect to return to automatic detection based on the file extension.

Support

If you encounter issues or have suggestions, please reach out to JT @ UncSoft.

Nabu — The markdown converter that just works. Type, preview, edit, export.