Typora’s built-in PDF export capability is a great addition, but it still works within the broader framework of how you can export markdown. You can choose between native formats (PDF, HTML, HTML (without styles), Image) or Word, RTF, and others — but those formats require that Pandoc be installed on your system.
In any case, no heavy office editor like Microsoft Word is required, as long as you have the right tools. If you want to export markdown to PDF, web pages, or DOCX with specialized editors, then this should help!
If you’ve used Typora for a while, you’ll know that one way to generate output is by using the File menu and selecting “Export.” From there, you can use “Export as…” to select a format, and the file name. Alternatively, you can choose “Export and Overwrite with Previous” to overwrite previous content with newer files, which is handy when you’ve made corrections in the source document. The caveat is that this overwriting is permanent and irreversible, although you can still change the file path in the save dialog.
Typora has a few known issues that can affect how well the PDF exports work and what the final output looks like. These include:
Whitespaces or line breaks are gone in exported PDF
Export PDF not working on Windows
Cannot Read Native when exporting using pandoc
Live rendering bug: the problem is absent when exported as HTML with styles and viewed in browser
Live rendering and export output can diverge
As we’re seeing, there are two kinds of export: one based on native formats and one that requires Pandoc to handle the formatting. Let’s take a look at both options, starting with the first option: simply exporting as PDF, as a native format.
Native PDF Export: Just That
When you export directly as a PDF file, it’s just that. As far as the tool knows, the file will be generated from markdown text and converted into PDF using native libraries. However, when you’re generating an image of the page, it may be worth considering other options. For example, if I’m trying to share a page that includes local images, they will be linked to the document. If I export them as a PDF, they’ll be preserved as a reference to those files, and so I need to ensure they’re included in the PDF file. Otherwise, you could end up with a broken link!
Pandoc-Based Formats: Need for Pandoc
On the other hand, when exporting to formats such as RTF, DOCX, ODF, MediaWiki, LaTeX, and more, Pandoc will need to be present on your system. While Typora does offer native PDF export, many of these additional formats aren’t supported unless you have Pandoc installed. It’s possible that you may need to install Pandoc separately, either via package manager or downloading the latest binaries. There are several caveats, however, including the possibility of library-related errors when installing Pandoc on Manjaro repositories.