Formatted texts in the application

The application supports various internal formats and in some cases gives you a choice of which one to choose.

• In a nutshell: Markdown or HTML?
• There is a choice
• Markdown and its properties
  • Markdown benefits
  • Not all clean
  • HTML and why it sometimes has the upper hand

In a nutshell: Markdown or HTML?

If you don't need font styles and colors, Markdown is preferable. However, if you can't do without colors, you'll have to choose HTML.

There is a choice

The application usually doesn't give you a choice – different formats would create confusion that would outweigh the advantages. Markdown is used by default everywhere, although with a number of extensions.

Currently, the HTML format is used by default only for emails and email message templates. HTML is the standard for email and its conversion into markdown is not practical.

Optionally, HTML can be used for writing information. Other HTML objects can be defined by modules.

Markdown and its properties

Markdown is a standard format, its structure is simpler and does not contain so-called pair tags. As a result, there is no danger of breaking up its structure, as is easily the case with HTML when some extra <div> strays into it.

Markdown benefits

There are a number of good reasons why we consider markdown more appropriate:

• Automatic Translations – sending HTML to compilers is significantly more challenging even for a compiler that tries to keep the HTML structure. The result is not always right, sometimes HMLT compilers can't handle it at all
• Colors – The system allows both light and dark backgrounds to be used, but if users would set internal colors for texts, the inverse display is very problematic. Problems are certainly familiar to anyone who wants to use email in a dark environment.
• Start of text display – It is very easy to view the beginning of a document from a markdown document, e.g. the first paragraphs. With HTML, this is generally not possible without loading the whole document.
• Check boxes and their check – Markdown supports checklists, i.e. a list with check boxes. These can be created in HTML, of course, but their use and searching in markdown is significantly easier. The system automatically checks where checkboxes are not checked, e.g. checks for tasks and convenient filling in. This is why markdown is directly made.
• Automatic Formatting – due to the fact that markdown does not contain formatting in the document, it is easier to display it as it suits the screen and the way it is used.
• Combining different contents – joining multiple markdown documents is significantly easier, there are no problems with different styles.

Not all clean

Unfortunately, markdown in its pure form does not allow, for example, the insertion of pictures or a table. Therefore, the application uses extended syntax, which complements these realistically necessary options.

HTML and why it sometimes has the upper hand

If you need more detailed formatting or save the input from the Internet, "manual formatting" will be more appropriate.

Hand-formatted text is saved in HTML format, used by another editor, which gives other options:

• Align text
• Work better with tables and blocks
• Use font colors
• Use font colors
• Use fonts
  ¬ ### Risks and disadvantages of HTML
  HTML has disadvantages for which it is not used by default. It is good to remember them. Unsurprisingly, these are the main benefits of markdown as listed above.

Font Colors

As mentioned above, font colors are fine, but only as long as everyone displays the text under the same conditions. But keep in mind that half of people use a light background and half use a dark one. If you give some text a red or bright blue color, it's okay. But if you impose e.g. black or on the contrary light grey or any colour on the edges of bright and dark, half of the readers will have a problem with it.

Note: The reason for not using colors is crucial for not using them e.g. in requirements. There is a great risk that the solver may not notice part of the text. Therefore, the application does not support the use of colors in the requirements.

Font style (font)

Font styles help highlight some passages, but as with colors, what you see may not be seen by the reader. For example, mails do not use fonts, or most browsers do not use them by default. Styles in email should therefore not be used at all.

Styles are not transferred to generated PDF documents, either; the generator has its own font sets. Therefore, the highlight you have on the screen will look different in the document.

Styles may not even be available to the reader who receives the information – their font browser does not need to download them; e.g. it is common on mobile phones.