How to write Markdown with a live preview on Mac

Set up a short handoff note

Open FlowMD on your Mac and show both the editor and preview. Start with a fictional project handoff, so you can check structure without working on a real document.

On the first line type # Project handoff. Leave a blank line and add the sentence “The draft is ready for review.” On a new line after another blank line, type ## Open questions. Put the question “Who will send the review notes?” below it.

The preview should show Project handoff as the main heading and Open questions as a second-level heading. The sentence and question should read as paragraphs.

Change one marker and watch the preview

Remove the space between the second heading’s hash marks and its title. Under CommonMark heading syntax, ##Open questions becomes ordinary text in this note because the hash marks need a space or tab before the title. Restore the space and check that it becomes a heading again.

This gives you a useful check when a line looks fine in the editor but appears in the wrong place in the rendered note. Compare the line you changed with a heading that already renders as expected.

Choose when to keep the preview visible

Keep both panes open when you are changing heading levels or checking where one section ends. If a long paragraph feels cramped, use FlowMD’s preview toggle to make more room for writing. Bring the preview back to check the complete note.

In the handoff note, check that the question sits under Open questions and that the section is subordinate to Project handoff.

Check the note where readers will see it

Save the source file and open it in the place you plan to share it. Markdown renderers can make different choices about styling and extensions. Use a short check in that destination when the layout matters.

Questions