Line Breaks

In Markdown, a single line break inside a paragraph counts as a space when you export to HTML, rich text, or Word. WriteRoom can add the line breaks you mean, and unwrap documents that break every line.

Line Breaks You Mean

To keep a line break, for an address or a poem, end the line with a backslash (\) or two spaces. In the Markdown.pl flavor, only two spaces work.

To add a line break

Edit > Insert > Line Break (Shift-Return)

WriteRoom ends the line with a backslash, or two spaces in Markdown.pl, and starts the new line. In a list or quote the new line stays in the same item or quote. Where Markdown has no line breaks, such as in a heading or code block, Shift-Return works like Return.

Hard-Wrapped Documents

A hard-wrapped document, its line breaks going ragged in a window narrower than they were written for

Hard-wrapped Markdown ends every line with a line break, at a fixed width such as 72 or 80 characters. Many READMEs are written this way.

WriteRoom wraps paragraphs to fit the window or your Line Width, and never rewraps those line breaks, so an edited paragraph goes ragged. WriteRoom tells you when you open a hard-wrapped document.

To unwrap paragraphs

Edit > Transformations > Unwrap Paragraphs

With no selection it unwraps the whole document. With a selection, only the paragraphs it touches. Headings, lists, quotes, code blocks, and line breaks you mean stay as they are.

To keep every line break

WriteRoom > Settings > Markdown > Line Breaks: Keep every line break on export to HTML, RTF, etc.

With this on, every line break inside a paragraph stays a line break when you export, or copy as HTML, rich text, or Word. It applies to all documents. Unwrap Paragraphs still joins lines when you ask it to.

Line Breaks ​

Line Breaks You Mean ​

To add a line break ​

Hard-Wrapped Documents ​

To unwrap paragraphs ​

To keep every line break ​