Generate an Academic PDF from a Markdown Research Paper

A results section with a GFM table renders cleanly

Pipe tables are first-class in this tool. Your numeric results table becomes a bordered table with a shaded header row in the academic theme.

Markdown source:
## 3. Results

| Condition | n  | Mean (SD)   | p     |
|-----------|----|-------------|-------|
| Control   | 42 | 4.1 (0.8)   | —     |
| Treatment | 41 | 5.6 (0.9)   | 0.003 |

PDF output:
3. Results  (Georgia serif heading, 1.5em, underlined)
[ bordered table, header row shaded gray, monospace-free body ]

Inline math is NOT typeset — it prints literally

This is the most common surprise. There is no KaTeX/MathJax step. A dollar-delimited equation is passed straight through to the page as text.

Markdown source:
The energy relation is $E = mc^2$ for rest mass.

PDF output (literal — note the dollar signs survive):
The energy relation is $E = mc^2$ for rest mass.

Fix: keep equations as images, or render math elsewhere
(run md-math-normalizer to standardise delimiters first).

Footnotes appear as raw markers

The default parser does not implement the footnote extension, so reference markers and definitions both render as plain text rather than superscripts and a notes section.

Markdown source:
Prior work disputes this[^1].

[^1]: See Smith (2019), p. 14.

PDF output (literal):
Prior work disputes this[^1].
[^1]: See Smith (2019), p. 14.

Fix: inline the citation as plain text, or convert footnote
markers with md-footnote-linker before exporting.

Strip the YAML header block before rendering

The academic case feeds the raw file to the parser without removing frontmatter. The --- fences become horizontal rules and the metadata lines collapse into a malformed heading.

Markdown source:
---
title: On Diffusion Models
author: J. Rivera
---
# 1. Introduction

PDF output (broken):
[ horizontal rule ]
title: On Diffusion Models author: J. Rivera   <- garbled H2
1. Introduction

Fix: delete the --- block, or build it with md-frontmatter-builder
and keep it out of the printable body.

Code listings get a box but no colour

Useful for reproducibility appendices: your code stays readable in a monospace box, but reviewers will not get language-aware syntax colours.

Markdown source:
```python
def sample(n):
    return rng.normal(size=n)
```

PDF output:
[ gray #f6f8fa box, monospace 0.85em, no keyword colouring ]
def sample(n):
    return rng.normal(size=n)

Note: enable 'Background graphics' in the print dialog or the
gray box will print white.

$E = mc^2$, $$…$$, and \(…\) all pass through as literal characters. There is no KaTeX or MathJax stage in this tool. For a paper that is equation-heavy, keep equations as images, or render the math in a LaTeX/Pandoc workflow and use this tool only for prose-style drafts.

The marked default parser does not enable the footnote extension. [^1] markers and [^1]: … definitions both appear verbatim. Convert them to inline parenthetical citations, or use md-footnote-linker before exporting.

Unlike some other tools in the suite, the academic PDF path does not call frontmatter splitting. A leading --- block renders as a horizontal rule followed by a garbled setext heading. Remove the block from the body or manage it with md-frontmatter-builder.

Fences get the correct language-* class but no colourising library runs, so code prints as plain monospace inside a gray box. This is intentional — it keeps the bundle small and the output deterministic.

This tool accepts a single document per run (it is not a multi-file tool). To assemble a multi-chapter manuscript into one PDF, combine the files first with md-merger, then run the merged file through this tool.

Even under the byte ceiling, a document over your plan's character limit (500,000 chars on Free) is refused with a clear message naming the count and the cap. A very long thesis with embedded base64 images is the usual culprit; split it or upgrade.

A4 vs Letter, page numbers, and running headers/footers come from your browser's print dialog, not this tool. The tool only fixes content margins via @page { margin: 25mm 20mm }. Set the rest in the dialog before saving.

Browsers strip background colours from print output by default. Enable 'Background graphics' (Chrome) or 'Print backgrounds' (Firefox/Safari) in the print dialog so the #f0f0f0 header shading and #f6f8fa code boxes appear.

Images render at max-width: 100%, but a relative src like ./figs/fig1.png has nothing to resolve against in the preview frame. Use absolute https:// URLs, or rewrite paths first with md-image-path-rewriter.

The tool produces styled HTML in a print frame; the actual .pdf is created by your browser's 'Save as PDF' print destination. There is no server-side PDF renderer, which is exactly why your manuscript never leaves the browser.