How to fix bold and italic after pasting into markdown
- Step 1Paste the converted Markdown — Paste the output of your Word or Google Docs export, or drop the converted
.mdfile. - Step 2Run the cleanup — Padded markers are trimmed,
**__x__**collapses,***x***becomes**_x_**, and empty quad runs are deleted in a single pass. - Step 3Spot the converter's leftovers — Any literal asterisks remaining mean an unmatched or one-sided marker — the converter dropped a partner. Fix those by hand.
- Step 4Confirm pasted code survived — Check that triple-backtick fenced snippets are unchanged. Inline backtick spans are not protected and should be reviewed.
- Step 5Copy into your editor — Copy the cleaned Markdown into your CMS, static-site source, or editor, or download the
.mdfile. - Step 6Repeat per pasted section — Migrating section by section? Run each paste through the cleaner — clean text is idempotent and never re-broken.
Common paste artifacts and their fix
Patterns rich-text-to-Markdown converters produce, and what the cleaner does with each.
| Paste artifact | Cleaned to | Source |
|---|---|---|
** bold ** | **bold** | Word converter padding around bold |
**__Heading__** | **Heading** | Double-wrapped heading style |
***word*** | **_word_** | Combined emphasis from Docs |
___word___ | __*word*__ | Underscore triple from some exporters |
* italic * | *italic* | Padded single-asterisk italic |
**** / ____ | (removed) | Empty markers after stripped text |
What survives the paste cleanup
These are not fixed automatically — they reveal where the converter dropped something.
| Case | Behaviour | Action |
|---|---|---|
**half open (no close) | Preserved | Converter lost the partner — close it manually |
** lead-space** | Preserved | One-sided space; trim needs both sides |
| Smart quotes / curly chars | Untouched | Not an emphasis concern — this tool only handles markers |
Inline ` x | Modified | Inline code is not protected |
Fenced ``` ... ` | Preserved | Triple-backtick blocks are skipped |
Tier limits
Markdown-family limits; charLimit is separate from file size.
| Tier | Max file size | Max characters | Files per run |
|---|---|---|---|
| Free | 1 MB | 500,000 | 1 |
| Pro | 10 MB | 5,000,000 | 10 |
| Pro-media | 50 MB | 20,000,000 | 50 |
| Developer | 500 MB | Unlimited | Unlimited |
Cookbook
Before/after pairs from real Word and Google Docs paste-and-convert sessions. Output shown beneath each source.
Word-padded bold
A Word export wrapped bold with spaces, breaking the render.
Before: The deadline is ** non-negotiable ** this quarter. After: The deadline is **non-negotiable** this quarter.
Google Docs double-wrap
Docs converted a bold heading into a double-strong span.
Before: **__Project Overview__** After: **Project Overview**
Combined emphasis from a converter
An emphasised, bolded phrase arrived as a triple marker.
Before: Please read this ***before signing***. After: Please read this **_before signing_**.
Empty markers from stripped formatting
The converter removed an image caption but kept the bold markers.
Before: Figure 1 **** shows the funnel. After: Figure 1 shows the funnel.
Pasted code snippet preserved
A fenced snippet pasted from documentation is untouched while surrounding prose is cleaned.
Before: Run the ***build***: ```bash npm run build -- --mode **prod** ``` After: Run the **_build_**: ```bash npm run build -- --mode **prod** ```
Edge cases and what actually happens
Converter dropped a closing marker
Preserved**half open with no close is left as-is — there is no balancing. The leftover marker tells you where the paste lost its partner.
One-sided padding `** text**`
PreservedThe trim rule needs whitespace on both sides. A space only after the opening marker is not removed.
Smart quotes and special characters
UntouchedThis tool only normalizes emphasis markers. Curly quotes, em-dashes, and non-breaking spaces from a paste are not changed here.
Inline code from a paste
ModifiedInline backtick spans are not protected, so ` x becomes x `. Use a fenced block for literal marker examples.
Indented code in pasted content
ModifiedOnly triple-backtick fences are detected. A 4-space-indented block from a paste is treated as prose and rewritten.
`****quad****` from over-wrapping
NormalizedThe *** rule fires before the quad rule, so ****text**** becomes ***_text_***. Inspect heavily over-wrapped spans manually.
Empty-marker space collapse
ExpectedDeleting **** joins surrounding words: b** and **** can become b**and. Re-insert a space if needed.
Pasted fenced block with markers
PreservedAnything inside triple-backtick fences passes through unchanged, including **prod**-style flags in command examples.
Already-clean paste
UnchangedIf your converter produced clean Markdown, nothing changes. The rules are idempotent.
Huge pasted document
RejectedFree tier caps at 500,000 characters and 1 MB. A long pasted document may exceed charLimit first — paste in sections or upgrade.
Frequently asked questions
Why does pasted bold show literal asterisks?
Word and Docs converters often pad markers (** text **), which stops them rendering. This tool trims symmetric padding so the bold renders again.
Does it convert Word formatting to Markdown?
No. It assumes you already pasted Markdown (or ran a converter). It only normalizes the emphasis markers that converter produced.
Will it fix markers the converter half-dropped?
No. An unclosed ** is preserved as-is. The visible leftover shows you where the paste went wrong so you can close it.
Does it handle curly quotes from Word?
No. Only emphasis markers are touched. Smart quotes and special characters are left unchanged by this tool.
Is `***word***` from Docs changed?
Yes — it becomes **_word_**. Both render as bold+italic; the explicit form is more portable.
Are pasted code snippets safe?
Yes, inside triple-backtick fences. Inline backtick spans are not protected and may be rewritten.
What about `**__Heading__**` from a converter?
It collapses to **Heading**. Double-strong wrapping is one of the most common Word/Docs paste artifacts.
Can I run it repeatedly while migrating?
Yes. The rules are idempotent, so re-running on already-clean text changes nothing.
Does my pasted content get uploaded?
No. Everything is processed in the browser, which matters when migrating confidential client documents.
Can I clean several pasted files at once?
Not here — one file per run. Merge them first with the merger if you want a single pass.
What about list and table mess from paste?
Use the list fixer for list indentation and the table repair tool for pipe tables; this tool only handles emphasis.
Should I prettify after cleaning emphasis?
Often yes. Run the prettifier or linter afterward to normalize spacing, headings, and line wrapping.
Privacy first
All Markdown processing runs locally in your browser using JavaScript. No file is ever uploaded to JAD Apps servers — only metadata counters are saved for signed-in dashboard stats.