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The best time to actually implement the Markdown markup language into Google Docs was in the early 2010s. But yesterday was a good time, too.
Google Docs merged features from its acquisitions of related software companies (Writely, DocVerse, and QuickOffice) and, by 2012, crammed them all into Drive. By that point, Markdown, a project from web author John Gruber with input from data activist Aaron Swartz, had been consolidated and gaining steam for eight years. Then, for another decade or so, writing in Markdown and writing in Google Docs were two separate entities, only merged via browser extensions or cumbersome import/export tools. A myriad of cloud-syncing, collaborative, but Markdown-centric writing tools have flourished in that gap.
In early 2022, the first connecting plank was put in place: Docs could “auto-detect Markdown” if you turned it on. This extended the superficial support for numbered and unordered lists and checkboxes to the big picture, like headings, italics, bold, strikethrough, and links. You could write in Markdown in Docs, but you couldn’t paste, nor could you import or export between Docs and Markdown styles.
Now, or sometime in the next 14 days, real, actual Markdown work can be done in Google Docs. Docs can convert Markdown text to the equivalent Docs formatting when pasting or importing it as a file, and can export it to Markdown from the copy menu or as a file. Google’s blog post notes that this is “especially useful for technical content writers, as they can now convert Docs content to/from Markdown,” leveraging Google’s always-on syncing and collaboration in between.
As someone who doesn’t work as a technical content writer (at least not in the proper job title) but does write a lot, I’d say this is also particularly useful for people who’ve embraced Markdown as a sort of One True Style. It’s hard not to be invited to collaborate on Google Docs, even if you primarily work somewhere else. It’s even harder to remember all the different shortcuts for headings, bullets, and other text elements across different apps, web apps, content management systems, IDEs, and other writing platforms.
There is no evidence for which Markdown variant Google’s import and export features will adhere to it, and Ars was unable to test the new feature until July 17. Markdown was intentionally not fully standardized by its author, which led to some controversy and eventually the realization that each version, like GitHub Flavored Markdown, has its own additions and changes.
By allowing import/export, but better yet, “Copy as Markdown” and “Paste from Markdown,” Docs is now a place where I can be a Markdown grouch and still play reasonably nicely with others. You should see “Enable Markdown” appear in the Docs Tools > Preferences menu within the next week or two.