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Import and Export Markdown in Google Docs

workspaceupdates.googleblog.com

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Re: Import and Export Markdown in Google Docs

#41

Post by remoquete »

tomeraberbach wrote: post #39

Hey folks, I'm the engineer who implemented the new feature. Just clearing up some confusion. A lot of you are noticing the preexisting automatic detection feature from 2022 [1], which I also worked on. That's NOT what this newly announced feature is. The new feature supports full import/export, but it's still rolling out so you're likely not seeing it yet! Hope you like it once it reaches you :) [1] https://workspac…

Such a huge quality of life improvement for technical writers who rely on Gsuite collaboration features while editing Markdown docs. Thank you!

Re: Import and Export Markdown in Google Docs

#42

Post by remoquete »

orliesaurus wrote: post #29

I guess most users of Google Docs have no use for this, especially the download as markdown. I wonder why they decided to add this feature for the tech crowd so late in the lifecycle of the product, feels almost like an Summer '24 intern project?

Collaborative editing of Markdown docs in GitHub / GitLab can be a pain. This is a huge game changer for technical writers. Admittedly not the biggest crowd, but hey...

Re: Import and Export Markdown in Google Docs

#43

Post by zameerb1 »

tomeraberbach wrote: post #39

Hey folks, I'm the engineer who implemented the new feature. Just clearing up some confusion. A lot of you are noticing the preexisting automatic detection feature from 2022 [1], which I also worked on. That's NOT what this newly announced feature is. The new feature supports full import/export, but it's still rolling out so you're likely not seeing it yet! Hope you like it once it reaches you :) [1] https://workspac…

[dead]

Re: Import and Export Markdown in Google Docs

#45

Post by crazygringo »

timClicks wrote: post #32
Freak_NL wrote: post #9

No support for code blocks still: ```java String x = "xxx"; ``` No quoting: The docs for `libfloof` state: > The floof is 4 bytes long, at most. And when I type `code` with backticks at the start of a line, the word 'code' is formatted as code as expected, but auto-correct automatically capitalises it to 'Code' — which should never be done with code fragments. So this is basically just headings, italics, bold, and li…

To add a code block, type @ and scroll down to "Code Block ". It's still very limited, with syntax highlighting limited to C/C++, Java, JavaSript, Python.

Is that available only in certain paid versions of Google Workspace, or has it not rolled out to everyone?

When I type @ there's no code block option. I get People, Smart Chips, and then in "Building Blocks" I get five items from "Meeting Notes" to "Project Assets". If I click the arrow to expand to the full list of building blocks, it only adds a sixth item "Launch Content Tracker" and the rest is blank space.

Re: Import and Export Markdown in Google Docs

#46

Post by judge2020 »

crazygringo wrote: post #45
timClicks wrote: post #32

Earlier quoted context omitted.

To add a code block, type @ and scroll down to "Code Block ". It's still very limited, with syntax highlighting limited to C/C++, Java, JavaSript, Python.

Is that available only in certain paid versions of Google Workspace, or has it not rolled out to everyone? When I type @ there's no code block option. I get People, Smart Chips, and then in "Building Blocks" I get five items from "Meeting Notes" to "Project Assets". If I click the arrow to expand to the full list of building blocks, it only adds a sixth item "Launch Content Tracker" and the rest is blank space.

The author of the feature is another top-level comment and said it's still being rolled out over time, so that's probably why.

Re: Import and Export Markdown in Google Docs

#47

Post by neontomo »

markdown is such an elegant markup implementation, i remember using bbcode on online forums which was ok but markdown i use all the time to keep notes and organise my thoughts. when i do consulting i summarise my work in a github gist.

look forward to trying this.

Re: Import and Export Markdown in Google Docs

#48

Post by jcastro »

tomeraberbach wrote: post #39

Hey folks, I'm the engineer who implemented the new feature. Just clearing up some confusion. A lot of you are noticing the preexisting automatic detection feature from 2022 [1], which I also worked on. That's NOT what this newly announced feature is. The new feature supports full import/export, but it's still rolling out so you're likely not seeing it yet! Hope you like it once it reaches you :) [1] https://workspac…

This is going to save me so much time, thank you for this!

Re: Import and Export Markdown in Google Docs

#49

Post by crazygringo »

bt1a wrote: post #12
bomewish wrote: post #5

If this is implemented properly it’ll be a game changer for collaboration on papers. Means one can write a paper with colleagues in markdown and then easily knit with pandoc/quarto. Cheaper than overleaf etc.

Why not a markdown doc + git with each colleague using their own text editor/IDE of choice?

Because in my experience, the value of collaboration tools isn't versioning -- going back to an older version rarely happens.

It's the suggested edits combined with comments sidebar right there in the document, where you can have whole back-and-forth asynchronous discussions.

There's no obvious/easy way to have comment threads in markdown or in git.

And while you could, in theory, implement suggested edits as commits on a separate branch waiting to be merged in, the workflow for that would be pretty horrible -- are you going to create a separate branch and commit for every single edit? Since small edits are generally individually accepted, rejected, or further modified.

Re: Import and Export Markdown in Google Docs

#50

Post by crazygringo »

orliesaurus wrote: post #29

I guess most users of Google Docs have no use for this, especially the download as markdown. I wonder why they decided to add this feature for the tech crowd so late in the lifecycle of the product, feels almost like an Summer '24 intern project?

Speaking as someone with experience in enterprise software, I'd say there's a good chance it's because one or more large corporations were ready to migrate from MS Office to Google Workspace but that not having Markdown import/export would be a deal-breaker.

A lot of times when you wonder, "why did they add that feature?", that's why. A single large potential customer absolutely needed it because of whatever critical internal business processes they happen to have.

It's a major difference from software sold to consumers, where the aggregate consumer demand for a feature is generally more obvious/intuitive/explainable.

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