MarkdownToPDF

Convert one or more Markdown files into a styled, navigable PDF on Windows. MarkdownToPDF is a WinUI 3 desktop app built on .NET 9 that merges multiple markdown sources, provides a live preview, and exports a high‑quality PDF with optional heading numbering, table of contents, page numbers, and PDF bookmarks.

Features

• Multiple files input and ordering
  • Add one or more .md/.markdown files and define a custom order before export
  • Optional page breaks inserted between files
• Live PDF preview
  • Renders pages for a quick, accurate preview with progress feedback
  • Go to page, scroll-to-top, and a heading hierarchy side panel for navigation
• Page setup
  • Paper sizes: A4, A3, Letter
  • Portrait or landscape
  • Custom margins (mm) and option to print backgrounds
• Typography and markdown rendering
  • Base font family, font size, page body margins, and paragraph alignment
  • Markdig pipeline options: advanced extensions, pipe tables, auto-links
• Document structure
  • Optional heading numbering with customizable pattern (e.g., 1.1.1)
  • Optional Table of Contents (TOC) with configurable indentation, bullet style, and title
  • Place the TOC at the top or after the first file
• Page numbering
  • Turn on/off page numbers and choose their position (top/bottom, left/center/right)
  • Optionally hide page number on the first page
• PDF bookmarks (outline)
  • Injects a PDF outline based on detected headings and their resolved page numbers
• Theming
  • Light/Dark theme toggle

How it works

1. Markdown processing
   • Markdown files are combined and processed by Markdig.
   • Optional heading numbering and a generated TOC are inserted.
2. HTML to PDF
   • PuppeteerSharp drives a headless Chromium to render the combined HTML into a PDF.
   • Page numbering templates are applied when enabled.
3. PDF post-process
   • Headings are resolved to page numbers and injected as PDF bookmarks via PdfSharp/PdfPig.
   • If configured, the footer on the first page is cleared to suppress the page number.
4. Preview
   • The Windows PDF APIs render page thumbnails for the in-app preview.

Getting started (build and run)

Prerequisites

• Windows 11 or Windows 10, version 1809 (build 17763) or later
• .NET SDK 9
• Visual Studio 2022 version 17.12 or newer with the following workloads:
  • .NET Desktop Development
  • Windows App SDK / Windows 10 SDK (26100)

Build

• Clone the repository
• Open the solution in Visual Studio
• Restore NuGet packages
• Set MarkdownToPDF as startup project
• Run (F5)

First run note

• On first export/preview, PuppeteerSharp downloads a compatible Chromium. This requires Internet access and may take several minutes depending on the network.

Usage

1. Add files
   • Click Add Files and select the markdown documents to include.
   • Reorder them if needed in the order dialog.
2. Adjust settings
   • Open Settings (gear icon) to customize page size, margins, fonts, numbering, TOC, and page numbers.
3. Preview
   • The preview pane shows rendered pages with a progress indicator while loading.
   • Use the page input box or the heading hierarchy to navigate.
4. Export
   • Click Export PDF and choose a destination .pdf.

Configuration surface (key models)

• FormattingOptions
  • UseAdvancedExtensions, UsePipeTables, UseAutoLinks
  • BaseFontFamily, BodyFontSizePx, BodyMarginPx, BodyTextAlignment
  • AddHeaderNumbering, HeaderNumberingPattern
  • AddTableOfContents, IndentTableOfContents, TableOfContentsBulletStyle, TableOfContentsHeaderText, TableOfContentsAfterFirstFile
• ExportOptions
  • PaperFormat (A4, A3, Letter), Landscape, PrintBackground
  • TopMarginMm, RightMarginMm, BottomMarginMm, LeftMarginMm
  • ShowPageNumbers, PageNumberPosition, ShowPageNumberOnFirstPage

Project structure (high level)

• Views
  • WireframePage (main UI with preview and navigation)
  • SettingsDialog (export/formatting options), FileOrderDialog, HomeLandingPage
• ViewModels
  • WireframePageViewModel, MainViewModel, AppUpdateSettingViewModel
• Services
  • MarkdownService (Markdig pipeline and HTML generation)
  • PuppeteerPdfService (HTML to PDF via PuppeteerSharp)
  • MarkdownHeadingNumbering, MarkdownTableOfContentsGenerator
  • PdfOutlineWriter, PdfHeadingPageResolver, PdfFirstPageFooterRewriter
• Models
  • FormattingOptions, ExportOptions, MarkdownFileModel, HeadingInfo
• App
  • App sets up dependency injection and theming (via DevWinUI helpers)

Dependencies

• [Markdig] for Markdown parsing
• [PuppeteerSharp] for driving headless Chromium to generate the PDF
• [PDFsharp] and [PdfPig] for PDF outline and page analysis
• Windows App SDK / WinUI 3 for the desktop UI
• CommunityToolkit (MVVM and WinUI Controls)
• DevWinUI helpers for navigation, theming, and UI primitives
• nucs.JsonSettings for lightweight persisted settings

NuGet packages used (non-exhaustive):

• Markdig, PuppeteerSharp, PDFsharp, PdfPig
• Microsoft.WindowsAppSDK, Microsoft.Windows.CsWinRT, Microsoft.Windows.SDK.BuildTools
• CommunityToolkit.Mvvm, CommunityToolkit.WinUI.Controls.*
• DevWinUI, DevWinUI.Controls
• nucs.JsonSettings, nucs.JsonSettings.AutoSaveGenerator

Limitations and notes

• Windows only (WinUI 3 / Windows App SDK).
• The first export/preview triggers a Chromium download managed by PuppeteerSharp.
• Rendering quality and CSS support depend on the embedded Chromium engine.
• Large documents and many images can increase memory and processing time.

License

This project is licensed under the MIT License. See LICENSE for details.

Acknowledgements

Thanks to the authors and maintainers of Markdig, PuppeteerSharp, PDFsharp, PdfPig, CommunityToolkit, DevWinUI, and the Windows App SDK.