Marked 2 is a proprietary Mac application that helps you preview (not edit) Markdown files on your Mac. The obvious use for this application is as a “missing desktop Markdown renderer” of sorts — just drag and drop a Markdown file on the Marked 2 icon and you’ll see it rendered. One can imagine a teacher, for example, using this application to read and grade assignments that were submitted electronically as Markdown files. But there are numerous other uses for Marked 2.

Consider that while many newer editors like Atom and VS Code have Markdown preview functionality built in, many older editors don’t. Marked 2 is designed for people who use editors like Vim. You could arrange the Marked 2 window next to Vim for a live preview of what your rendered Markdown file will look like.

It’s clear the author of this utility has invested a lot of time and effort to get things right. It’s the attention to detail that makes this application worth the asking price. For instance, when you open Marked 2, a setup assistant guides you through configuring the rendering options to support your specific use case (Marked 2 actually contains two Markdown processors: MultiMarkdown and Discount). Highly recommended for Mac users that need a reliable way to preview or export Markdown files (check out the available styles).

The Marked 2 processor selection.

Marked 2 Markdown Support

Marked 2 provides support for the following Markdown elements.

ElementSupportNotes
HeadingsYes
ParagraphsYes
Line BreaksYesMultiMarkdown doesn’t support trailing backslashes.
BoldYes
ItalicYes
BlockquotesYes
Ordered ListsYes
Unordered ListsPartialMultiMarkdown doesn’t support nested unordered lists. Works with Discount.
CodeYes
Horizontal RulesYes
LinksYes
ImagesYes
TablesYes
Fenced Code BlocksYes
Syntax HighlightingNo
FootnotesYes
Heading IDsPartialOnly works with MultiMarkdown.
Definition ListsPartialDiscount doesn’t support this feature. Works with MultiMarkdown.
StrikethroughPartialMultiMarkdown doesn’t support this feature. Works with Discount.
Task ListsYes
Emoji (copy and paste)Yes
Emoji (shortcodes)Yes
HighlightNo
SubscriptNo
SuperscriptYes
Automatic URL LinkingYes
Disabling Automatic URL LinkingPartialDiscount doesn’t support this feature.
HTMLYes

Support for Additional Syntax Elements

As an added bonus, Marked 2 provides support for several obscure elements when using MultiMarkdown.

ElementMarkdownRendered Output
Abbreviation*[HTML]: Hyper Text Markup Language
The HTML specification is maintained by the W3C.
The HTML specification is maintained by the W3C.
Underline_word or phrase_word or phrase
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