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Markdown and PDF

Write notes and drafts in Markdown with the formatting shown as you type, edit plain text files, export either to PDF, and keep PDFs in your project as references for the agent.

Write in Live Preview#

Markdown files (.md and .markdown) open in Live Preview: one editor that shows the formatting as you write. The Markdown syntax shows only where your cursor or selection is, and there is no separate preview pane.

Live Preview shows headings, bulleted, numbered and checklist items, tables, block quotes and callouts, code blocks, and math.

  • To create a file, choose New in the project sidebar, then Markdown. File → New Document (Cmd/Ctrl+N) creates a document of your default type, which is Markdown unless you change it in Settings → Files.
  • Cmd/Ctrl+F finds text in the file and Cmd/Ctrl+H finds and replaces.
  • Select some text and choose Ask Nebula (or press Cmd/Ctrl+K) to ask the agent about that passage.

Plain text files#

.txt files open in the same editor as plain text, without Live Preview. You and the agent edit them the same way as Markdown, and they export to PDF too.

Review the agent's changes#

Meeting notes in Markdown open in Nebula Writer while an agent edit waits for review. Removed lines are shown in red and added lines in green, under a review bar with Inspect changes, Discard edit and Keep edit.

The agent writes each edit to the file as it works and keeps a restore point. While the edit waits for review, the file shows its source with removed lines in red and added lines in green.

  • Keep edit keeps the edit and Discard edit puts the previous version back.
  • Because Markdown and plain text are text formats, the review bar can also offer Accept and Reject for single changes.

See Review and undo for the full review flow.

Export to PDF#

  1. Choose File → Export to PDF... (Cmd/Ctrl+Shift+E). Nebula Writer saves the file first.
  2. Pick where to save the PDF. A preview opens when the export is done.

A file opened from outside the project has to be saved into the project before you can export it. Check page breaks, wide tables and images in the preview before you share the PDF.

Use PDFs as references#

PDFs open in a read-only viewer. You can read them and use them as sources, but you can't edit a PDF or convert it to another format in Nebula Writer.

To work with a PDF:

  1. Mention it with @ in your message, attach it with Attach file, or drag it from the project tree onto the agent pane.
  2. Ask your question. The agent can index and search the PDF's text and cite the pages it used, so you can check each answer against the page.
Prompt
Read @contracts/supplier-agreement.pdf and list every renewal date, notice period and payment term, with the page for each. Don't edit anything.

For many PDFs at once, the agent can review them into a spreadsheet with one row per PDF:

Prompt
Review every PDF in @papers/ into a new spreadsheet with one row per paper: title, year, method, sample size and main finding, with the page each value came from.

Images in your project (PNG, JPG, GIF, SVG and WebP) open in a viewer. To show one to the agent, attach it with Attach file or drag it onto the agent pane.