Markdown Text and Markdown Blockquote in C#

How to Create Markdown Text in C#

Like HTML, Markdown is a markup language. Unlike HTML, Markdown aims to be as readable as possible. You can apply bold, italics, quotation marks, and strikethrough to the text. They can also be used in combination to use multiple styles at the same time. Aspose.HTML for .NET library is a stand-alone solution that allows you to parse and manipulate Markdown files without using other software. You can create a Markdown document from scratch, open it from a local file and manipulate it by inserting new elements, and removing, or editing the content of existing nodes.

The MarkdownSyntaxFactory class contains methods to create various Markdown elements. For headers creation, you may use the AtxHeading() method that creates Atx Heading Syntax Node with text content. You can use the Emphasis() method that takes as a parameter the Emphasis enumeration values to make text bold or italic, and more. Here we look at some C# examples of how to work with Markdown text.

Markdown Text in C#

Using the C# library, you can programmatically edit MD files – change the document structure and content. Let’s look at creating a new Markdown document from scratch and adding texts to it.

// Create the MarkdownSyntaxTree
    var md = new MarkdownSyntaxTree(new Configuration());

    // Use the SyntaxFactory property to get the factory for creating the Markdown syntax tree
    var mdf = md.SyntaxFactory;

    var header = mdf.AtxHeading("How to create Markdown Text in C#?", 2);

    // Create and add newLineTrivia element for an empty line after header 
    var newLineTrivia = mdf.NewLineTrivia();
    header.GetTrailingTrivia().Add(newLineTrivia);

    // Add the  headers to the Markdown syntax tree
    md.AppendChild(header);

    // Create an empty paragraph
    var paragraph = mdf.Paragraph();

    // Add texts to the paragraph
    paragraph.AppendChild(mdf.Text("First, add an Aspose.HTML for .NET library reference to your C# project."));

    // Add a space after the first sentence in the paragraph through a special WhiteSpace node
    paragraph.AppendChild(mdf.Whitespace());

    paragraph.AppendChild(mdf.Text("Then create the Markdown Syntax Tree and use the SyntaxFactory property to get a syntax factory to create new elements."));

    // Add the filled paragraph into MD document
    md.AppendChild(paragraph);

    // Prepare a path for MD file saving 
    string savePath = Path.Combine(OutputDir, "markdown-text.md");

    // Save MD file
    md.Save(savePath);

Steps to Create Markdown Text in C#

Let’s consider a few simple steps to create Markdown texts:

1. Create the MarkdownSyntaxTree using MarkdownSyntaxTree() constructer.
2. Use the SyntaxFactory property to get the factory for creating the Markdown syntax tree.
3. Create a new header using AtxHeading(string, int) constructor of the MarkdownSyntaxFactory class. It creates AtxHeadingSyntaxNode with text content and heading level.
4. Create a newLineTrivia element for an empty line after header. Use the NewLineTrivia() constructor.
5. Call the Add() method of the SyntaxNodeCollection class to add the newLineTrivia node into header element.
6. After all header nodes have been collected into one element, add it to the document syntax tree.
7. Create a new empty paragraph node using Paragraph() constructor in SyntaxFactory.
8. Use the Text() constructor to create text nodes for paragraph.
9. Use the Whitespace() constructor to create space between text nodes in paragraph.
10. Call the AppendChild() method of the MarkdownSyntaxNode class to add text nodes and whitespaces into paragraph.
11. After all paragraph nodes have been collected into one element, add it to the document syntax tree. Call the AppendChild() method of the MarkdownSyntaxNode class.

Create Markdown Blockquote in C#

The following C# code example shows how to create Markdown blockquote.

// Create the MarkdownSyntaxTree
    var markdown = new MarkdownSyntaxTree(new Configuration());

    // Create a Markdown syntax factory
    var mdf = markdown.SyntaxFactory;

    // Create a blockQuote object
    var blockQuote = mdf.BlockQuote();

    // Add a leading trivia token blockquote
    blockQuote.GetLinesLeadingTrivia().Add(mdf.Token(SourceText.From("> ")));

    // Create a paragraph with text content 
    var paragraph = mdf.Paragraph();
    paragraph.AppendChild(mdf.Text("For blockquote creation, you should put a sign `>` before the first line of a hard-wrapped paragraph.."));

    // Add paragraph into blockQuote
    blockQuote.AppendChild(paragraph);

    // Add blockQuote object into MD document
    markdown.AppendChild(blockQuote);

    // Prepare a path for MD file saving 
    string savePath = Path.Combine(OutputDir, "markdown-blockquote.md");

    // Save MD file
    markdown.Save(savePath);

Documentation

To learn more about Aspose.HTML API, please visit our documentation guide. Markdown is a simple markup language that allows you to format plain text. The Markdown Syntax documentation article provides information on the main Markdown elements, details and examples of the Markdown syntax.

Get Started with Aspose.HTML for .NET API

Install Aspose.HTML for .NET from NuGet with the .NET CLI:

dotnet add package Aspose.HTML

You can also use the NuGet Package Manager UI or run Install-Package Aspose.HTML in the Package Manager Console. See the installation guide for setup details, or request a temporary license to evaluate the API without evaluation limitations.

System Requirements

Our APIs are supported on all major platforms and Operating Systems. Before executing the code, please ensure that you have the following prerequisites on your system.

• Microsoft Windows or a compatible OS with .NET Framework, .NET Core, Windows Azure, Mono or Xamarin Platforms.
• Development environment like Microsoft Visual Studio.
• Aspose.Html for .NET DLL referenced in your project – Install from NuGet using the Download button above.