mdutils

Table of Contents

• Overview
• Features
  • Writing and Reading Files
  • Markdown
• Installation
• Markdown File Example

Overview

This Python package contains a set of basic tools that can help to create a markdown file while running a Python code. Thus, if you are executing a Python code and you save the result in a text file, Why not format it? So using files such as Markdown can give a great look to those results. In this way, mdutils will make things easy for creating Markdown files.

• Project Homepage: https://github.com/didix21/mdutils
• Download Page: https://pypi.python.org/pypi/mdutils
• Documentation: http://mdutils.readthedocs.io/en/latest/

MIT License, (C) 2018 Dídac Coll didaccoll_93@hotmail.com

Features

These are the following available features:

Writing and Reading Files

• Write and Read Markdown files.
• Append data to the end of a Markdown file.
• Use markers to place text.

Markdown

• Implemented method to give format to the text: bold, italics, change color...
• Align text.
• Add headers of levels 1 til 6 (atx style) or 1 and 2 (setext style).
• Create tables.
• Create a table of contents.
• Add Links.
• Add Lists.
• Add Markdown Images.
• Add Html Images.

NOTE: some available features will depend on which CSS you are using. For example, GitHub does not allow to give color to text.

Installation

Pip

Use pip to install mdutils:

$ pip install mdutils

Poetry

Use poetry to install mdutils:

$ poetry add mdutils

Markdown File Example

Contents

• Overview
• This is what you can do
  • Create Markdown files
  • Create Headers
  • Table of Contents
  • Paragraph and Text Format
  • Create a Table
  • Create Links
  • Create Lists
  • Add images
  • Add HTML images

Overview

This is an example of a markdown file created using the mdutils python package. In this example you are going to see how to create a markdown file using this library. Moreover, you're finding the available features which makes easy the creation of this type of files while you are running Python code.

IMPORTANT: some features available in this library have no effect with the GitHub Markdown CSS. Some of them are: coloring text, centering text...

This is what you can do

Create Markdown files

Using the MdUtils class, we can define a new Markdown object by specifying its filename and optionally it's title and author. The filename is used as the path for creating the the Markdown file. From here, Markdown syntax can be created using the provided methods in the MdUtils class (see below for examples). Finally, create_md_file() is called to create the file at the specified path.

from mdutils.mdutils import MdUtils


mdFile = MdUtils(file_name='Example_Markdown',title='Markdown File Example')
# Additional Markdown syntax...
mdFile.create_md_file()

Create Headers

Using the new_header method you can create headers of different levels depending on the style. There are two available styles: 'atx' and 'setext'. The first one has til 6 different header levels. Atx's levels 1 and 2 are automatically added to the table of contents unless the parameter add_table_of_contents is set to 'n'. The 'setext' style only has two levels of headers.

mdFile.new_header(level=1, title='Atx Header 1')
mdFile.new_header(level=2, title='Atx Header 2')
mdFile.new_header(level=3, title='Atx Header 3')
mdFile.new_header(level=4, title='Atx Header 4')
mdFile.new_header(level=5, title='Atx Header 5')
mdFile.new_header(level=6, title='Atx Header 6')

To give a header an ID (Extended Markdown syntax only), the header_id parameter can be used:

mdFile.new_header(level=1, title='Header', header_id='firstheader')

This will result in # Header {#firstheader} in the Markdown file.

Atx Header 1

Atx Header 2

Atx Header 3

Atx Header 4

Atx Header 5

Atx Header 6

mdFile.new_header(level=1, title='Setext Header 1', style='setext')
mdFile.new_header(level=2, title='Setext Header 2', style='setext')

Setext Header 1

Setext Header 2

Table of Contents

If you have defined some headers of level 1 and 2, you can create a table of contents invoking the following command (Normally, the method will be called at the end of the code before calling create_md_file())

mdFile.new_table_of_contents(table_title='Contents', depth=2)

Paragraph and Text Format

mdutils allows you to create paragraphs, line breaks or simply write text:

New Paragraph Method

mdFile.new_paragraph("Using ``new_paragraph`` method you can very easily add a new paragraph" 
					 " This example of paragraph has been added using this method. Moreover,"
					 "``new_paragraph`` method make your live easy because it can give format" 
					 " to the text. Lets see an example:")

Using new_paragraph method you can very easily add a new paragraph on your markdown file. This example of paragraph has been added using this method. Moreover, new_paragraph method makes your live easy because it can give format to the text. Lets see an example:

mdFile.new_paragraph("This is an example of text in which has been added color, bold and italics text.", bold_italics_code='bi', color='purple')

This is an example of text in which has been added color, bold and italics text.

New Line Method

mdutils has a method which can create new line breaks. Lets see it.

mdFile.new_line("This is an example of line break which has been created with ``new_line`` method.")

This is an example of line break which has been created with new_line method.

As new_paragraph, new_line allows users to give format to text using bold_italics_code and color parameters:

mdFile.new_line("This is an inline code which contains bold and italics text and it is centered", bold_italics_code='cib', align='center')

This is an inline code which contains bold and italics text and it is centered

Write Method

write method writes text in a markdown file without jump lines '\n' and as new_paragraph and new_line, you can give format to text using the arguments bold_italics_code, color and align:

mdFile.write("The following text has been written with ``write`` method. You can use markdown directives to write:"
			 "**bold**, _italics_, ``inline_code``... or ")
mdFile.write("use the following available parameters:  \n")

The following text has been written with write method. You can use markdown directives to write: bold, italics, inline_code... or use the following available parameters:

mdFile.write('  \n')
mdFile.write('bold_italics_code', bold_italics_code='bic')
mdFile.write('  \n')
mdFile.write('Text color', color='green')
mdFile.write('  \n')
mdFile.write('Align Text to center', align='center')

bold_italics_code
Text color

Align Text to center

Create a Table

The library implements a method called new_table that can create tables using a list of strings. This method only needs: the number of rows and columns that your table must have. Optionally you can align the content of the table using the parameter text_align

list_of_strings = ["Items", "Descriptions", "Data"]
for x in range(5):
	list_of_strings.extend(["Item " + str(x), "Description Item " + str(x), str(x)])
mdFile.new_line()
mdFile.new_table(columns=3, rows=6, text=list_of_strings, text_align='center')

Items	Descriptions	Data
Item 0	Description Item 0	0
Item 1	Description Item 1	1
Item 2	Description Item 2	2
Item 3	Description Item 3	3
Item 4	Description Item 4	4

Create Links

Create inline links

new_inline_link method allows you to create a link of the style: [mdutils](https://github.com/didix21/mdutils).

Moreover, you can add bold, italics or code in the link text. Check the following examples:

mdFile.new_line('  - Inline link: ' + mdFile.new_inline_link(link='https://github.com/didix21/mdutils', text='mdutils')) 
mdFile.new_line('  - Bold inline link: ' + mdFile.new_inline_link(link='https://github.com/didix21/mdutils', text='mdutils', bold_italics_code='b') 
mdFile.new_line('  - Italics inline link: ' + mdFile.new_inline_link(link='https://github.com/didix21/mdutils', text='mdutils', bold_italics_code='i') 
mdFile.new_line('  - Code inline link: ' + mdFile.new_inline_link(link='https://github.com/didix21/mdutils', text='mdutils', bold_italics_code='i') 
mdFile.new_line('  - Bold italics code inline link: ' + mdFile.new_inline_link(link='https://github.com/didix21/mdutils', text='mdutils', bold_italics_code='cbi') 
mdFile.new_line('  - Another inline link: ' + mdFile.new_inline_link(link='https://github.com/didix21/mdutils') 

• Inline link: mdutils
• Bold inline link: mdutils
• Italics inline link: mdutils
• Code inline link: mdutils
• Bold italics code inline link: mdutils
• Another inline link: https://github.com/didix21/mdutils

Create reference links

new_reference_link method allows you to create a link of the style: [mdutils][1]. All references will be added at the end of the markdown file automatically as:

[1]: https://github.com/didix21/mdutils

Lets check some examples:

mdFile.write('\n  - Reference link: ' + mdFile.new_reference_link(link='https://github.com/didix21/mdutils', text='mdutils', reference_tag='1')
mdFile.write('\n  - Reference link: ' + mdFile.new_reference_link(link='https://github.com/didix21/mdutils', text='another reference', reference_tag='md')
mdFile.write('\n  - Bold link: ' + mdFile.new_reference_link(link='https://github.com/didix21/mdutils', text='Bold reference', reference_tag='bold', bold_italics_code='b')
mdFile.write('\n  - Italics link: ' + mdFile.new_reference_link(link='https://github.com/didix21/mdutils', text='Bold reference', reference_tag='italics', bold_italics_code='i')

• Reference link: mdutils
• Reference link: another reference
• Bold link: Bold reference
• Italics link: Italics reference

Create Lists

Create unordered lists

You can add Markdown unordered list using mdFile.new_list(items, marked_with). Lets check an example:

items = ['Item 1', 'Item 2', 'Item 3', 'Item 4', ['Item 4.1', 'Item 4.2', ['Item 4.2.1', 'Item 4.2.2'], 'Item 4.3', ['Item 4.3.1']], 'Item 5']
mdFile.new_list(items)

• Item 1
• Item 2
• Item 3
• Item 4
  • Item 4.1
  • Item 4.2
    • Item 4.2.1
    • Item 4.2.2
  • Item 4.3
    • Item 4.3.1
• Item 5

Create ordered lists

You can add ordered ones easily, too: mdFile.new_list(items, marked_with='1')

1. Item 1
2. Item 2
3. Item 3
4. Item 4
   1. Item 4.1
   2. Item 4.2
      1. Item 4.2.1
      2. Item 4.2.2
   3. Item 4.3
      1. Item 4.3.1
5. Item 5

Moreover, you can add mixed list, for example:

items = ['Item 1', 'Item 2', ['1. Item 2.1', '2. Item 2.2'], 'Item 3']
mdFile.new_list(items)

• Item 1
• Item 2
  1. Item 2.1
  2. Item 2.2
• Item 3

Maybe you want to replace the default hyphen - by a + or * then you can do: mdFile.new_list(items, marked_with='*').

Create checkbox lists

For creating checkbox lists you can use mdFile.new_checkbox_list(items).

• Item 1
• Item 2
  • Item 2.1
  • Item 2.2
• Item 3

If you want to check all of them you can do: mdFile.new_checkbox_list(items, checked=True)

• Item 1
• Item 2
  • Item 2.1
  • Item 2.2
• Item 3

Or maybe you only want to check some of them, then you can add an x before each item that you want to check:

['Item 1', 'Item 2', ['Item 2.1', 'x Item 2.2'], 'x Item 3']
mdFile.new_checkbox_list(items)

• Item 1
• Item 2
  • Item 2.1
  • Item 2.2
• Item 3

Add images

Inline Images

You can add inline images using new_inline_image method. Method will return: [image](../path/to/your/image.png). Check the following example:

mdFile.new_line(mdFile.new_inline_image(text='snow trees', path='./doc/source/images/photo-of-snow-covered-trees.jpg'))

Reference Images

You can add inline images using new_reference_image method. Method will return: [image][im]. Check the following example:

mdFile.new_line(mdFile.new_reference_image(text='snow trees', path='./doc/source/images/photo-of-snow-covered-trees.jpg', reference_tag='im'))

Add HTML images

Change size to images

With Html.image you can change size of images in a markdown file. For example you can dothe following for changing width: mdFile.new_paragraph(Html.image(path=path, size='200'))

Or maybe only want to change height: mdFile.new_paragraph(Html.image(path=path, size='x300'))

Or change width and height: mdFile.new_paragraph(Html.image(path=path, size='300x300'))

Align images

Html.image allow to align images, too. For example you can run: mdFile.new_paragraph(Html.image(path=path, size='300x200', align='center'))