What's new in 2.8.3
A release about speed, plus a handful of fixes.
- Faster startup. Markpad starts with English only and fetches your language the first time it is needed, so the startup code is about a fifth smaller. Code highlighting, maths and diagrams load only when a document uses them. A plain-text document no longer downloads about 1.9 MB of libraries.
- Large files open faster. Opening a file used to render it twice. It renders once now. Documents with lots of maths no longer slow down sharply as they grow: a 1.6 MB test document went from 3.3 s to 0.12 s to render.
- Typing and scrolling do less work. The word count waits for a pause in typing and is skipped when it is hidden. Scrolling no longer re-reads the whole document. Folding and the outline share one pass instead of two. The preview parses each update once fewer and finds lines on scroll without walking the whole page.
- No more freezes on paste or save. Pasting a large image and saving the session no longer block every window. An external save that touches the file several times now reloads once.
- Tables wrap between words. A short column next to a long one no longer breaks words in the middle. A table that still does not fit scrolls sideways.
- Exports keep your fonts. PDF and HTML exports now carry the preview's font, font size, code font, code font size and highlight colour.
- Wayland paste works. On Linux under Wayland, paste reads the system clipboard instead of the last thing copied inside Markpad.
- Small fixes. Dragging a document over the editor says Drop to Open. The settings dialog no longer grows a little every time its header is clicked.
Download
| System | Chip | Download | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Windows | Intel / AMD | Markpad_2.8.3_x64-setup.exe
| installer |
| Intel / AMD | Markpad_2.8.3_x64.exe
| portable | |
| ARM64 | Markpad_2.8.3_arm64-setup.exe
| installer | |
| ARM64 | Markpad_2.8.3_arm64.exe
| portable | |
| macOS | Intel and Apple Silicon | Markpad_2.8.3_universal.dmg
| one file for both |
| Linux | x86-64 | Markpad_2.8.3_amd64.AppImage
| portable |
| x86-64 | Markpad_2.8.3_amd64.deb
| Debian, Ubuntu | |
| x86-64 | Markpad-2.8.3-1.x86_64.rpm
| Fedora, RHEL, openSUSE |
Note
Windows SmartScreen Notice: Windows executables are not signed with an Authenticode certificate, so SmartScreen shows them as an unrecognized app. Click "More info" → "Run anyway". The antivirus heuristic that used to flag the portable .exe no longer does.
Note
macOS folder access: Coming from 2.7.x or earlier, macOS asks for folder access once more after this update. From now on the grant carries across updates.
If you gave Markpad Full Disk Access in 2.7.x or earlier, that grant no longer applies, and macOS asks each time Markpad saves to Desktop or Documents. Renew it once: in System Settings → Privacy & Security → Full Disk Access, select Markpad, remove it with −, then add /Applications/Markpad.app again with +.
The two Windows files differ only in that one installs and one does not.
Package managers: choco install markpad-app (Windows), brew install --cask markpad (macOS), sudo snap install markpad (Linux).
What Markpad renders
Every syntax Markpad renders is in one document — download markdown-syntax.md (简体中文) and open it in Markpad: the preview shows each feature working, the editor beside it shows how each one is written. Give the same file to an AI and it knows exactly what Markpad can render: ask it to reformat a document you already have, or to write a new one that uses the whole range — callouts, tables, footnotes, maths, diagrams — and open the result here. Read it on GitHub.
What's Changed
- ci(release): drop the one-time macOS folder access note by @PathGao in #926
- fix(preview): a table cell no longer breaks inside a word (#927) by @PathGao in #929
- fix(drop): the editor's drop zone says Open for a document (#928) by @PathGao in #930
- fix(clipboard): paste reads the Wayland clipboard, not XWayland's (#931) by @PathGao in #933
- fix(export): PDF and HTML exports carry the preview's fonts and highlight colour (#932) by @PathGao in #934
- ci: release uploads fail loudly, drop dead build steps by @PathGao in #935
- chore: remove 30 unused translation keys and three uncalled preview helpers by @PathGao in #936
- refactor(settings): drop 27 one-line toggle methods, one storage check by @PathGao in #937
- chore(comments): fix stale references, drop history narration and restated code by @PathGao in #938
- refactor(settings): share pointer tracking and toolbar moves, read os type from the store by @PathGao in #939
- refactor(titlebar): drop the unreachable traffic lights, render the menu once by @PathGao in #940
- refactor(viewer): menu listeners from a table, one front matter write, small duplicates by @PathGao in #941
- refactor(tabs): one tab lookup, one tab factory, one basename by @PathGao in #942
- refactor(rust): one spawn_blocking helper, std OS name, single PNG write, shared passes by @PathGao in #943
- ci: faster pull request builds, job timeouts, shorter artifact retention by @PathGao in #944
- perf(i18n): ship English only, fetch other languages on first use by @PathGao in #945
- perf(editor): less work per keystroke, scroll and fold request by @PathGao in #946
- perf(rust): open renders once, clipboard image and session save off the main thread, one reload per save by @PathGao in #947
- perf(rust): restore math spans in one pass instead of rescanning per token by @PathGao in #948
- perf(preview): load rich-content libraries on demand, two fewer parses per render, cached scroll samples by @PathGao in #949
- fix(settings): stop the dialog growing on every header click by @ZYar-er in #950
- ci(test): raise job timeout to 30 minutes by @PathGao in #951
- chore: bump version to 2.8.3 by @PathGao in #952
- fix(deps): bump devalue to 5.9.4 for npm audit by @PathGao in #953
New Contributors
Full Changelog: v2.8.2...v2.8.3