Markdown Viewer

Drop-target QML app for showing markdown documents, source code available on github.

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Gloriously demonstrates:

• DropArea - used as a drop-target for text files with markdown formatting
• Text - standard QML component displays markdown and opens clicked links in browser
• FileWatcher - a C++ component for QML using QFileSystemWatcher to detect file changes
• FileReader - a C++ component for QML which simplifies reading text files.

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FileWatcher

The FileWatcher class monitors file signals when a file is modified.

• Properties

  filename - the name of file to watch
  isValid - true if watched file exists

• Signals

  changed - signals that filename property is modified or that its content changed

• Usage

  This snippet will display updated markdown each time the file is changed on disk:

  Text {
      textFormat: Text.MarkdownText
      text: reader.content
  
      FileWatcher {
          filename: "C:/Dev/MarkdownViewer/README.md"
          onChanged: reader.load(filename)
      }
      FileReader { id: reader }
  }
  

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FileReader

The FileReader class simplifies reading text files for QML.

• Properties

  filename - the name of the file to watch isValid - indicates that the watched filen exists

• Signals

  changed - this signal is emitted when the filename is set or changed or when the content changes

• Usage

  See the example above.

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Changes

2021-10-03 Bug Fix and minor improvements

• Incorporates workaround for QTBUG-97041 (text with backticks doesn't scale properly) so that code scales correctly
• Supports flicking the document to scroll
• Increases width of scrollbar and no longer draw scrollbar over text
• Handles dropped files on Linux
• Handles dropped markdown text
• Adds application icon

2020-04-01 Functionality Updates

• Loads file specified on command-line, enabling launching associated file type (ex.: *.md) using a file manager
• Clicking link loads link in browser
• Show name of file in title bar
• Sets an application icon based on design created by Dustin Curtis

2020-02-17 Initial Version

• Presented at OC Qt meetup in demonstration of Markdown support in Qt 5.14

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Known Defects

• Does not update for changes on remote file system

  1. open file on network driver

  2. open same file in file editor

  3. modify file

     observe: file does not update

• Locks file

  1. open file

  2. use Windows Explorer to move file

     observe: file cannot be moved

     note: could not reproduce in **C:\Program Files\MarkdownViewer** folder, but rights were elevated.