Markdown Table Guide (GFM)

A complete guide to Markdown tables that actually works in real documents. Covers GitHub-Flavored Markdown (GFM) syntax, alignment, links/images/code inside cells, multi-line cells, and conversions between CSV/Excel ⇄ Markdown ⇄ Word/PDF.

Tip: On md2word.com, paste Markdown (or CSV/Excel), then export DOCX/PDF with real Word tables (borders & alignment preserved).

Table of Contents

• Basic Syntax
• Alignment
• Links, Images, Code in Cells
• Multi-line Cells
• Column Width & Wrapping
• CSV / Excel ⇄ Markdown
• HTML Table (when Markdown falls short)
• Platform Differences
• FAQ

Basic Syntax

| Feature | Supported? |
|--------|------------|
| Tables | ✅         |
| Alignment | ✅      |

• First row is the header.
• Second row of dashes defines the table and supports alignment markers.

Alignment

| Left | Center | Right |
|:-----|:------:|------:|
| a    |   b    |     c |

• :--- = left, :---: = center, ---: = right.

Links, Images, Code in Cells

| Type   | Example                         |
|--------|---------------------------------|
| Link   | [md2word](https://md2word.com)  |
| Image  | ![alt](https://example.com/i.png) |
| Code   | `inline code`                   |

Block-level elements (lists, blockquotes) are not reliably supported inside cells across parsers—prefer concise content per cell.

Multi-line Cells

CommonMark itself doesn’t support hard line breaks within a cell, but many renderers accept <br>:

| Feature | Note                    |
|--------|--------------------------|
| Lines  | Line1<br>Line2<br>Line3 |

For longer content, consider split rows or switch to HTML table for precise layout.

Column Width & Wrapping

Markdown has no native column width control. Use CSS/HTML if you need fixed widths.
When exporting via md2word, columns auto-fit like Word tables and keep alignment/borders.

CSV / Excel ⇄ Markdown

CSV → Markdown

1. Paste CSV into the converter.
2. Choose “CSV → Markdown table”.
3. Adjust alignment; copy or export to DOCX/PDF.

Markdown → CSV/Excel

• Export the detected table as CSV or .xlsx for spreadsheet editing.

Example CSV:

Name,Score,Passed
Alice,92,TRUE
Bob,78,TRUE
Cara,63,FALSE

Converted Markdown:

| Name  | Score | Passed |
|-------|------:|:------:|
| Alice |    92 |  ✅    |
| Bob   |    78 |  ✅    |
| Cara  |    63 |  ❌    |

HTML Table (when Markdown falls short)

Use HTML when you need rowspan/colspan, precise widths, or nested content:

<table>
  <thead>
    <tr><th>Quarter</th><th colspan="2">Revenue</th></tr>
  </thead>
  <tbody>
    <tr><td>Q1</td><td>$1.2M</td><td>$1.4M</td></tr>
  </tbody>
</table>

md2word converts HTML tables into true Word tables with merged cells.

Platform Differences

FAQ

Q: Why are my columns misaligned in plain text editors?
Spaces are cosmetic. Rendering engines ignore them; use alignment markers in the header row.

Q: Can I merge cells?
Not in pure Markdown. Use HTML tables for rowspan/colspan or restructure data.

Q: My table breaks in Word after copy-paste
Use md2word export to get a proper DOCX table with consistent borders and alignment.

Q: How big can a table be?
Markdown parsers handle large tables, but browsers slow down. Consider chunking or switching to CSV/Excel for editing, then re-export.

Changelog

• 2025-10-13: Initial release with CSV/Excel round-trip and HTML fallback guidance.

Next steps:

• Convert this guide to PDF / DOCX in one click.
• Explore related docs: Markdown Cheat Sheet, Markdown Hyperlink, Markdown to PDF.