Raw markdown

Every note is a markdown file, and the Raw markdown dialog is your direct line to it — read the source, copy it out, or paste a whole document in.

Open the raw source

1. Open the note’s More (…) menu.
2. Choose Raw markdown.

The Raw Markdown dialog shows the note’s full source. Use it to copy the markdown into another tool, check exactly what is stored, or paste in markdown written elsewhere.

Edit and apply

With write access, the dialog is an editable draft: “Edit the Markdown source as a draft. Applying replaces the current note only if it has not changed since this modal opened.”

1. Edit or paste markdown into the dialog.
2. Choose Apply Markdown.

The apply is guarded: if anyone (including you in another tab) changed the note after the dialog opened, Orbit refuses to overwrite their work. Choose Reload from note to pull the latest source into the dialog, re-apply your changes, and apply again. Closing the dialog with unapplied edits asks you to confirm before discarding them.

On a locked note the dialog is read-only: “View the Markdown source for this note. Unlock the note to edit and apply changes.”

Tip

You rarely need this dialog for pasting — pasting markdown directly into the editor already converts it to blocks (Markdown shortcuts). Reach for Raw markdown when you want to replace the whole note with prepared source, or inspect precisely what is in the file.

FAQ

Can I import a note with YAML frontmatter? Yes. Paste the whole document into Raw Markdown and apply it, or import the Markdown file. The header appears as Properties in the block editor. Use this whole-document flow for frontmatter; ordinary rich-editor paste does not create a Properties node.

Is the raw source the real file? Yes — it is the markdown stored in your OneDrive or SharePoint library. See Where your notes live.

Why is Raw markdown missing from the menu? It requires write access, appears once the editable note has finished loading, and exists only on markdown notes — drawings, Base documents, and uploaded files have no markdown source.

Up next: back to Edit notes for everything the block editor does day to day.