How to turn an AI chat answer into a document

Why the formatting gets lost

In the chat, an answer looks formatted: headings, bold text, lists, tables. Underneath, it is plain text with Markdown symbols: # for headings, ** for bold, - for list items and | for table columns. The copy button under an answer copies that Markdown source. Paste it into a word processor or an email, and you get the symbols instead of the formatting, and tables arrive as rows of pipes.

A Markdown editor reads the symbols and shows the document the way the chat did, and it can export it in formats other programs understand.

Step by step

1. Copy the answer. Use the copy button under the answer. It copies the Markdown, which is what you want.
2. Paste it into Hashlite. The editor opens right away on the home page, with no account needed. The formatted document appears in the preview next to it.
3. Check and edit. Change anything on the left; the preview updates as you type. Math between $ signs and mermaid code blocks are rendered too.
4. Export or copy. Open the ⋯ menu and pick what you need:
   • Print / Save as PDF for a PDF.
   • Copy as formatted text, then paste into Word, Google Docs or an email.
   • Download HTML for a self-contained web page, or Download Markdown to keep the source.

Your text is kept in your browser, so it is still there after a reload. Choose Save to keep it in a free account with folders, search and version history.

Into Word, Google Docs or an email

Copy as formatted text puts the rendered document on the clipboard. Headings, bold and italic, lists, links, tables and code blocks keep their formatting when you paste. Math may arrive as plain text, so for documents with a lot of math, save a PDF instead.

Google Docs can also read Markdown itself: turn on Tools › Preferences › Enable Markdown, then use Edit › Paste from Markdown. Tables and code come through best with the formatted-text copy.

Tips for better results

• Ask for Markdown. If an answer comes out as plain text, ask the assistant to "format this as Markdown" or "give me the Markdown in a code block".
• Ask for a table. Comparisons are easier to read as a table, and Markdown tables export cleanly to PDF, Word and Docs. See Markdown tables.
• Ask for a diagram. Assistants can write flowcharts and sequence diagrams as mermaid code blocks. Paste them and they are drawn. See math and diagrams in Markdown.
• Several answers? Paste them one after another, with a ## heading above each, to build one document.

Opening Markdown with a link

Tools and scripts can open text directly in the editor: link to https://hashlite.io/#text= followed by the URL-encoded Markdown. The text is read from the part after #, which browsers never send to a server.

const url = 'https://hashlite.io/#text=' + encodeURIComponent(markdown);