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Transparent table borders in Marked2

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Christian Lambert

05 May, 2015 08:34 PM

What is the most simple way to have transparent borders in the HTML output of Marked2 while using markdown.

My goal is to use markdown / marked2 to compose my HTML emails with text and images. I assume since "div" is limited in markdown, the basic table and images might be the best approach. I also saw the option to export images as base64 in marked2, this would probably be ideal for this purpose as well. I would then paste in the HTML into AirMailApp into the raw HTML section and send the email out. Any other tips would be appreciated.

Thanks,
Christian

1. Support Staff 1 Posted by Brett on 05 May, 2015 08:42 PM

   

   You can change the borders of a table to be invisible with simple CSS
   such as:

   th, td { border: none; }

   This type of rule can be used in a custom CSS file, or applied to all
   styles using the Additional CSS field in Style preferences.

   But it sounds like you may want to do something more complex than just
   MultiMarkdown tables will allow. Are you talking about using an HTML
   table for graphic layout? Also, embedding encoded images in the email is
   going to increase their size significantly, and in this case you'd
   usually be better off hosting the images somewhere and using img tags in
   the HTML.

   If I'm off base, show me a screenshot of the kind of email you're
   talking about and let me know exactly what it's application would be
   (personal, mailing list, etc.).

   -Brett

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2. 2 Posted by Christian Lambe... on 05 May, 2015 08:48 PM

   

   Hi Brett,

   Thanks for the reply, I am trying to do something like this completely in markdown.  Very basic table with some text and images, maybe not as extensive as the website has shown.

   http://webdesign.tutsplus.com/articles/build-an-html-email-template-from-scratch--webdesign-12770

   I’m not sure if it will work yet but plan to add reference style links for images and insert those in the table. 

   I’m debating between hosting or base64, as some email clients won’t load external links without clicking download.  

   This would be for a marketing type mailing yes. 

   Thanks,
   Christian

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3. Support Staff 3 Posted by Brett on 05 May, 2015 09:18 PM

   

   I don't see this being workable in Markdown alone, primarily you'll need
   nested tables (which aren't supported), but also because you're going to
   need to use inline CSS styles in the markup for compatibility across
   email platforms (which isn't possible in MultiMarkdown). You could do it
   with a custom processor in Maruku or Kramdown, but at that point you're
   better off just using HTML.

   I really recommend using something like MailChimp's email design tool
   for something like this, as I believe you're asking for more setup work
   than it's worth to do this in Markdown. If you're really driven, you'll
   need a custom processor script that can understand custom markup and
   know where to insert the input into your own template, but it would be a
   complex task and, again, more work than just coding the HTML.

   -Brett

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4. 4 Posted by Chris L on 06 May, 2015 12:06 AM

   

   Hi Brett,
   Thanks, do you have a recommendation for a visual HTML editor for Mac if I don't want to go with MailChimp?
   Thanks,
   Christian

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5. Support Staff 5 Posted by Brett on 06 May, 2015 12:15 AM

   

   I haven't used a visual editor since before Adobe bought Dreamweaver, so
   I can't help much there. I'm pretty sure I saw some "email designers" on
   the App Store, though, which would be a leg up given web design and
   email design have grown into two very separate beasts.

   -Brett

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6. 6 Posted by Christian Lambe... on 06 May, 2015 01:29 AM

   

   Thanks, I was trying to avoid going that route and see how much markdown can do.  I might just code it in HTML at this point for a simple layout.    
   -Christian

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