Export notes to PDF, DOCX, and HTML

While plain Markdown files are ideal for long-term personal knowledge management, sharing your work with clients, executive leaders, and external teams often requires standard office formats. Oyma includes an on-device document export engine that converts Markdown notes into polished PDF files, Microsoft Word (DOCX) documents, and standalone HTML pages.

All conversions execute 100% locally on your Mac’s processor, ensuring that sensitive documents and meeting summaries never pass through third-party cloud conversion servers.

Export format capabilities comparison

Each export target serves different collaboration needs. The table below outlines how document elements map across the three output formats:

Document Element	Portable Document Format (PDF)	Microsoft Word (.docx)	Standalone Web Page (.html)
Primary Audience	Client memos, formal reports, archival	Collaborative edits, legal review, track changes	Web publishing, knowledge bases, browser viewing
Typography & Layout	Pixel-perfect vector pagination	Word template typography styles	Responsive web typography
Table Rendering	Fixed-width vector table grid	Native Word OpenXML editable tables	Flexible CSS styled tables
Embedded Images	Embedded vector/raster objects	Bundled inside .docx zip package	Inlined as base64 data URIs
Wikilinks & Anchors	Formatted reference chips or URLs	Word internal bookmarks or hyperlinks	Standard web <a href> hyperlinks
Frontmatter Metadata	Styled header property table	Document properties & header block	Meta tags & rendered info card
Syntax Highlighting	Prismatic colored code blocks	Mono-font styled shaded callout boxes	Tokenized CSS highlighting

How to export an individual note

Exporting is accessible through both keyboard shortcuts and the macOS application menu:

1. Open the note you want to export in Oyma.
2. Press ⌘O and type >Export note…, or select File → Export… from the macOS menu bar.
3. In the export sheet modal, select your desired format: PDF, DOCX, or HTML.
4. Configure preflight presentation preferences:
   • Page orientation (PDF only): Choose Portrait or Landscape.
   • Page margins: Standard (1 inch), Narrow (0.5 inch), or Wide.
   • Include frontmatter metadata: Formats YAML tags, author, and date as an elegant header table.
   • Include meeting transcript: For meeting notes, toggle whether verbatim dialogue appears below the summary.
   • Page numbers and timestamps: Enables running headers and footer pagination in PDF documents.
5. Click Export and pick a save destination on your local drive.

Deep dive into export engines

PDF engine: Native CoreGraphics vector rendering

Unlike cloud apps that spin up headless browsers on remote servers to capture screenshots, Oyma uses macOS native printing and WebKit CoreGraphics rendering:

• Text is retained as sharp, searchable vector glyphs rather than rasterized pixels.
• Hyperlinks inside PDF documents remain clickable in Preview, Adobe Acrobat, and mobile PDF readers.
• CSS paged media rules (@page, break-inside: avoid) ensure tables and code snippets never split awkwardly across page margins.

DOCX engine: Native OpenXML compilation

When exporting to Microsoft Word format, Oyma transforms Markdown Abstract Syntax Trees (AST) directly into the WordprocessingML OpenXML format:

• Headings are assigned native Word styles (Heading 1, Heading 2, etc.), allowing recipients to navigate the document using Word’s built-in Navigation Pane.
• Callouts and blockquotes are converted into Word shaded callout tables with colored accent borders.
• Task lists (- [x]) map to native Word checkbox bullets.
• All media assets from your vault’s attachments/ folder are compressed and written directly into the word/media/ directory inside the DOCX container.

Standalone HTML engine: Zero-dependency single-file bundles

HTML exports produce a single self-contained .html file that opens identically in any modern browser:

• All CSS stylesheets, reset rules, and font definitions are embedded within the <style> tag.
• Embedded screenshots, charts, and images are converted into base64 data:image/png;base64,... URIs.
• The resulting file can be sent via email, shared on internal networks, or uploaded to an intranet with zero missing asset dependencies.

Batch export workflows

If you need to deliver an entire project folder or meeting series:

1. In the sidebar file tree, hold ⌘ and click multiple notes, or right-click any folder.
2. Select Export Folder as….
3. Choose the target format.
4. Select an output directory.
5. Oyma runs the export pipeline concurrently across your CPU cores, generating clean files named after each note’s title.

Troubleshooting common export problems

Problem	Root Cause	Solution
Wide table clipped at page edge (PDF)	Too many columns for standard portrait page width.	Select Landscape orientation in the PDF export sheet or enable column word-wrapping in Settings.
Images missing in recipient’s Word app	Broken relative asset link before export.	Verify that the image renders properly in Oyma‘s editor before exporting.
Very large HTML file size	Note contains multiple multi-megabyte uncompressed screenshots.	Compress screenshots in Finder or switch to PDF export which applies automatic image compression.
Fonts look different on recipient’s PC	Exported DOCX used Mac-exclusive system fonts like San Francisco.	In Export Settings, choose Cross-platform standard typography (inter, Helvetica, or Georgia).

To learn how to structure notes and format complex multi-column grids before exporting, read our guides to Markdown basics and spreadsheet-like tables.