Layout Presets

Layout Presets

mdedit.io ships with three built-in layout presets for PDF and preview rendering. Set the preset in the YAML front matter or via the layout selector in the editor.

---
preset: scientific
---

Scientific

Best for: academic theses, research papers, scientific reports

• Wide margins, justified text
• Floating figures and tables
• Numbered sections support (number-sections: true)
• Citation and bibliography support
• Designed for multi-page structured documents

---
preset: scientific
number-sections: true
citation-source: embedded
reference-section-title: References
---

Example: Master Thesis reference document

Compact

Best for: technical specs, reference sheets, reports, handbooks

• Tight line spacing
• Dense lists and grid tables
• Efficient use of page space
• Ideal for structured information

---
preset: compact
header: "My Document"
footer: "mdedit.io"
toc: true
---

Example: Quickread / Feature Showcase reference document

Literary

Best for: books, long-form prose, essays

• Generous line height
• Slightly wider body font
• Chapter-style headings
• Designed for comfortable reading flow

---
preset: literary
---

Example: Book reference document

Header and Footer

Available for all presets:

---
header: "My Document Title"
footer: "mdedit.io | 2026"
---

Table of Contents

Insert a TOC anywhere in the document:

[[toc]]

Or via front matter:

---
toc: true
---

See Also

• Markdown Reference
• Citations and References