Please don't render ' as ’‘ in View mode 👁️

[EhudKirsh]

IMPORTANT

• App version: 2.16.1
• Android version/rom: 11
• Device: Moto G9 Play
• I accept that this issue will be closed without further notice in case I didn't describe the problem including general information, or didn't search for similar issues & requests.

Explain the Problem

Whenever I create a codeblock using the two of the ` symbol, any single quotes ' inside are rendered as ’‘ in View mode 👁️.
This problematic because I want to copy script snippets from Markor and paste them in Termux, but ’‘ aren't valid script characters.
I wish that Markor didn't render ' as anything other than ', just like VS Code and GitHub render ' as ' in the view mode of .md files.

Steps to Reproduce

If you paste <code> /system/bin/dumpsys deviceidle 2>/dev/null &#124; awk -F'=' '/mNetworkConnected=/ {print $2; exit}' </code> in Markor, its View mode will replace ' with ’‘ and look like this:
/system/bin/dumpsys deviceidle 2>/dev/null | awk -F’=’ ‘/mNetworkConnected=/ {print $2; exit}’ which fails in Termux.

GitHub, VS Code and every Markdown rendering app I ever came across keep ' as it is so it correctly renders like this:
/system/bin/dumpsys deviceidle 2>/dev/null | awk -F'=' '/mNetworkConnected=/ {print $2; exit}'

Note: you don't need to check that this line actually works in Termux. I'm only asking that you check that it renders '' correctly instead of ’‘.
If for whatever reason you wish to actually check that this line works in Termux,
it requires that you enter the following line just once in ADB Shell: pm grant com.termux android.permission.DUMP
OR this line in Termux with rish and Shizuku on: rish -c "pm grant com.termux android.permission.DUMP".
This line checks if there's any internet connection, by WiFi, Cellular Mobile Data or both, if you're curious.

[gsantner]

Please check if you have some bad font configured. A single quote shows up as normal single quote also on view mode here.

[EhudKirsh]

Thank you for the quick reply.

A single quote shows up as normal single quote also on view mode here.

Really? That's odd. Not for me.

Please check if you have some bad font configured.

Where do you suggest I check that? I don't see any font setting in Markor.

[HaleyHalcyon]

FWIW, could not reproduce on Marder Version v2.16.1-1040 as of 2026-04-11T10:40Z.

\<img src="image.webp" alt="It's here!">

<img src="image.webp" alt="It's here!">

`<img src="image.webp" alt="It's here!">`

```
<img src="image.webp" alt="It's here!">
```

    <img src="image.webp" alt="It's here!">

[EhudKirsh]

Please check if you have some bad font configured.
A single quote shows up as normal single quote also on view mode here.

Please double-check. Writing <code> ' ' </code> in Markor renders as ’ ’. These are different characters.

[HaleyHalcyon]

Please double-check. Writing <code> ' ' </code> in Markor renders as ’ ’. These are different characters.

Oh, of course using inline HTML instead of Markdown will ruin things... Yep, by previewing <code>It's here!</code>, I was able to see that the result performs curly quote conversion.

For @EhudKirsh: Please use the CommonMark syntax for inline code instead, which is `code`.

For @gsantner: If you can modify the behavior of curly quote conversion, please disable curly quote conversion for the text contents of <code>, <pre>, <style>, and <script>.

[EhudKirsh]

Oh, of course using inline HTML instead of Markdown will ruin things... Yep, by previewing <code>It's here!</code>, I was able to see that the result performs curly quote conversion.

For @EhudKirsh: Please use the CommonMark syntax for inline code instead, which is `code`.

Were it so easy. If I switch from using <code> </code> to using ` `, | won't get rendered as |. Why not just write | instead of |? Because that breaks things when making a table of scripts, because markdown tables rely on |.

I'm sorry, but you're ignoring the big elephant in the room. I'm telling you that Markor changes the actual characters and this breaks scripts when they're copied to a terminal (Termux), and you try to suggest that I use different syntax instead. Not only this doesn't work currently, but it would keep the same problem when using <code> </code> and there's no reason to keep it. Markor was simply badly coded to render '' as ‘’ to appear nice, but this breaks scripts. Again, no other app that renders markdown does this. Not VS Code or GitHub.

This is an issue, and I'd like to politely ask that it gets fixed. This isn't something that is solved by me trying a different syntax or setting or font (Markor doesn't have font selection). The actual coding of Markor needs to change. I suggest that you Ctrl+F search for the characters ‘’ to see where they are and where you clearly replace the character ' with them. This should really be a quick and easy fix.

[HaleyHalcyon]

Were it so easy. If I switch from using <code> </code> to using , | won't get rendered as |. Why not just write | instead of |? Because that breaks things when making a table of scripts, because markdown tables rely on |.

I have no idea what you mean. A vertical bar is a vertical bar. Inline code and code blocks both take precedence over tables, as the following demonstration shows.

foo   | bar  | baz            |
------|------|----------------|
dmesg | tail | `dmesg | tail` | 

Your issue is completely avoidable if you use Markdown instead of inline HTML.

[EhudKirsh]

Inline code and code blocks both take precedence over tables, as the following demonstration shows.

Why did you just use indentation to render your example table and a screenshot from Markor?
Why not a screenshot from VS Code or just write it here as normal in GitHub? Here's what it gets rendered as:

foo	bar	baz
dmesg	tail	`dmesg

You don't see | getting rendered at all. That's how Markdown is in general.

You can try it yourself, and also click on the ... of this comment at its top-right to copy its markdown to verify that I didn't omit | and that I'm telling the truth.

If I work on a table in Markdown on and off between VS Code and Markor (syncing between them using Syncthing) with the intention to publish that table in GitHub, Markor doesn't render markdown like the rest.

I still think that if you want '' to look pretty like ‘’, you can use a font for this. There' no need to render characters as different characters. Especially for <code> tags which imply that they preserve characters to not break scripts.

[HaleyHalcyon]

@EhudKirsh WOMM.

The README states that “CommonMark is the specification that the markdown parser used in Markor implements.” However, CommonMark doesn’t specify how tables should work at all. This is evident looking at the reference implementation of CommonMark.

So the interaction between tables and inline code, and differences in detail between GitHub Flavored Markdown may be undesirable for your specific and narrow use (arguably a misuse) of Markdown, but not a mistake.

Use `...` for inline code. Use ```\n...\n```, 4 spaces, or 1 tab for code blocks. That’s the Markdown way.

@gsantner For reference, which library does Markor use internally to parse Markdown for the Preview? TIL that CommonMark doesn’t even have tables. How Markor treats pipes within tables is non-compliant with GHFM because GHFM’s spec sucks. Do you want to incorrect it to GHFM spec or keep the improvement?

[EhudKirsh]

Thank you for screenshoting Markor again. It confirms what I wrote, which is that | is shown in Markor when it isn't in GitHub or VS Code.

I like Markor's rendering of markdown as it is for the most part, except for this one issue of ' being rendered as ‘’ inside <code> tags. Is it too much to ask that this would get fixed?

I appreciate that you prefer how Markor renders | inside ` ` unlike GitHub, but unfortunately, if GitHub's rendering sucks as you say, that will be more difficult to change. I don't like having to use the verbose <code> tag over ` `, but that's what works in GitHub and VS Code.

I like Markor and don't see any better alternative for it on Android. Thank you for your time.

[guanglinn]

This app does have some odd behaviors in terms of Markdown source code parsing.
The Markdown parser library flexmark used by this app is quite outdated,
@gsantner I suggest upgrading libraries #2407