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CommonMark

The following CommonMark guide is non normative, but included for convenience. For a more detailed introduction we refer the reader the CommonMark Webpage and Specification.

Formatting

Italics

To italicize text, add one asterisk * or underscore _ both before and after the relevant text.

Example
_Donoghue v Stevenson_ is a landmark tort law case.

will be rendered as:

Donoghue v Stevenson is a landmark tort law case.

Bold

To bold text, add two asterisks ** or two underscores __ both before and after the relevant text.

Example
**Price** is defined in the Appendix.

will be rendered as:

Price is defined in the Appendix.

Bold and Italic

To bold and italicize text, add *** both before and after the relevant text.

Example
***WARNING***: This product contains chemicals that may cause cancer.

will be rendered as:

WARNING: This product contains chemicals that may cause cancer.

Paragraphs

To start a new paragraph, insert one or more blank lines. (In other words, all paragraphs in markdown need to have one or more blank lines between them.)

Example
This is the first paragraph.

This is the second paragraph.
This is not a third paragraph.

will be rendered as:

This is the first paragraph.

This is the second paragraph. This is not a third paragraph.

Headings

Using # (ATX Headings)

Level-1 through level-6 headings from are written with a # for each level.

Example

# US Constitution
## Statutes enacted by Congress
### Rules promulgated by federal agencies
#### State constitution
##### Laws enacted by state legislature
###### Local laws and ordinances

will be rendered as:

US Constitution

Statutes enacted by Congress

Rules promulgated by federal agencies

State constitution

Laws enacted by state legislature
Local laws and ordinances

Using = or - (Setext Headings)

Alternatively, headings with level 1 or 2 can be represented by using = and - under the text of the heading.

Example

Linux Foundation
================

Accord Project
--------------

will be rendered as:

Linux Foundation

Accord Project

Lists

Unordered Lists

To create an unordered list, use asterisks *, plus +, or hyphens - in the beginning as list markers.

Example

* Cicero
* Ergo
* Concerto

Will be rendered as:

  • Cicero
  • Ergo
  • Concerto

Ordered Lists

To create an ordered list, use numbers followed by a period ..

Example

1. One
2. Two
3. Three

will be rendered as:

  1. One
  2. Two
  3. Three

Nested Lists

To create a list within another, indent each item in the sublist by four spaces.

Example

1. Matters related to the business
- enter into an agreement...
- enter into any abnormal contracts...
2. Matters related to the assets
- sell or otherwise dispose...
- mortgage, ...

will be rendered as:

  1. Matters related to the business
    • enter into an agreement...
    • enter into any abnormal contracts...
  2. Matters related to the assets
    • sell or otherwise dispose...
    • mortgage, ...

Tables

To create a table, use pipes | to separate each column and use three or more hyphens --- for each column's header. For compatibility, you should not create a table without a header and add also add a pipe on either end of a row.

Example

| Header 1 | Header 2 |
| ----------- | ----------- |
| Column 1 | Column 2 |

will be rendered as

Header 1Header 2
Column 1Column 2

It is not necessary to have identical cell widths for the whole table. The rendered output will look the same irrespective of varying cell widths.

| Header 1 | Header 2 |
| ---------| ---------|
| Column 1 | Column 2 |

will be rendered as

Header 1Header 2
Column 1Column 2

Formatting the Tables

A table can contain links, code (words or phrases in backticks (`) only) , formatted text (bold, italics) or images. However, adding lists, headings, blockquotes, code blocks, horizontal rules or nested tables is not possible.

Example

| Column1 | Column 2 |
| ----------- | ----------- |
| text | ![ap_logo](https://docs.accordproject.org/docs/assets/020/template.png "AP triangle") |
| \`\`\`code block\`\`\` | **Bold content** |
| [link](http://clause.io) | *Italics* |

will be rendered as

Column1Column 2
textap_logo
```code block```Bold content
linkItalics

Horizontal Rule

A horizontal rule may be used to create a "thematic break" between paragraph-level elements. In markdown, you can create a thematic break using either of the following:

  • ___: three consecutive underscores
  • ---: three consecutive dashes
  • ***: three consecutive asterisks

Example

___
---
***

Will be rendered as:




Escaping

Any markdown character that is used for a special purpose may be escaped by placing a backslash in front of it.

For instance avoid creating bold or italic when using * or _ in a sentence, place a backslash \ in the front, like: \* or \_.

Example

This is \_not\_ italics but _this_ is!

Will be rendered as:

This is _not_ italics but this is!