---
title: "Present a Markdown note as slides on a Mac"
author: Pedro Thomaz
source: https://coffeetext.app/blog/present-markdown-as-slides-mac
---
# Present a Markdown note as slides on a Mac
> Checked November 2026 against the [CommonMark spec](https://spec.commonmark.org/0.31.2/) on thematic breaks.
Sometimes the notes are the talk. You've written the plan for Monday's meeting, the steps of a workshop or the summary of a project, and building a deck from it means copying everything into another app and keeping two versions in step.
In Coffee you can present the note itself. Here's how to write a note that works as slides, and two other ways to show a note to someone: a mind map of it, and one picture of the whole thing.
## Slides from a note
A line with only `---` on it is a thematic break in Markdown, drawn as a divider. Coffee's Present as Slides uses those lines as the edges of slides:
```
# Q4 plan
Three things, and one we're dropping.
---
## Ship the new onboarding
- Two weeks of testing
- Live by 20 October
---
## Hire a second designer
$$
\text{budget} = 12 \times 4500
$$
```
That's three slides. Choose Present as Slides from the View menu, or press ⌥⌘P, and the note fills the screen, one slide at a time.
- **Space or the arrow keys** move between slides.
- **Esc** ends the presentation.
- **Formulas, diagrams and pictures come along.** A `$$` block is drawn as a formula, a Mermaid flowchart as a diagram, and an image as the picture, the same as in the note.
The note stays an ordinary Markdown file. The `---` lines are plain Markdown, so in any other app they're just dividers between sections.
## Writing notes that present well
1. **One idea per slide.** If a section needs scrolling in the note, it'll be crowded on the screen. Split it with another `---`.
2. **A heading on each slide.** It tells the room where you are, and it gives the note a useful outline when you're writing it.
3. **Short lists over paragraphs.** Keep the paragraphs for what you'll say.
4. **Draw it if it's a process.** A small [Mermaid flowchart](https://coffeetext.app/blog/mermaid-diagrams-markdown) is often clearer than five bullets, and it's drawn on the slide.
5. **Rehearse in the note.** Since the slides are the note, fixing a typo while you practise fixes the talk.
## A mind map of the note
Note > Mind Map… shows the note's headings and list items as a tree of branches. It's a quick way to see the shape of a long document: which sections are heavy, which are thin, and where a list has grown too deep.
Click a branch and Coffee goes to that line in the note, so the map works as a way around it as well as a picture of it.
## The whole note as one picture
Export > Image saves the whole note as one tall PNG picture. It's handy when the person you're sending it to won't open a Markdown file: a chat message, a support ticket, or a post where only images go. For something to print or file, a [PDF](https://coffeetext.app/blog/markdown-to-pdf-mac) is still the better choice.
## Keeping a note in view
Window > Float on Top keeps a note above your other apps. On a video call, that keeps your talking points beside the meeting window, or keeps a checklist in view while you work through it in another app.
## Questions
### How do I split a Markdown note into slides?
Put a line with only `---` on it between slides. In Coffee, View > Present as Slides, or ⌥⌘P, shows the note full screen with a slide for each part.
### Do formulas and diagrams show in the slides?
Yes. Maths, Mermaid diagrams and pictures appear on the slides as they do in the note.
### How do I move between slides and stop?
Space or the arrow keys move between slides, and Esc ends the presentation.
### Can I see a note as a mind map?
Yes. Note > Mind Map… shows the note's headings and list items as branches, and clicking one goes to that line.
### Can I save a whole note as an image?
Yes. Export > Image saves it as one tall PNG.
Coffee is Mac only, with macOS 15 or later. It's free for 14 days without a card, then €3 a month, €29 a year, or €79 once with two years of updates.
---
Written by Pedro Thomaz, who makes Coffee, a Markdown editor for the Mac on macOS 15 or later. It's free for 14 days with no card or account, then €3 a month, €29 a year, or €79 once with two years of updates. More at https://coffeetext.app/llms-full.txt