Content Blocks Android
On Android, effortlessly insert text files, code, or CSV tables into your documents with Content Blocks.
Besides the integration of elements into your file, this feature also offers an excellent document management solution alongside the Table of Content.
Among all the use cases, Content Blocks are particularly popular for writers who need to compile various chapters of their book into a unified document.
Origins of Content Blocks
John Gruber, one the inventors of the Markdown markup language, remarked that image syntax was his biggest mistake with Markdown, and mentioned an alternative:
My best idea for good Markdown img syntax would be to just paste in a URL ending in .jpg/.png/.gif etc.
In our search of support for file transclusion, we landed on a syntax for what we call, Content Blocks.
The Content Blocks feature was added to Writer a few years ago, if you want to know more about our journey with this, feel free to check our blog post from that time: iA Writer 4.
Adding Content Blocks
In your document, simply enter a slash mark / then type the file path following the syntax below:
/Section.txt
/Balance Sheet.csv "Finances"
Note that some principles should be respected:
- Content block references must begin at the start of an empty line
- they must start with a slash, followed by file name with extension
- you may specify a caption in double quotes (this will be ignored with .txt files)
- only files in the Library may be referenced
- referenced files must be located in the same folder as the file where they are referenced
These embedded files are rendered in the Preview and will be included in documents exported.
