GroupDocs Viewer Java – View Markdown with CSS

Overview

This showcase project demonstrates how to use GroupDocs Viewer (Java) to render a Markdown file to HTML and save the stylesheet as a separate resource. It is a minimal, runnable Maven project that helps developers understand how to view a .md file with the CSS produced by the library.

Prerequisites

• Java Development Kit (JDK) 8 or higher
• Apache Maven 3.5+ installed and added to your PATH
• An Internet connection for Maven to download dependencies

License

GroupDocs Viewer requires a license file to work without evaluation limitations (watermarks, page limits, etc.).

1. Obtain a temporary license – Visit https://purchase.groupdocs.com/temporary-license/ to get a free 30‑day temporary license.
2. Place the license file – Save the downloaded GroupDocs.Viewer.Java.lic file in the project root directory (the same level where pom.xml resides).
3. Without a license – The library will run in evaluation mode which adds watermarks to rendered pages and may impose other restrictions.

Project Structure

view-markdown-with-css-groupdocs-viewer-java/
│   pom.xml
│   README.md
│   GroupDocs.Viewer.Java.lic   (optional – place your license here)
│
├───src
│   └───main
│       └───java
│           └───com
│               └───groupdocs
│                   └───viewer
│                       └───examples
│                           └───ViewMarkdownWithCssExample.java
│
├───resources
│   ├───input
│   │   └───sample.md            (sample Markdown – replace with your own)
│   └───output                   (generated HTML pages and CSS will be saved here)

Setup & Run

1. Clone or copy the project

   git clone https://github.com/your-repo/view-markdown-with-css-groupdocs-viewer-java.git
   cd view-markdown-with-css-groupdocs-viewer-java

2. Add your license file (optional but recommended) – copy GroupDocs.Viewer.Java.lic into the project root.
3. Place a Markdown file you want to render inside resources/input/. The project already contains sample.md, which you can replace.
4. Build the project

   mvn clean compile

5. Run the example
   • Using Maven Exec plugin:

     mvn exec:java

What Happens When You Run It?

• The program loads the license (if present).
• It checks resources/input/sample.md. If the file is missing, execution stops with an error message.
• An output directory resources/output/ is created if it does not already exist.
• The file is loaded as Markdown (FileType.MD) and rendered to HTML.
• Stylesheets are written next to the pages, with names like page_1/resource_1_*.css. Responsive rendering is enabled.
• Console output informs you about the progress and any possible errors.

Customization

• Embed the stylesheet in the HTML – replace HtmlViewOptions.forExternalResources(...) with HtmlViewOptions.forEmbeddedResources(pageFilePathFormat).
• Change the font – call options.setDefaultFontName("Arial") before rendering.
• Render another document – replace resources/input/sample.md with another Markdown file, or change INPUT_FILE in the source.
• Render a page range – call viewer.view(options, 1, 2) to render the first two pages instead of the whole document.

Notes

• The included sample.md is a short Markdown document, so HTML rendering and the generated stylesheet can be checked immediately.
• Markdown is treated as a text format. Pass FileType.MD in LoadOptions when you open the file.
• Ensure the resources/input/ and resources/output/ directories are at the same level as pom.xml as shown in the structure above.

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This is a showcase project for GroupDocs Viewer. It is intended for demonstration and educational purposes.