Markdown by Example: Lists
Markdown supports ordered and unordered lists. This sample demonstrates how to create and nest them.
Code
Unordered List:
- Item 1
- Item 2
- Subitem 2a
- Subitem 2b
* Item 3 (Asterisks work too)
+ Item 4 (Plus signs work too)
Ordered List:
1. First item
2. Second item
3. Third item
1. Indented item
2. Indented item
Loose List (paragraphs inside items):
- This item has a paragraph.
It continues here.
- Next item.Explanation
Unordered lists can be created using hyphens -, asterisks *, or plus signs +. You can mix them, but it's best to be consistent. Ordered lists use numbers followed by periods, like 1.. Interestingly, the actual numbers don't matter; you could write 1. for every item, and Markdown will still render them as 1, 2, 3... This makes reordering lists easy.
To nest lists, you simply indent the sub-list. The standard indentation is 4 spaces or 1 tab. Some parsers accept 2 spaces, but 4 is the safest bet for compatibility. Nested lists can mix types (e.g., an ordered list inside an unordered one).
If you put blank lines between list items, Markdown creates a "loose list". In a loose list, the content of each item is wrapped in a paragraph tag <p>, adding vertical spacing. In a "tight list" (no blank lines), there are no paragraph tags, and the list looks more compact.
Code Breakdown
1. The number used in the source doesn't have to match the output order.