Markdown to PDF troubleshooting
Every fix here was reproduced and tested with the tool it describes. Pick your script, find the symptom, fix it in the tool you use — or convert in the browser with MarkPDF.
Benchmark
One test file, 15 scripts, several tools: versions, commands and results.
Chinese, Japanese, Korean
Errors, boxes or blank characters, and kanji drawn in the wrong regional form.
Pandoc error “Unicode character … not set up for use with LaTeX” (Chinese, Japanese, Korean)
Pandoc’s default PDF engine (pdflatex) cannot typeset CJK text and stops with “Unicode character … not set up for use with LaTeX”. Switch to xelatex and set a CJK font. Tested commands and the pitfalls we hit.
Read the guideFix Chinese characters showing as boxes (tofu) in Markdown to PDF
Chinese text turns into □ boxes or garbled symbols when you export Markdown to PDF? Learn the two causes (missing fonts vs. wrong encoding) and how to export a correct PDF in your browser.
Read the guideJapanese kanji look Chinese in my PDF: fixing Han glyph variants
The same Unicode character (直, 骨, 角, 令…) is drawn differently in Chinese, Japanese and Korean fonts. If your PDF uses the wrong regional font, Japanese looks Chinese. Causes and tested fixes for Pandoc, HTML-based tools and MarkPDF.
Read the guideTypora, Pandoc and VS Code: fixing CJK fonts when exporting PDF
Pandoc "Unicode character not set up for use with LaTeX", VS Code Markdown PDF showing boxes, Typora theme fonts: causes and exact fixes, plus a no-install browser alternative.
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Arabic, Persian, Urdu
Letters not joined, reversed order, right-to-left layout.
Bengali, Hindi
Conjuncts (যুক্তাক্ষর, संयुक्ताक्षर) split apart, vowel signs in the wrong place.
AI answers
Export ChatGPT, Claude and other AI answers with math and code intact.
Templates
Resumes, homework and reports written in Markdown.
Write your resume in Markdown and export it to PDF
Write a clean resume in Markdown and export it to PDF in your browser. Free template, layout tips for one-page CVs, and no sign-up or upload.
Read the guideWrite homework and lab reports in Markdown, export to PDF
Write assignments and lab reports in Markdown with headings, tables, code and math, then export a PDF in your browser. Free report template and submission checklist.
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