Jane Doe Doe Holdings
`. Two lines went in, one came out. The spec also allows a renderer to offer a setting that renders every soft break as a hard break. Pandoc has one, the `hard_line_breaks` extension. Some viewers may behave that way by default, so a file can look right in one app and merged in another. Don't build on that if your file travels. An empty line between them also keeps the two apart. But that makes two paragraphs, and many viewers put a gap between paragraphs. That gap rarely suits a mailing label or a signature. ## The three fixes ### Trailing spaces Finish the line with two or more spaces. CommonMark reads that line ending as a hard break, which comes out in HTML as `Jane Doe
` and then `Doe Holdings
` element with no `
`.
3. **Check for a code block.** Fenced and indented code blocks hold literal text that the parser never treats as Markdown, so the lines already stay apart and a backslash prints as written. Our [code block post](markdown-code-blocks.md) shows where a fence starts and ends.
4. **Check for an HTML tag.** If the line ending falls inside a quoted attribute value, the spaces or backslash stay part of the tag and pass straight through.
5. **Look at the next line.** Hyphens alone on the line below can make the text above a heading. On that upper line, trailing spaces don't add a break; pandoc turned `Jane Doe··` over `-----` into a plain ``.
6. **Confirm the spaces survived.** Many editors can show whitespace; turn that on and check every line that should break. If the two spaces are gone, something stripped them. Switch that line to a backslash.
## List items
A list item's text is parsed as a paragraph, so both Markdown forms work there too.
```markdown
- Jane Doe\
Doe Holdings
- Next item
```
Pandoc renders that as one bullet with a `
` between the two names, followed by a second bullet. Line the second line up under the item's text, as above. Under the spec's laziness rule, a continuation line with no indent still joins the paragraph, and pandoc gave the same output without the indent. The indented version reads more clearly, though, and it keeps the structure obvious once you nest lists. Indent and nesting rules are in the [nested lists post](markdown-block-quotes-nested-lists.md).
For a gap instead of a break, add an empty line and start a second paragraph indented to match the item text.
## Table cells
Tables aren't part of core CommonMark. They belong to a common table extension. That extension's spec limits cells to inline content and bars block elements from a table. Each table row is a single line of source.
So neither Markdown form helps. Take a cell that ends in `1 Doe Lane\` with `Doe City |` on the next line. In a local pandoc test with that table extension turned on, the backslash stays as text and `Doe City` starts a new row.
The common workaround is `
` placed in the cell:
```markdown
| Name | Address |
| --- | --- |
| Jane Doe | 1 Doe Lane
Doe City |
```
Pandoc kept the tag inside the cell's `` element. Many viewers draw that cell with the address split over two lines. Some may strip the tag or print it as text, so the address either merges or shows `
` on screen. If every reader must see the break, shorten the cell and move the detail into bullets below the table. Other cell limits are in the [tables post](markdown-tables.md).
## Picking a fix
- **Backslash:** the default for paragraphs and list items. It's easy to spot, it's in the CommonMark spec, and save-time trimming won't remove it.
- **Trailing spaces:** fine for files that already use them, as long as nothing in your setup trims whitespace. Keep the check from step 6 handy.
- **Inline `
`:** inside table cells, after confirming that the viewer your readers use shows it.
For files an agent writes, put the choice in its instruction file in one plain sentence, such as "End a line with a backslash when you need a line break; do not use trailing spaces." The check from step 6 then tells you whether it listened. Our [guide to wording agent rules](write-markdown-docs-your-ai-agent-can-follow.md) covers how to phrase rules like this.
## Where Sashmark fits
Sashmark is desktop software in the works for reading and fixing .md files that agents rewrite again and again. It is in development and has not been released. The app itself has no AI features. The v1 plan covers live rendering of lists, tables and block quotes, plus direct edits on that formatted view, table cells included. Lines you leave alone should keep every byte on save, trailing spaces and all. The plan treats raw HTML as inert, one more reason to reach for the backslash. See the [roadmap](/roadmap) for where each piece stands, with details under [planned features](/features) and in the [help pages](/help).
Follow the project at [sashmark.com](https://www.sashmark.com/).