If you hate having to manually type markdown code for your Steemit posts, try this free and easy markdown editor called Markdown Pad.

(Note: Markdown Pad is software made exclusively for Windows)

That's what I'm using now to compose this post, and it's super-duper simple!

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The Basics

Step One

Write out your post in plain text on the left-hand side. I like writing my entire post before adding any styles, but you can add styles as you go, if that's your preference.

Step Two

• Highlight the text you want to apply a different style to other than plain text, such as bold, italic, H1, etc.
• Click the correct style button at the top menu bar for the style you want applied.

Voila! The software automatically inserts the correct markdown syntax.

You never have to type markdown code the entire time you're putting together your post. It's that easy.

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Advanced (but just a little)

Images and Video

But you might want to center an image or an embedded YouTube video in your post also, and for that you'll need to include some html code (but don't worry - it's really easy, and I'll show you exactly what to type in a minute).

First, add an image:

1. Position your cursor where you want the image to display.
2. Click the image button.
3. Type in the url where your image is located online (for me that's my Amazon AWS Cloudfront bucket, but a lot of Steemians use imgsafe.org [Also, see this tutorial about using imgsafe.org by @billbutler "Adding Images to Your Steem Posts".]

Markdown Pad includes the markdown code automatically. It looks like this:

Now, to center the image, add these html "center" tags at both end points of the above code, as shown below:

You simply add <center> at the beginning and then </center>at the end. Don't forget the forward slash / for the ending center tag.

And the result is a centered image.

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Centering a YouTube Video

Add the video.

Just grab the embed code at the url where the video is playing on YouTube, and paste it directly into Markdown Pad.

`<iframe width="640" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/qS_UJOMBROg?rel=0&amp;showinfo=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>`

Center the video using the exact same center tags you used to center images. Use <center> at the beginning and </center> at the end.

The code looks like this now:

`<center><iframe width="640" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/qS_UJOMBROg?rel=0&amp;showinfo=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe></center>`

And the result is a centered YouTube video!

You'll find this video on a post by @contentking - an excellent article about Betta fish.

(Note: If you don't need your video center-aligned, you can simply grab the url of the video instead of the embed code and paste that inside Markdown Pad, but there won't be a preview on the right-side pane).

You can also center-align text using the same center tags as you do with images and videos.

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After you're done composing your new, whale-attracting Steemit post, just go to the menu and click "Edit" and "Select All".

Copy and paste everything into the Steemit post editor in "markdown" mode.

Scroll down a little to preview how your post will look on Steemit.

Simple as that, and you'll have a good-looking published post for your followers to check out and upvote!

Click here to get Markdown Pad - It's Free!

Resources:

Another editor you might like to use is an online editor at SteemPower.org by @charlieshrem

Also see "Steemit Markdown Basics for Beginners" by @thecryptofiend