Using Plain Text Input in KERNIT
KERNIT accepts plain unformatted text and intelligently detects paragraphs, section headings (lines in ALL CAPS or followed by blank lines), and list items. Paste any text and export it formatted for your target journal in seconds.
How to Use Plain Text Input
- Open KERNIT
Go to kernit.org/formatter in your browser. No account or signup required for the first export.
- Switch to Plain Text mode
Click the "Plain Text" tab in the input panel on the left side of the screen.
- Paste your text
Paste any unformatted text — from a PDF copy-paste, Google Docs export, or typed notes. KERNIT auto-detects paragraphs, section headings (lines in ALL CAPS or followed by a blank line), and list items.
- Select a journal preset
Choose your target journal from the preset selector (IEEE, APA, Nature, and 6 more). KERNIT reformats your content to match that journal's typography, margins, and citation style.
- Export
Click Export DOCX, Export LaTeX, or Export HTML. Your formatted manuscript downloads instantly.
How KERNIT Processes Plain Text
When you paste plain text, KERNIT runs it through a detection pipeline before rendering:
- Paragraph detection: Blank lines separate paragraphs. Single mid-paragraph line breaks (common in PDF copy-paste) are joined automatically.
- Heading detection: Lines in ALL CAPS (under 80 characters) are treated as section headings. Short lines followed by a blank line are also promoted to headings. KERNIT assigns heading levels based on position and length.
- List detection: Lines starting with a dash, bullet, or number followed by a period are converted to list items.
- Equation detection: LaTeX math delimiters ($...$ and $...$) are parsed and rendered even in plain text mode.
Limitations vs Markdown: Plain text mode cannot reliably detect bold or italic emphasis, nested list levels, or table structure. For documents with rich formatting, use Markdown input instead.
Frequently Asked Questions
- How does KERNIT detect headings in plain text?
- KERNIT uses two heuristics: (1) a line written in ALL CAPS with fewer than 80 characters is treated as a section heading; (2) a short line (fewer than 80 characters) followed by a blank line is treated as a heading. Lines that match neither heuristic are treated as regular paragraph text.
- Can I include equations in plain text input?
- Yes. Write LaTeX math syntax directly in your plain text: use $...$ for inline equations and $...$ for display equations. KERNIT detects and renders these the same way it does in Markdown mode. For example, write $E = mc^2$ and KERNIT will render it as a formatted equation.
- Does KERNIT count words in plain text mode?
- KERNIT does not display a word count in the UI, but the live preview reflects the full text length. If you need a word count, your browser or operating system text editor can provide this before you paste into KERNIT.
- How does KERNIT handle extra whitespace and line breaks?
- KERNIT normalizes whitespace during parsing. Multiple consecutive blank lines are collapsed to a single paragraph break. Single line breaks within a paragraph are joined into the same paragraph. This means copy-pasted text from PDFs (which often has mid-paragraph line breaks) is handled cleanly.
- When should I use Markdown instead of plain text?
- Use Markdown when your document already has rich formatting you want to preserve — bold, italic, explicit heading levels, tables, lists, and code blocks. Plain text mode is best when you have raw copy-pasted content without any markup, or when your source is a PDF or typed notes without Markdown syntax.