PRACTICAL GUIDE · TEXT EDIT MD 0.10.0
Why Images Disappear When You Copy an AI Chat
A picture visible in a conversation may be completely absent from its Copy output. The clipboard determines what can reach your document.
Three different things can be copied
| What the clipboard contains | What to do in Text Edit MD |
|---|---|
| The actual image data | Paste the picture, then save the Markdown or print it. |
| A Markdown image link or supported HTML image reference | Use Import linked images to retrieve and embed the picture. |
| Only a caption, or nothing | Copy the picture separately, insert a saved image, or obtain its real address. |
A caption alone cannot recover a picture. Neither can changing the formatting around text that has no image address.
Why the Import button might not appear
The notice appears when Text Edit MD detects unresolved Markdown image references. If the document contains no image references—or its pictures are already embedded—there is nothing for that action to import.
A literal example inside backticks or a fenced code block stays code. It does not become an image merely because it contains .
How to get the image into your document
- Use the real image address. If the chat exposes Copy image address, insert it as a Markdown image reference. An AI can also supply the real URL in a Markdown source block if it has that address.
- Import the link. Click Import linked images. Progress and failures appear beside the button. Public image URLs can work; login-only or expired addresses may fail.
- Use a saved picture when needed. Save the picture from its source, then choose Image… in the app’s More formatting controls, or paste copied image pixels.
- Save as Markdown. The app embeds imported pictures as data URLs in the .md file so you can reopen it without fetching them again.
The address above is an illustration of the syntax, not a downloadable example picture. The link must point to a real supported image.
What if Import leaves the button visible?
The button remains while unresolved references remain. Read the nearby message: a file may be missing, a URL may require a login, the server may return a webpage rather than a picture, or the image may exceed a size limit. Successful imports stay embedded while failed references are preserved.
PNG, JPEG, GIF, WebP, and BMP are supported. Individual images must be under 8 MB and within 24 million pixels. SVG images are not imported as raster pictures. Documents have a 32 MB embedding limit. Larger documents can need smaller pictures.
Use Remove image links if you want to discard unresolved pictures and print the text. Undo restores the references. Embedded pictures and ordinary links are preserved.
Copying back out
Copy full / Ctrl+C puts Markdown source and formatted HTML on the clipboard, including embedded pictures. Copy simple / Ctrl+Shift+C leaves out image bytes and formatting. A destination may ignore HTML or embedded data; sending the saved .md file or PDF is another way to carry the result.