GlyphGlance
VERSION 1.2 / FREE / AVAILABLE NOWMarkdown, Mermaid diagrams, and Fountain documents, beautifully in view. New in 1.2: export editable Word documents, share a single diagram, and add on-device AI metadata. Your original file stays untouched.
Available free on the Mac App Store for Apple silicon Macs. Requires macOS 26 or newer, including macOS 27.
A QUICK LOOK GOES A LONG WAY
Read a README, review an architecture note, or inspect a research write-up directly in Finder. Supported diagrams, formulas, and highlighted code appear alongside the explanation.
Turn on GlyphGlance Quick Look in macOS System Settings. If another Markdown preview extension takes priority, you may need to disable that competing extension.
Select a supported Markdown, Mermaid, or Fountain file in Finder.
Press Space to read the inline preview. Open the document in GlyphGlance for search, enlarged diagrams, and PDF or Word export.
NEW IN 1.2
Take the next step with what you read: reuse an editable document, share the diagram that explains it, or review a locally generated summary before exporting.
Export .docx files with native heading styles, editable lists and tables, links, and common mathematical equations. Mermaid diagrams stay sharp as SVG vectors, with compatibility images for older readers.
Word controls reflow and pagination. Diagrams are graphics, rather than editable flowchart shapes. Explore Word export.
Share an individual Mermaid diagram as SVG or a PDF page fitted to the graphic. Copy offers SVG and PDF alongside PNG and TIFF alternatives for compatible apps and clipboard managers.
Enlarge a diagram in a separate display-sized view. Finder Quick Look keeps the inline preview; Share, Copy, and enlargement controls are available in the app. Read the diagram guide.
When Apple Intelligence’s on-device model is available for the document language, Info can show a generated subject and short summary. PDF and Word exports can include them too. Author attribution requires an explicit source byline.
Generation stays on your Mac. AI descriptions can be inaccurate; review them before sharing. Reading and export still work when the model is unavailable. How metadata works.
Export paginated PDFs with selectable, searchable text and a heading-based contents outline. Mathematics and Mermaid diagrams remain vector content wherever possible; source bitmap images remain images.
Supported document structure, language, and authored descriptions are retained. Your reading zoom doesn’t change the exported layout. Read the PDF guide.
Search rendered text with Command–F, zoom to fit, inspect file details, and customize the native toolbar. Read Aloud now supports pause and resume. On macOS 27, control the active reading through Now Playing.
Speech uses your system voice and speaking preferences. Set up Read Aloud.
Read, change the preview profile, enlarge a diagram, or export without editing the original file. Rendering happens locally using bundled resources, with no in-app account or hosted rendering service.
Supported local content works offline. Remote resources are blocked, and document HTML is shown as text rather than executed.
Use Preview File, Export as PDF, Export as Word, and Get Document Information through native Shortcuts actions. An optional local MCP service offers the same operations to compatible clients, within the document and export folders you explicitly allow.
MCP is off by default, has no network listener, and never overwrites an existing export. Clients control their own use of returned content. Read the automation guide.
NOTATION, IN CONTEXT
Read inline and display mathematics from supported LaTeX-style syntax, with syntax highlighting for fenced code blocks. Keep the reasoning next to the implementation.
Explicit language tags help GlyphGlance choose the right highlighting for your examples.
A FAMILIAR FILE, A FRESH VIEW
Automatic profile selection handles ordinary use. Choose a different Markdown profile for the current window when you need it, including CommonMark, GitHub Flavored Markdown, MultiMarkdown, Pandoc, Markdown Extra, Original Markdown, and RFC-oriented previews.
Ambiguous .mmd files are checked for Mermaid content and otherwise previewed as MultiMarkdown. Fountain screenplay previews are also supported. Syntax support varies by profile.
Yes. GlyphGlance 1.2 is a free Mac tool from Obscure Essentials®. The Help area explains reading, diagram sharing, speech, PDF and Word export, AI metadata, and automation.
GlyphGlance requires an Apple silicon Mac running macOS 26 or newer, including macOS 27. Intel Macs are not supported.
GlyphGlance is a read-only viewer. Reading, selecting a preview profile, enlarging diagrams, and exporting do not change your source file. Use your preferred editor when you want to make changes.
The document toolbar’s Share control shares the original file. Export PDF or Word when you want to share a converted document; a diagram’s own Share and Copy controls transfer only that graphic. The destination app chooses among the supplied formats and has its own privacy practices.
No. Reading, Finder Quick Look, and export work without it. Optional subject and summary generation requires Apple Intelligence to be enabled, its on-device model to be ready, and a supported document language. If generation is unavailable, export continues without those optional fields.
Exports retain supported document structure tags, content language, and authored image or diagram descriptions. This supports accessible reading, but is not PDF/UA certification or a guarantee that every source document is accessible.
Need help with a document or have an idea for GlyphGlance? Get in touch with Sascha.