Plaintext markdown export file removes all references to images
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When choosing to export a journal in plaintext/markdown mode, the export ZIP contains all the pictures/images from the journal, but the journal file itself strips all entries of any indication of the images that were in those entries.
So you end up with a long markdown journal file of pure text, with no way or indication to figure out which images exported in the backup file belong with which posts.
Other similar apps (like Diarly) include this in a markdown-style link that contains the filename of the image, making it easy to equate the picture in the export file with the journal entry it belongs to.
Is this a bug in Day One export?
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You’re right that when you export a journal as Plain Text/Markdown, the ZIP file may include all the photos from that journal, but the exported text file does not include any Markdown-style links or references pointing back to which photo goes with which entry. This is expected behavior right now, not a bug.
For a full record that keeps everything connected, exporting as PDF or JSON instead will include the photos directly in each entry so nothing gets separated. You can find both options under Settings > Import/Export.
We’ve noted your feedback about adding image references to the Plain Text/Markdown export, so the team is aware of the demand. However, we can’t promise if or when this might be added.
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This is expected behavior right now, not a bug.
we can’t promise if or when this might be added.
Forgive me for sounding confrontational, but it seems like this was already a feature that your team at some point chose to remove. This Reddit thread for example suggests that the markdown export used to include at least app-internal references to the image files as:
""That was 5 years ago so presumably at some point between then and now these filename references, essential for any usable export file, were removed by DayOne.
I can guess that maybe the team felt this “technical” looking string would be unpalatable to users who want a simple plaintext version of the blog? But as these simple link references are a standard part of markdown, it seems a little dishonest to call the export file “markdown” when it’s missing a key element of entries (the images we attach) that is after all supported in markdown. I had to find this out the hard way when I realized none of my years’ worth of images were connected to my posts.
DayOne support has an entire page section dedicated to “Limitations of export files” here: https://dayoneapp.com/guides/tips-and-tutorials/exporting-entries/#known-export-limitations But no mention there that markdown exports contain no image references. That’s a pretty big limitation that ought to at least be mentioned there if it’s “not a bug”.
