Hard line breaks

A line break (not in a code span or HTML tag) that is preceded by two or more spaces and does not occur at the end of a block is parsed as a hard line break (opens new window) (rendered in HTML as a <br /> tag):

Example 654

Markdown	HTML	Demo
foo baz	<p>foo<br /> baz</p>

For a more visible alternative, a backslash before the line ending (opens new window) may be used instead of two spaces:

Example 655

Markdown	HTML	Demo
foo\ baz	<p>foo<br /> baz</p>

More than two spaces can be used:

Example 656

Markdown	HTML	Demo
foo baz	<p>foo<br /> baz</p>

Leading spaces at the beginning of the next line are ignored:

Example 657

Markdown	HTML	Demo
foo bar	<p>foo<br /> bar</p>

Example 658

Markdown	HTML	Demo
foo\ bar	<p>foo<br /> bar</p>

Line breaks can occur inside emphasis, links, and other constructs that allow inline content:

Example 659

Markdown	HTML	Demo
*foo bar*	<p><em>foo<br /> bar</em></p>

Example 660

Markdown	HTML	Demo
*foo\ bar*	<p><em>foo<br /> bar</em></p>

Line breaks do not occur inside code spans

Example 661

Markdown	HTML	Demo
`code span`	<p><code>code span</code></p>

Example 662

Markdown	HTML	Demo
`code\ span`	<p><code>code\ span</code></p>

or HTML tags:

Example 663

Markdown	HTML	Demo
<a href="foo bar">	<p><a href="foo bar"></p>

Example 664

Markdown	HTML	Demo
<a href="foo\ bar">	<p><a href="foo\ bar"></p>

Hard line breaks are for separating inline content within a block. Neither syntax for hard line breaks works at the end of a paragraph or other block element:

Example 665

Markdown	HTML	Demo
foo\	<p>foo\</p>

Example 666

Markdown	HTML	Demo
foo	<p>foo</p>

Example 667

Markdown	HTML	Demo
### foo\	<h3>foo\</h3>

Example 668

Markdown	HTML	Demo
### foo	<h3>foo</h3>