diff --git a/core/htmlblocks.js b/core/htmlblocks.js
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..5da76f6
--- /dev/null
+++ b/core/htmlblocks.js
@@ -0,0 +1,125 @@
+'use strict';
+
+const { decodeEntities } = require('./util');
+
+/**
+ * Parse sanitized description HTML (see core/sanitize.js) into a flat list
+ * of blocks with inline formatting runs, for renderers (PDF) that need to
+ * preserve bold/italic/links/lists rather than flattening to plain text.
+ *
+ * Each block: { type, runs, indent, n? }
+ *   type:   'p' | 'h1'..'h4' | 'blockquote' | 'li' | 'oli' | 'hr'
+ *   runs:   [{ text, bold, italic, code, href }] (absent for 'hr')
+ *   indent: list/quote nesting depth (0 = top level)
+ *   n:      list item number, only for 'oli'
+ */
+
+const TAG_RE = /<\s*(\/?)\s*([a-zA-Z][a-zA-Z0-9]*)((?:"[^"]*"|'[^']*'|[^>"'])*)>/g;
+const HREF_RE = /href\s*=\s*"([^"]*)"|href\s*=\s*'([^']*)'/i;
+
+function htmlToBlocks(html) {
+  const blocks = [];
+  let current = null;
+  const styleStack = [{}];
+  const context = []; // nesting of <ul>/<ol>/<blockquote>
+
+  const indentLevel = () => context.length;
+  const currentStyle = () => styleStack[styleStack.length - 1];
+
+  const flushBlock = () => {
+    if (!current) return;
+    if (current.type === 'hr' || current.runs.some((r) => r.text.trim() !== '')) blocks.push(current);
+    current = null;
+  };
+  const startBlock = (type, extra = {}) => {
+    flushBlock();
+    current = { type, runs: [], indent: indentLevel(), ...extra };
+  };
+  const pushText = (text) => {
+    if (!text) return;
+    if (!current) current = { type: 'p', runs: [], indent: indentLevel() };
+    current.runs.push({ text, ...currentStyle() });
+  };
+
+  let last = 0;
+  let m;
+  while ((m = TAG_RE.exec(html)) !== null) {
+    if (m.index > last) pushText(decodeEntities(html.slice(last, m.index)));
+    last = TAG_RE.lastIndex;
+    const closing = Boolean(m[1]);
+    const tag = m[2].toLowerCase();
+    const rawAttrs = m[3];
+
+    switch (tag) {
+      case 'p':
+      case 'div':
+        if (closing) flushBlock();
+        else startBlock('p');
+        break;
+      case 'h1':
+      case 'h2':
+      case 'h3':
+      case 'h4':
+        if (closing) flushBlock();
+        else startBlock(tag);
+        break;
+      case 'blockquote':
+        if (closing) { flushBlock(); context.pop(); }
+        else { context.push({ kind: 'blockquote' }); startBlock('blockquote'); }
+        break;
+      case 'ul':
+      case 'ol':
+        if (closing) context.pop();
+        else context.push({ kind: tag, counter: 0 });
+        break;
+      case 'li':
+        if (closing) flushBlock();
+        else {
+          const ctx = context[context.length - 1];
+          const depth = Math.max(0, indentLevel() - 1);
+          if (ctx && ctx.kind === 'ol') { ctx.counter += 1; startBlock('oli', { n: ctx.counter, indent: depth }); }
+          else startBlock('li', { indent: depth });
+        }
+        break;
+      case 'br':
+        flushBlock();
+        break;
+      case 'hr':
+        flushBlock();
+        blocks.push({ type: 'hr' });
+        break;
+      case 'b':
+      case 'strong':
+        if (closing) styleStack.pop();
+        else styleStack.push({ ...currentStyle(), bold: true });
+        break;
+      case 'i':
+      case 'em':
+        if (closing) styleStack.pop();
+        else styleStack.push({ ...currentStyle(), italic: true });
+        break;
+      case 'code':
+      case 'pre':
+        if (closing) styleStack.pop();
+        else styleStack.push({ ...currentStyle(), code: true });
+        break;
+      case 'a':
+        if (closing) styleStack.pop();
+        else {
+          const hrefM = HREF_RE.exec(rawAttrs);
+          styleStack.push({ ...currentStyle(), href: hrefM ? (hrefM[1] ?? hrefM[2]) : undefined });
+        }
+        break;
+      default:
+        // Unrecognized/transparent allowed tags (table*, span, u, s, sub, sup):
+        // no block or style change.
+        break;
+    }
+  }
+  pushText(decodeEntities(html.slice(last)));
+  flushBlock();
+
+  return blocks;
+}
+
+module.exports = { htmlToBlocks };
diff --git a/core/pdf.js b/core/pdf.js
index efcca80..89bc6f2 100644
--- a/core/pdf.js
+++ b/core/pdf.js
@@ -9,19 +9,41 @@ const zlib = require('node:zlib');
  * points; converted to PDF's bottom-left space internally.
  */
 
-const FONTS = { F1: 'Helvetica', F2: 'Helvetica-Bold', F3: 'Courier' };
+const FONTS = { F1: 'Helvetica', F2: 'Helvetica-Bold', F3: 'Courier', F4: 'Helvetica-Oblique', F5: 'Helvetica-BoldOblique' };
 // Approximate average glyph width factors (per 1pt font size) for wrapping.
-const FONT_WIDTH_FACTOR = { F1: 0.51, F2: 0.55, F3: 0.6 };
+const FONT_WIDTH_FACTOR = { F1: 0.51, F2: 0.55, F3: 0.6, F4: 0.51, F5: 0.55 };
 
 function esc(text) {
   return String(text).replace(/\\/g, '\\\\').replace(/\(/g, '\\(').replace(/\)/g, '\\)');
 }
 
+// "Smart typography" characters commonly produced by rich-text editors and
+// pasted content (e.g. from Word/Google Docs) that have a printable glyph in
+// WinAnsiEncoding (cp1252) outside the Latin-1 range; map to that byte
+// instead of falling back to "?".
+const WINANSI_EXTRA = {
+  0x20ac: 0x80, // €
+  0x2026: 0x85, // … ellipsis
+  0x2030: 0x89, // ‰
+  0x2039: 0x8b, // ‹
+  0x203a: 0x9b, // ›
+  0x2018: 0x91, // ' left single quote
+  0x2019: 0x92, // ' right single quote
+  0x201c: 0x93, // " left double quote
+  0x201d: 0x94, // " right double quote
+  0x2022: 0x95, // • bullet
+  0x2013: 0x96, // – en dash
+  0x2014: 0x97, // — em dash
+  0x2122: 0x99, // ™
+};
+
 function toLatin1(text) {
   let out = '';
   for (const ch of String(text)) {
     const code = ch.codePointAt(0);
-    out += code <= 0xff ? ch : '?';
+    if (code <= 0xff) out += ch;
+    else if (WINANSI_EXTRA[code] !== undefined) out += String.fromCharCode(WINANSI_EXTRA[code]);
+    else out += '?';
   }
   return out;
 }
@@ -73,8 +95,10 @@ class PdfBuilder {
 
   text(str, x, yTop, { size = 11, font = 'F1', color = [0, 0, 0] } = {}) {
     const y = this.pageHeight - yTop - size;
+    // Tabs have no glyph in WinAnsiEncoding and render as "?"; expand to spaces.
+    const clean = String(str).replace(/\t/g, '    ');
     this.currentPage.ops.push(
-      `BT /${font} ${size} Tf ${col(color)} rg 1 0 0 1 ${x.toFixed(2)} ${y.toFixed(2)} Tm (${esc(toLatin1(str))}) Tj ET`
+      `BT /${font} ${size} Tf ${col(color)} rg 1 0 0 1 ${x.toFixed(2)} ${y.toFixed(2)} Tm (${esc(toLatin1(clean))}) Tj ET`
     );
   }
 
diff --git a/core/renderast.js b/core/renderast.js
index a7cecef..773f583 100644
--- a/core/renderast.js
+++ b/core/renderast.js
@@ -3,7 +3,7 @@
 const fs = require('node:fs');
 const path = require('node:path');
 const { sanitizeHtml } = require('./sanitize');
-const { htmlToText, deepClone } = require('./util');
+const { htmlToText, linkifyMarkdownLinks, deepClone } = require('./util');
 const { systemPlaceholders, resolveScopes, expandPlaceholders } = require('./placeholders');
 const { decodePng } = require('./png');
 const { renderAnnotations, applyFocusedView } = require('./raster');
@@ -32,6 +32,10 @@ function buildRenderAst(store, guideId, { globals = {}, now = new Date(), maxSte
     system: systemPlaceholders(guide, { now, stepCount: includedIds.length }),
   });
   const expand = (text) => expandPlaceholders(text, values);
+  // Description fields additionally turn literal "[text](url)" markdown
+  // link syntax (as inserted by the editor's Link button) into real <a>
+  // tags before sanitizing, so exporters render an actual link.
+  const expandDesc = (html) => linkifyMarkdownLinks(expand(html || ''));
 
   const steps = [];
   const topCounter = { n: 0 };
@@ -66,15 +70,15 @@ function buildRenderAst(store, guideId, { globals = {}, now = new Date(), maxSte
       skipped: step.skipped,
       forceNewPage: Boolean(step.forceNewPage),
       title: expand(step.title || ''),
-      descriptionHtml: sanitizeHtml(expand(step.descriptionHtml || '')),
-      descriptionText: htmlToText(expand(step.descriptionHtml || '')),
+      descriptionHtml: sanitizeHtml(expandDesc(step.descriptionHtml)),
+      descriptionText: htmlToText(expandDesc(step.descriptionHtml)),
       focusedView: step.focusedView,
       annotations: (step.annotations || []).map((a) => ({ ...a, text: expand(a.text || '') })),
       textBlocks: (step.textBlocks || []).map((tb) => ({
         ...tb,
         title: expand(tb.title || ''),
-        descriptionHtml: sanitizeHtml(expand(tb.descriptionHtml || '')),
-        descriptionText: htmlToText(expand(tb.descriptionHtml || '')),
+        descriptionHtml: sanitizeHtml(expandDesc(tb.descriptionHtml)),
+        descriptionText: htmlToText(expandDesc(tb.descriptionHtml)),
       })),
       codeBlocks: (step.codeBlocks || []).map((cb) => ({ ...cb, code: blockText(cb) })),
       tableBlocks: (step.tableBlocks || []).map((tb) => ({
@@ -86,8 +90,8 @@ function buildRenderAst(store, guideId, { globals = {}, now = new Date(), maxSte
           return {
             ...block,
             title: expand(block.title || ''),
-            descriptionHtml: sanitizeHtml(expand(block.descriptionHtml || '')),
-            descriptionText: htmlToText(expand(block.descriptionHtml || '')),
+            descriptionHtml: sanitizeHtml(expandDesc(block.descriptionHtml)),
+            descriptionText: htmlToText(expandDesc(block.descriptionHtml)),
           };
         }
         if (block.kind === 'code') return { ...block };
@@ -116,8 +120,8 @@ function buildRenderAst(store, guideId, { globals = {}, now = new Date(), maxSte
     guide: {
       id: guide.guideId,
       title: expand(guide.title),
-      descriptionHtml: sanitizeHtml(expand(guide.descriptionHtml || '')),
-      descriptionText: htmlToText(expand(guide.descriptionHtml || '')),
+      descriptionHtml: sanitizeHtml(expandDesc(guide.descriptionHtml)),
+      descriptionText: htmlToText(expandDesc(guide.descriptionHtml)),
       createdAt: guide.createdAt,
       updatedAt: guide.updatedAt,
       flags: guide.flags,
diff --git a/core/util.js b/core/util.js
index f94ee79..8e4d992 100644
--- a/core/util.js
+++ b/core/util.js
@@ -95,6 +95,20 @@ function clamp(v, min, max) {
   return Math.min(max, Math.max(min, v));
 }
 
+// Matches literal markdown-style links typed in the description editor,
+// e.g. "[Settings](https://example.com)". Excludes < > so it never spans
+// across an existing HTML tag boundary.
+const MD_LINK_RE = /\[([^[\]<>]*)\]\(([^()<>]+)\)/g;
+
+/**
+ * Turn literal "[text](url)" markdown link syntax (as inserted by the
+ * description editor's Link button) into real <a href> tags, so exporters
+ * that consume HTML render an actual link instead of the raw brackets.
+ */
+function linkifyMarkdownLinks(html) {
+  return String(html || '').replace(MD_LINK_RE, (m, label, href) => `<a href="${escapeHtml(href)}">${label}</a>`);
+}
+
 /** Filesystem-safe slug for export folder names like steps-<title>. */
 function slugify(text, fallback = 'untitled') {
   const slug = String(text || '')
@@ -116,6 +130,7 @@ module.exports = {
   readJsonSync,
   readJsonIfExists,
   htmlToText,
+  linkifyMarkdownLinks,
   decodeEntities,
   escapeHtml,
   escapeXml,
diff --git a/exporters/pdf.js b/exporters/pdf.js
index 950c10e..e5eb121 100644
--- a/exporters/pdf.js
+++ b/exporters/pdf.js
@@ -5,6 +5,89 @@ const path = require('node:path');
 const { PdfBuilder } = require('../core/pdf');
 const { guideSlug, renderAllImages, LEVEL_LABEL, stepBlocks, codeBlockText } = require('./common');
 const { htmlToText } = require('../core/util');
+const { htmlToBlocks } = require('../core/htmlblocks');
+
+const LIST_INDENT = 14;
+const QUOTE_INDENT = 10;
+const HEADING_BUMP = { h1: 2.5, h2: 2, h3: 1.5, h4: 1 };
+
+function fontForRun(run) {
+  if (run.code) return 'F3';
+  if (run.bold && run.italic) return 'F5';
+  if (run.bold) return 'F2';
+  if (run.italic) return 'F4';
+  return 'F1';
+}
+
+/** Split formatted runs into words (font/link tagged) and greedily wrap to maxWidth. */
+function wrapRuns(pdf, runs, size, maxWidth) {
+  const words = [];
+  for (const run of runs) {
+    const font = fontForRun(run);
+    for (const part of run.text.split(/(\s+)/)) {
+      if (part === '') continue;
+      words.push({ text: part, font, href: run.href });
+    }
+  }
+  const lines = [];
+  let line = [];
+  let w = 0;
+  for (const word of words) {
+    const isSpace = /^\s+$/.test(word.text);
+    const ww = pdf.textWidth(word.text, size, word.font);
+    if (!isSpace && line.length && w + ww > maxWidth) {
+      lines.push(line);
+      line = [];
+      w = 0;
+    }
+    if (isSpace && !line.length) continue;
+    line.push(word);
+    w += ww;
+  }
+  if (line.length) lines.push(line);
+  return lines;
+}
+
+/**
+ * Lay out description HTML into render-ready items, preserving bold,
+ * italic, links, lists, blockquotes and headings.
+ * Returns { items, height }; items: { kind: 'hr', width } | { kind: 'text',
+ * lines, size, lineHeight, indent, prefix, muted }.
+ */
+function layoutDescription(pdf, html, maxWidth, baseSize) {
+  const items = [];
+  let height = 0;
+  for (const block of htmlToBlocks(html || '')) {
+    if (block.type === 'hr') {
+      items.push({ kind: 'hr', width: maxWidth });
+      height += 12;
+      continue;
+    }
+    let size = baseSize;
+    let runs = block.runs;
+    let indent = (block.indent || 0) * LIST_INDENT;
+    let prefix = null;
+    let muted = false;
+    if (HEADING_BUMP[block.type]) {
+      size = baseSize + HEADING_BUMP[block.type];
+      runs = runs.map((r) => ({ ...r, bold: true }));
+    } else if (block.type === 'li') {
+      prefix = '•';
+      indent += LIST_INDENT;
+    } else if (block.type === 'oli') {
+      prefix = `${block.n}.`;
+      indent += LIST_INDENT;
+    } else if (block.type === 'blockquote') {
+      indent += QUOTE_INDENT;
+      muted = true;
+    }
+    const lines = wrapRuns(pdf, runs, size, maxWidth - indent);
+    const lineHeight = size * 1.35;
+    items.push({ kind: 'text', lines, size, lineHeight, indent, prefix, muted });
+    height += lines.length * lineHeight + 4;
+  }
+  return { items, height };
+}
 
 /**
  * PDF exporter: cover block, optional TOC, one section per step with the
@@ -51,6 +134,31 @@ function exportPdf(ast, outDir, template = {}) {
       y += fs_ * leading;
     }
   };
+  /** Render laid-out description items, preserving bold/italic/links/lists. */
+  const writeDescription = (html, { size: baseSize = 10.5, color = [0, 0, 0], indent: indentBase = 0 } = {}) => {
+    const { items } = layoutDescription(pdf, html, usableW - indentBase, baseSize);
+    for (const item of items) {
+      if (item.kind === 'hr') {
+        ensure(12);
+        pdf.rect(M + indentBase, y + 5, item.width, 0.8, { fill: [225, 228, 232] });
+        y += 12;
+        continue;
+      }
+      item.lines.forEach((line, idx) => {
+        ensure(item.lineHeight);
+        const textX = M + indentBase + item.indent;
+        if (idx === 0 && item.prefix) pdf.text(item.prefix, textX - LIST_INDENT, y, { size: item.size, font: 'F1', color });
+        let x = textX;
+        for (const word of line) {
+          const c = word.href ? tpl.accentColor : (item.muted ? [100, 100, 100] : color);
+          pdf.text(word.text, x, y, { size: item.size, font: word.font, color: c });
+          x += pdf.textWidth(word.text, item.size, word.font);
+        }
+        y += item.lineHeight;
+      });
+      y += 4;
+    }
+  };
 
   pdf.addPage();
 
@@ -60,7 +168,7 @@ function exportPdf(ast, outDir, template = {}) {
     y += 6;
     writeLines(ast.guide.title, { size: 26, font: 'F2' });
     y += 8;
-    if (ast.guide.descriptionText) writeLines(ast.guide.descriptionText, { size: 12, color: [70, 70, 70] });
+    if (ast.guide.descriptionHtml) writeDescription(ast.guide.descriptionHtml, { size: 12, color: [70, 70, 70] });
     y += 14;
     writeLines(`${ast.steps.length} steps — generated ${ast.generatedAt.slice(0, 10)}`, { size: 10, color: [120, 120, 120] });
     pdf.addPage();
@@ -91,7 +199,7 @@ function exportPdf(ast, outDir, template = {}) {
     y += 8;
 
     emitBlocks(step, 'before-description');
-    if (step.descriptionText) { writeLines(step.descriptionText); y += 4; }
+    if (step.descriptionHtml) writeDescription(step.descriptionHtml);
 
     const img = images.get(step.stepId);
     if (img) {
@@ -146,15 +254,32 @@ function exportPdf(ast, outDir, template = {}) {
   function emitBlocks(step, position) {
     for (const tb of stepBlocks(step).filter((b) => b.kind === 'text' && b.position === position)) {
       const label = `${LEVEL_LABEL[tb.level] || 'Note'}${tb.title ? `: ${tb.title}` : ''}`;
-      const bodyLines = tb.descriptionText ? pdf.wrapText(tb.descriptionText, 9.5, usableW - 18) : [];
-      const blockH = 16 + bodyLines.length * 13;
+      const { items, height: bodyH } = tb.descriptionHtml
+        ? layoutDescription(pdf, tb.descriptionHtml, usableW - 18, 9.5)
+        : { items: [], height: 0 };
+      const blockH = 16 + bodyH;
       ensure(blockH + 4);
       pdf.rect(M, y, 3, blockH, { fill: tpl.accentColor });
       pdf.text(label, M + 10, y + 2, { size: 9.5, font: 'F2' });
       let by = y + 16;
-      for (const line of bodyLines) {
-        pdf.text(line, M + 10, by, { size: 9.5 });
-        by += 13;
+      for (const item of items) {
+        if (item.kind === 'hr') {
+          pdf.rect(M + 10, by + 5, item.width, 0.8, { fill: [225, 228, 232] });
+          by += 12;
+          continue;
+        }
+        item.lines.forEach((line, idx) => {
+          const textX = M + 10 + item.indent;
+          if (idx === 0 && item.prefix) pdf.text(item.prefix, textX - LIST_INDENT, by, { size: item.size, font: 'F1' });
+          let x = textX;
+          for (const word of line) {
+            const c = word.href ? tpl.accentColor : (item.muted ? [100, 100, 100] : [0, 0, 0]);
+            pdf.text(word.text, x, by, { size: item.size, font: word.font, color: c });
+            x += pdf.textWidth(word.text, item.size, word.font);
+          }
+          by += item.lineHeight;
+        });
+        by += 4;
       }
       y += blockH + 6;
     }