Verified Formatter behavior

Zapier’s Convert Markdown to HTML transform converted two synthetic messages successfully. In each run it preserved the image URL and destination link, but it represented the Markdown image as an HTML <img> element.

That output is a text conversion. It does not create a Telegram photo message or configure Telegram’s link preview.

Test setup

We created an unpublished draft Zap with a built-in Schedule trigger and a Formatter by Zapier Text action. No Telegram connection or external app permission was added.

Tested steps

  1. Configure the built-in Schedule trigger and obtain its synthetic test record.
  2. Add Formatter by Zapier > Text > Convert Markdown to HTML.
  3. Enter a synthetic message containing a bold heading, Markdown image, and destination link.
  4. Run the Formatter test and record its HTML output.
  5. Replace all three values with independently varied synthetic data and retest.

The first input used a synthetic heading, image URL, and link ending in -a; the second used independently changed values ending in -b. Both tests succeeded, and each HTML result contained the matching <strong>, <img>, and <a> elements.

  1. Choose the Telegram operation based on the intended result.
  2. For a real image with caption, use a photo-send action or Telegram’s sendPhoto, passing the public image URL as the photo value and the message as the caption.
  3. For a text message with a web preview, use a text-send action and its preview controls when available. Telegram’s Bot API models these settings as link_preview_options.
  4. Use Formatter only for text transformations that the destination field accepts. Do not assume a generated <img> tag becomes uploaded media.
  5. Test with synthetic URLs in a private destination before enabling the Zap.

Why the layers matter

Zapier Formatter documents Markdown-to-HTML as a generic string transformation. Telegram separately defines text entity parsing, photo delivery, captions, and link-preview options. A valid Formatter output can therefore still be the wrong input shape for the chosen Telegram method.

Evidence boundary

The two live runs verify only Formatter’s conversion and URL preservation. They do not establish how Zapier’s current Telegram integration exposes photo, caption, parse-mode, or preview fields. Confirm those fields in the connected action and perform a private Telegram test before publishing a workflow.