Add inline_br option for linebreaks in inline elements

README.rst

@@ -100,6 +100,12 @@ newline_style
   newline). While the latter convention is non-standard, it is commonly
   preferred and supported by a lot of interpreters.
 
+inline_br
+  By default, linebreaks with ``<br>`` inside inline elements (especially table
+  cells) are replaced by spaces. This can be confusing in some contexts.
+  Setting this option replaces it by plain ``<br>`` tags, allowing actual line
+  breaks in Markdown renderers that support it.
+
 code_language
   Defines the language that should be assumed for all ``<pre>`` sections.
   Useful, if all code on a page is in the same programming language and

markdownify/__init__.py

@@ -186,6 +186,7 @@ class DefaultOptions:
         escape_underscores = True
         escape_misc = False
         heading_style = UNDERLINED
+        inline_br = False
         keep_inline_images_in = []
         newline_style = SPACES
         strip = None
@@ -475,7 +476,12 @@ def _indent_for_blockquote(match):
 
     def convert_br(self, el, text, parent_tags):
         if '_inline' in parent_tags:
-            return ' '
+            # Some Markdown renderers allow <br> tags for line breaks inside inline elements.
+            # We can choose to keep them with inline_br.
+            if self.options['inline_br']:
+                return '<br>'
+            else:
+                return ' '
 
         if self.options['newline_style'].lower() == BACKSLASH:
             return '\\\n'

markdownify/main.py

@@ -46,6 +46,9 @@ def main(argv=sys.argv[1:]):
                         choices=(SPACES, BACKSLASH),
                         help="Defines the style of <br> conversions: two spaces "
                         "or backslash at the and of the line thet should break.")
+    parser.add_argument('--inline-br', action='store_true',
+                        help="A boolean indicating whether <br> tags should be preserved "
+                        "inside inline elements. If false, spaces will be used instead.")
     parser.add_argument('--code-language', default='',
                         help="Defines the language that should be assumed for all "
                         "'<pre>' sections.")