Learn how to format text on WhatsApp

Some time ago, WhatsApp users received an update to the application that allows messages to be formatted in italics, bold or strikethrough – when there is a line over the words. This year, new features were added to the app, such as lists, lines of code and citations.

To include formatting in WhatsApp messages, you need to include symbols before and after the sections you want to highlight. This is called markdown, formatting recognized by several text editors and now present in the Meta messaging app. See below for step-by-step instructions on how to format your texts.

Quote on WhatsApp

One of the most different features is the quote. In it, the user can write a part of the text further indented, such as a quote from websites, for example. The symbol used to create a quote on WhatsApp is the sign bigger then (>).

Step 1: type, before the paragraph you want to highlight, the sign bigger then (>):

Step 2: When you finish the text, click Submit ou Enter (on the keyboard) and the message will be sent in the chosen format.

Format text in WhatsApp: line of code 

If you work with programming and software development, formatting as a line of code will be useful to you. With it, you will be able to highlight in your messages to your teammates the excerpts referring to codes you want to share. To activate this formatting, use the grave accent (`).

Step 1: When writing the line of code, add the grave accent (`) before and after the chosen excerpt:

Step 2: when pressing Enter or in Submit, the message will be sent with the chosen formatting:

Monospaced on WhatsApp

The formatting monospaced changes the font of the text, leaving the letters in a uniform size and width, similar to the typography used in Windows Notepad. To activate this formatting, use the grave accent (`) 3 times.

Step 1: When writing, insert three grave accents (“`) before and after the text.

Note that the message automatically changes format before you even click send. After finishing the text, click send.

Bulleted list 

A bookmark list and the enumerated list (more on this below) are only available to (iPhone) e Web WhatsApp. To use the bulleted list, you can use either the asterisk (*) as much as hyphen (-).

To add a bulleted list to the message, enter asterisk (*) ou hyphen (-) followed by a space before each item in the list.

Enumerated list 

A enumerated list is one of the new text formatting features on WhatsApp, and can be created in a similar way to the bulleted list: instead of using an asterisk or hyphen, numbers will be used here.

Step 1: To add an enumerated list to the message, enter a numerous to pontine and a space before each line of text.

Italic

Formatting in italic is one of the oldest and most well-known among WhatsApp users, and can be used to highlight words or entire sections of a message. Italic formatting is activated using the underscore sign (_).

Step 1: insert the underscore sign 🇧🇷 before and after the text you want to italicize.

Negrito 

The marking on bold, one of the app's oldest features, is a good way to highlight information in text. The signal that enables this formatting is the asterisk (*).

Step 1: To highlight words in bold, enter a asterisk (*) before and after the desired text.

Strikethrough 

The formatting strikethrough or underline leaves the word with a line in the middle. The signal that enables this formatting is the tilde (~).

Step 1: When writing, insert a tilde (~) before and after the text you want to format as strikethrough.

Source: WhatsApp Support

See also:

WhatsApp backup for Android will no longer be free in 2024. Here's what to do

How to have 2 WhatsApp accounts on the same cell phone

reviewed by Glaucon Vital in 16 / 2 / 24.