Formatting text in the Discord messages is relatively simple than you may think. Discord uses Markdown syntax, a lightweight markup language for creating formatted text using a plain-text editor, to add the desired formatting to make your sentences stand out.
Now you need not wonder how your friends are chatting with colors or bolded text. With this guide, you can quickly bring some zest to your Discord Chatbox.
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How to Format Text in Discord?
Discord uses Markdown syntax elements to format text. It’s a markup syntax language designed to be lightweight and straightforward to understand. All users need to do is use cleverly placed symbols to change plain text into a rich-text format such as Bold, Italics, and underline.
However, adding different colors to your text is still a challenging aspect that Markdown doesn’t solve. Discord uses another system for highlighting texts. Highlight.js is a JavaScript technology that helps with code block highlighting.
To start with Discord text formatting, you need not understand how Markdown or Highlight.js works; all you need to understand is how different commands and shortcuts are used to apply required formatting changes.
The formatting option works on Discord messages send from both standalone app and web browsers if you’re wondering. It works for Discord web, Windows 10, and Mac apps and the mobile apps for iPhone, iPad, and Android devices.
How to Bold Text in Discord?
Making words bold is an essential feature of Discord that will help your sentence stand out. To create bolded text, all you need to do is add two asterisks (*) before and after the word or sentence. For those who don’t know, Asterisk is also known as Star.
If you’re wondering, you can add an asterisk by clicking SHIFT+8 on your desktop and Mac keyboard.
Example **Bolded text** = Bolded text
For mobile users, finding an asterisk is relatively easy; you can switch from text to symbols to find the asterisk.
How to Italicize Text?
Italicizing text or creating slanted text in Discord is relatively simple. You’d only need to add a single asterisk (*) before and after the text to italicize it. Unlike bold text, you’d only use one asterisk instead of two.
Again, you can add an asterisk by clicking SHIFT+8 on your keyboard.
Example *Italicized text* = Italicized text
How to Create Bold Italicized Text?
Many of the users would want to bold and italicize the same text before sending it. This can be a useful tip for them.
To bold and italicize your text, you’d need to add three asterisks before and after the text.
Example ***Bold italicized text*** = Bold italicized text
How to Underline Text?
You can underline texts in Discord as a way to add subtle prominence to your messages. Unlike bold and italicize commands, you’d need to use a different symbol to add underline to texts.
To add an underline, you’ll need to add two underscores (__) before and after the text.
Example _Underline text_ = Underline text
You can find the underline symbol on your keyboard by using SHIFT+-. For mobile users, finding an underline symbol is relatively easy.
How to create Strikethrough Text?
To create strikethrough text, you’d need to use the two tilde symbol (~) before and after the text.
Example ~~Strikethrough text~~ = Strikethrough text
You can find the tilde symbol on your keyboard by using SHIFT+`. The tilde key lies before the numerical keys at the top of your keyboard.
How to Bold Underlined Text?
To create bold underlined text, you’d need to use the same symbols to make your text bold and underline.
Example ***_Bold underlined text_*** = Bold underlined text
How to underline and italicize text?
To create underlined italicized text, you’d need to use underline and asterisk symbols.
Example _*Underlined italicized text*_ = Underlined italicized text
How to create Bolded underlined and italicized text?
This is somewhat tricky. To make your text bolded, underlined, and italicized simultaneously, you’d need to add a single underline and three asterisk symbols before and after the text.
Example _***Underlined, italicized, and bolded text***_ Underlined, italicized, and bolded text
To double-check if your text has been formatted correctly, you can see the symbols used by adding a backslash (\) key. It will skip markdown formatting and shows the text just as it is.
Example Italicized bold text = \*\*\* Italicized bold text \*\*\*
How to use code block?
Instead of using shortcuts or Markdown syntax, you can directly edit your text using code blocks. Code blocks are a great way to send messages with no formatting applied. It’s useful for collaborating on a project that would require your share code snippets with your channels.
They’re also useful if you want to send messages that contain elements like an asterisk, underline, and tilde symbols that Discord would otherwise recognize as Markdown formatting.
To add code blocks, you’d find the symbol just above the message. You can create a single line or multiline code block using either one or three greater-than symbols (>). To move to multi-line code blocks, you’d need to click the SHIFT+Enter key.
Formatting in Discord is plain and simple once you get used to using all the relevant symbols. There are, unfortunately, limitations to formatting texts in Discord because it doesn’t use full-formatting technology. However, you can still use the most-used symbols in Discord.