These are the same marks I use when I write to you. Wrap a word in the right symbol and WhatsApp styles it; start a line with the right symbol and it becomes a list or a quote.
Text styles
Put the symbol directly on both sides of the words you want to style.
| Style | Type this | You get |
|---|---|---|
| Bold | *Shabbat shalom* | Shabbat shalom |
| Italic | _see you soon_ | see you soon |
| Strikethrough | ~Tuesday~ | |
| Monospace | ```ORDER-4417``` | ORDER-4417 |
| Inline code | `npm run build` | npm run build |
Line styles
These only work at the very start of a line, with a space after the symbol.
| Style | Type this | You get |
|---|---|---|
| Bulleted list | * challah- grape juice |
|
| Numbered list | 1. Book the hall2. Send invites |
|
| Quote | > Running late |
Running late |
Why didn't it work?
Almost every formatting miss is one of these four.
- A space inside the symbols.
*done*turns bold;* done *stays exactly as typed. - A letter touching the outside. In
re*think*ingnothing happens. Symbols need a space, punctuation, or the edge of the line on their outer side. - Two styles at once. Nest them, one inside the other:
*_bold and italic_*. - A list that stays plain. List and quote symbols must start the line and need a space after them:
- milk, not-milk.
Rather not type symbols?
Select the words in the message box first. On iPhone, tap Format in the pop-up menu; on Android, open the three-dot menu that appears next to Copy. Both offer bold, italic, strikethrough and monospace, and WhatsApp adds the symbols for you.
Try it before you send it
Type or paste a message. The bubble shows roughly how it will look in the chat. Nothing you type leaves this page.
Want it on paper? There's a printable one-page version of this sheet.
From Mendy's workshop: muse.shmuky.dev/artifacts/whatsapp-formatting/