Text formatting

This page covers the basic text formatting in Notes: inline styles (bold, italic, colors and so on), headings and paragraphs, alignment, lists and indentation, plus how pasting from other apps behaves. These are the everyday writing features. Special blocks — such as callouts, tabs, code and formulas — have their own pages.

Three ways to format

You never have to memorize anything: there is always more than one way to apply the same formatting. Use whichever is most comfortable.

• From the toolbar: select the text and click the style you want — in the floating bar that appears next to the selection or in the fixed bar at the top of the editor.
• With keyboard shortcuts: apply the most common styles without taking your hands off the keyboard (see the table below).
• With Markdown shortcuts: type markers like "#" or "-" and the editor converts them automatically — as long as "Markdown shortcuts" is enabled in Settings.

Text styles (inline)

Inline styles apply to a selected span within a block and can be combined freely (for example, bold and italic at the same time, or highlighted inline code). The names below are exactly what the toolbar shows.

Bold

Adds more weight to the span, to emphasize important words.

Italic

Slants the text, usually used for emphasis or foreign terms.

Underline

Draws a line beneath the span.

Strikethrough

Crosses out the span, useful to indicate something discarded or done.

Inline code

Displays the span in a monospaced font, ideal for command names, variables and short code snippets in the middle of the text.

Superscript

Raises the span above the baseline, as in exponents and reference notes.

Subscript

Lowers the span below the baseline, as in chemical formulas.

Highlight

Paints the background of the span like a marker, to draw attention.

Text color

Changes the letter color of the selected span, with a palette of ready-made colors.

Headings and paragraphs

Regular text is a paragraph. To create a hierarchy of sections, turn a block into a heading — there are five levels, from Heading 1 (largest) to Heading 5 (smallest). The same menu also converts a block into a Quote or a Code block.

1. 1Place the cursor in the block you want to transform.
2. 2Open the text style menu in the toolbar (the button that shows the current block type), or use the block handle's "Turn into" menu.
3. 3Choose "Paragraph", a heading level ("Heading 1" to "Heading 5"), "Quote" or "Code block" — the content is preserved during conversion.

Heading numbering

The "Heading numbering" button in the toolbar numbers all headings of the note automatically: choose the 1 · 1.1 · 1.1.1 scheme, the I · A · 1 · a scheme, or "No numbering". The numbers update themselves as you add or move sections.

Alignment

Alignment sets the position of the text within the block. It applies to the entire block.

Align left

Default alignment; the text starts at the left margin.

Align center

The text is centered in the block, useful for headings and highlights.

Align right

The text aligns to the right margin.

Lists

There are three types of list, and any paragraph can become a list (and vice versa) from the toolbar or the block handle's "Turn into" menu.

Bullet list

Items preceded by a bullet, with no defined order.

Numbered list

Items numbered in sequence, ideal for ordered steps.

Checklist

Items with checkable checkboxes, to track what is already done.

Indentation

You can nest and unnest blocks through indentation, creating sublevels — in lists, but also in plain paragraphs and headings. The toolbar has "Increase indent" and "Decrease indent" buttons, and the keyboard is even faster:

The toolbar

Where it appears

When you select a span of text, a floating formatting bar appears next to the selection, with inline styles a click away. You can also choose a fixed toolbar at the top of the editor — it adds undo/redo, the text style menu, heading numbering, lists, alignment, indentation and the insert buttons (link, image, file, emoji, table, divider).

Fixed

Always visible at the top of the editor.

Floating

Appears only when text is selected, next to the selection.

Both

Combines the fixed and the floating bar.

The choice is made in Settings, in the "Editor" section, under "Toolbar".

Markdown shortcuts

Conversion as you type

With "Markdown shortcuts" enabled, the editor recognizes markers at the start of the line (and around spans) and converts them automatically as you type.

• Type "#" followed by a space to create a heading (more "#" for smaller levels: "##", "###" and so on).
• Type "-" or "*" followed by a space to start a bullet list.
• Type "1." followed by a space to start a numbered list.
• Type "[]" followed by a space to start a checklist.
• Type ">" followed by a space to start a quote.
• Type "```" to start a code block.
• Wrap a span in "==" (like ==this==) to highlight it.

Pasting from other apps

Pasting keeps the source formatting whenever possible — including from editors that only put "rich text" (RTF) on the clipboard, such as Word and WordPad: bold, italic, underline, strikethrough, colors and paragraphs survive the trip. To discard the source styles, right-click and choose "Paste without formatting".

Editor appearance

In Settings → Editor you adjust how text is displayed. These options affect reading and writing, not the formatting of individual spans.

Font

Chooses the typeface used in the editor (sans, serif, mono and common system fonts).

Size

Sets the body text size, making reading larger or more compact.

Line height

Controls the vertical space between lines within the same paragraph.

Paragraph spacing

Adjusts the vertical distance between text blocks.

Font ligatures

Enables or disables font ligatures (combinations like "fi" and "fl" drawn as a single glyph).