Format text in the editor

Bold, headings, lists, colors, links: format with the toolbar, the bubble that appears on a selection, or Markdown shortcuts, then find and replace.

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You can format a note in three ways: with the toolbar above the text, with the small bubble that appears when you select words, or by typing Markdown shortcuts as you write. Use the one that suits you: they all give the same result.

The toolbar

The toolbar sits between the title and the text.

Hover a button to see its name and its shortcut. From left to right:

  • Bold, Italic, Underline, Strikethrough and Inline code.
  • Highlight, with 8 colors and Remove highlight.
  • Text color, with a palette of colors.
  • Link, which opens a bar to paste a web address, and Link a note, which starts a link to another note (see Link your notes).
  • Font size and Font family, which apply to the selected text.
  • Spacing, from Tight to Double, which sets the space of the current block.
  • Heading 1, Heading 2 and Heading 3.
  • On the second row: Bullet list, Numbered list, Checklist, Quote, Code block, Table, Database and Horizontal rule.
  • Then the note tools: Version History, Find in note, Export Note, Share to a vault (with a cloud account only), Drawing Mode, Add comment, the Editor theme list and Style Settings.

The arrow at the right end of the toolbar hides it (Hide toolbar). Click it again to bring it back (Show toolbar).

The bubble on a selection

Select a few words: a bubble appears above them.

It holds the same styles as the toolbar, plus Add comment (see Comments and drawing). The list at its right end, Turn into, changes the whole block: Text, Heading 1 to Heading 3, Bulleted list, Numbered list, To-do list, Quote or Code.

Keyboard shortcuts

StyleShortcut
BoldCtrl+B
ItalicCtrl+I
UnderlineCtrl+U
StrikethroughCtrl+Shift+S
Inline codeCtrl+E
HighlightCtrl+Shift+H
LinkCtrl+K
Heading 1, 2, 3Ctrl+Shift+1, Ctrl+Shift+2, Ctrl+Shift+3
Numbered listCtrl+Shift+7
Bullet listCtrl+Shift+8
ChecklistCtrl+Shift+9
Code blockCtrl+Alt+C
Indent or outdent a list itemTab, Shift+Tab

These shortcuts act while the cursor is in the text. Elsewhere on the Notes page, Ctrl+B opens or closes the sidebar of the app, and Ctrl+K opens the command palette.

Markdown shortcuts

If you know Markdown, type it: Filarr turns it into formatting as you go.

At the start of a line, followed by a space:

TypeYou get
#, ##, ###, ####A heading of level 1, 2, 3 or 4
-, * or +A bullet list
1.A numbered list
[] or [ ]A task with a checkbox
>A quote
--- (no space needed)A divider
```A code block

Inside a line:

TypeYou get
**text**Bold
*text*Italic
~~text~~Strikethrough
`text`Inline code
==text==Highlight

A few more helpers:

  • Type : followed by at least two letters to get emoji suggestions, for example :idea or :done.
  • Paste Markdown from elsewhere: Filarr turns it into headings, lists and tables. Inside a code block, it stays as text.
  • Press Ctrl+Shift+V to paste without the formatting of the source.
  • Paste a web address to turn it into a link.

Find and replace

  1. Press Ctrl+F, or click Find in note in the toolbar.
  2. Type the word you are looking for. Filarr shows how many times it appears, for example "1 / 2".
  3. Press Enter for the next match, Shift+Enter for the previous one.

To replace, type the new text in Replace with…, then click Replace for the current match or Replace all. Match case (the Aa button) tells capitals apart. Esc closes the bar.

Undo a mistake

Ctrl+Z undoes your last changes, and Ctrl+Y redoes them. Use it right after the mistake, in the same note. For a bigger mistake, or one you notice later, go back to an earlier version of the note: see Version history and export.