Set your message formatting preference

If you prefer to always format your messages with markup instead of Slack's built-in formatting on your desktop, you can set a message formatting preference.

What to expect

When you choose to set your preference to format messages with markup, there are a few limitations to keep in mind:

  • Formatting will be applied to messages after you send them.
  • Messages that you copy and paste will appear in plain text.
  • Automatic formatting for bulleted, numbered, and indented lists is not supported.


Manage your message formatting preference

  1. From your desktop, click your profile picture in the sidebar.
    Static image of a cursor clicking the profile picture menu in the Slack app
  2. Select Preferences from the menu.
  3. Select Advanced.
  4. Under Input Options, check or uncheck the box next to Format messages with markup.


Markup

Once you’ve set your formatting preference, you can use the following markup actions to format your messages in Slack.

Formatting

Description
Text formatted in bold Surround text with asterisks: 
*your text*
Text formatted in italics Surround text with underscores:
_your text_
Text formatted in strikethrough Surround text with tildes:
~your text~
Text formatted in code Surround text with backticks:
`your text`
Text formatted in blockquote Add an angled bracket in front of text:
>your text
Text formatted in code block Surround text with three backticks:
```your text```
Text formatted in hyperlink

Surround text with brackets, then surround the link with parentheses:
[your text](the link)