Formatting helps add detail and clarity to your messages in Slack. You can use the formatting toolbar in the message field, or use markup and surround text with special characters. 

Formatting toolbar

Select the  text formatting icon or highlight the text you'd like to format to choose an option. You can add multiple formatting options to the same text and see exactly how the message looks before you send it.

Tip: To start a new line, press ShiftEnter. If you’d like, you can adjust your preferences to start a new line with just the Enter key.

Markup

When using Slack on your desktop, you can also format your messages with markup.

Formatting	Description
	Surround text with asterisks:  *your text*
	Surround text with underscores: _your text_
	Surround text with tildes: ~your text~
	Surround text with backticks: `your text`
	Add an angled bracket in front of text: >your text
	Add three backticks in front of text: ```your text
	Add 1 and a period, then press Space in front of text: 1. your text To indent a line, press Tab
	Add an asterisk, then press Space in front of text: * your text To indent a line, press Tab

Tip: If you prefer to always format your messages with markup, you can set a message formatting preference.