# Format text

_Category: Write articles_

Select any text and a toolbar appears with everything you need to format it: bold, italic, color, inline code, links and more. Good formatting helps readers scan an article and find the step they need.

**Who can do this:** Owners, Admins and Editors · **Plans:** All plans (AI rewrites: Catalyst plan, or the AI add-on on Bootstrap and Growth)

## Format text

1. Select the words you want to format. A toolbar appears above them.
2. To add a link, click **Link**, paste the address and press Enter.
3. To make text bold, select it and click **Bold**. The other buttons work the same way.

![Screen recording. Select the words you want to format. A toolbar appears. Click Link, paste the address and press Enter. Then select more text and click Bold.](https://helpcenter-io.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/self/0cmWu9v4rAgIVN4ozMjPESd8v2ZZtiWkw5CEyTQW.gif)
The toolbar appears as soon as you select text.

## What each button does

Point at a button to see its name.

| Button | What it does | Shortcut (Mac / Windows) |
| --- | --- | --- |
| **Bold** | Makes text bold. | ⌘B / Ctrl+B |
| **Italic** | Makes text italic. | ⌘I / Ctrl+I |
| **Underline** | Underlines text. | ⌘U / Ctrl+U |
| **Strikethrough** | Draws a line through text. | ⌘⇧S / Ctrl+Shift+S |
| **Text color** | Colors text with one of six colors. **Remove color** takes it off again. In dark mode, colored text is lightened on your help center so it stays readable, keeping its hue. | None |
| **Inline code** | Shows text in a code font, for commands, file names and values readers type. | ⌘E / Ctrl+E |
| **Link** | Links text to a web address or another article. On linked text, **Remove link** appears too. | None |
| **AI** | Rewrites the selection: **Improve writing**, **Fix spelling and grammar**, **Make shorter**, **Make longer**, **Match our brand voice** or **Simplify**. | None |
| **Comment on this selection (team only)** | Starts a comment for your team on the selected words. Available once the article is saved. | None |

The toolbar doesn't appear inside a code block, because a code block holds plain code.

## Rewrite with AI

1. Select the text and click **AI**.
2. Choose what you want, for example **Make shorter**.
3. Compare the suggestion with your text. Nothing changes until you click **Replace**. **Discard** keeps your text as it was.

Without AI writing help on your plan, the **AI** button explains how to get it. See [Write faster with AI writing help](https://self.helpcenter.io/content/ai-writing-help).

## Clear formatting

Select text and press ⌘\ (Ctrl+\ on Windows) to remove all its formatting at once: bold, italic, underline, strikethrough, inline code, color and links. Headings and list items in the selection turn back into plain paragraphs.

## Keep formatting light

- Save bold for button and menu names, and for the one warning a reader must not miss.
- Avoid underlining. Readers expect underlined text to be a link.
- Use headings, not bold lines, to split an article into sections. Headings build the table of contents.
- Put tips and warnings in a callout instead of coloring the text. Color alone means nothing to someone using a screen reader.

## Related articles

- [Link to another article or a website](https://self.helpcenter.io/content/add-links)
- [Add headings, lists and other blocks](https://self.helpcenter.io/content/add-blocks)
- [Keyboard shortcuts in the article editor](https://self.helpcenter.io/content/editor-shortcuts)