The Ultimate Guide to Discord Text Formatting

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How do you make fancy text in discord?

Did you know that you can enhance your text messages in Discord? It is true. The text you send as messages in Discord is customizable. Wondering how? 

Discord is the most popular online communication platform for digital developers, influencers, and, especially, gamers. As of November 2020, it has over 250 million active users. This is because it is free, very user-friendly, and can almost never run into issues.

Hold your curiosity, this article is all about how you can make your text in Discord more vibrant and fancier than usual. 

Can you format text in discord?

Yes, text formatting in Discord is now available, thanks to the addition of the Markdown engine for Discord. Along with the Markdown engine, Discord also introduced a feature known as the Highlight.js. This helps in the highlighting of code blocks. 

Discord’s Text Formatting Engines/Markup language

Discord uses two important engines (or markup language) to help the users format their text, namely

1. Markdown

Discord Markdown is an engine or a markup language that uses characters to perform simple functions such as Discord text formatting. This was initially used to perform functions like formatting readme documents and converting text to rich text. Discord uses Markdown as this engine is very light. The Discord Markdown engine is based on text and is used to make the text bold, italic, underlined, or struck-through.

2. Highlight.js

Discord does not permit typing in color on its own. It is because of a library known as Highlight.js. The key purpose of this is to apply colors over code blocks. Since Discord does not have the feature to let users color their text, but with Highlight.js you can direct it towards a syntax highlighting profile and put the needed characters before and after the text to highlight it or add color to it.

What font is Discord text in?

Uni Sans is the common font used in the Discord application. The desktop version of the application has four other fonts – Arial 2, Whitney, Helvetica, and Helvetica Nevue. 

Fun fact: The Discord logo is designed with a slightly edited version of the font, Uni Sans Heavy.

How do you do Discord text effects?

There are certain commands or characters that are programmed to format Discord text. By format, it means that you can modify the text into being bold, italic, and/or underlined. You can also strike through the text. Or you can apply all these text formatting types to the same text. 

Basic Discord Text Formatting

There are four basic kinds of text formatting in Discord. 

  1. Bold text
  2. Italics
  3. Underline
  4. Strikethrough
  5. Spoiler tag
  6. Blank Line 

Format Text in Discord

We’ll go through how text formatting can be done in Discord, one by one. These steps will require knowing the asterisk,  the underscore, and the tilde symbols. 

The asterisk symbol (*) can be typed on your screen by pressing the Shift key and the 8 function key, together.

The Underscore sign (_) can be placed on the screen by pressing the Shift key and the Minus (-) function key, simultaneously on the keyboard. 

The tilde symbol (~) can be typed when you press the Shift key and the backslash (`) key together. 

Discord Text Formatting: Styles

The first kind of text formatting in Discord is the text styles. There is no change in the font size or font style. But the text can be enhanced by making it bold, italics, underlined, struck through, or combinations of these styles. 

Basic Discord Text Formatting 1: Italics

Italics or Italicization of the text means making the text, slightly slanting the letters to give it a little emphasis on the word or sentence, but not too much that would make the text illegible. To change your text to italics in Discord, you have to add one asterisk at the beginning and the ending of the word or sentence you want to turn to italics.

Example: If you wish to make this sentence all italics, your input should be:

*I found diamonds*
Discord Text Formatting - Italics

Your output will be I found diamonds

Italics Output

Basic Discord Text Formatting 2: Bold text

The Bold feature of text processing makes the text thicker when enabled. The text in Discord can be bolded with a simple use of two asterisks, around the text you want to be bolded. 

Example: If you wish to make this sentence bold, this is what your input has to be: 

**We are dropping at Misty Meadows**
Bold Text

The output would be We are dropping at Misty Meadows

Basic Discord Text Formatting 3: Underline

An Underline below any text, automatically, gives a picture of the text being important. If you wish to have your Discord text underlined, you simply have to add two underscores (_) at the start and end of the text you want to be underlined. 

Example: If you want a certain message to be underlined, this is what your message should be similar to:

 __Can I mine bedrock__
Underlines in Discord

To this input, the result will be Can I mine bedrock

Underlined output in Discord

Basic Discord Text Formatting 4: Strikethrough

A strikethrough in the text is just a straight line cutting through the text. This can be used to denote a mistake in the text or to point out corrections. Making a Discord strikethrough text is very easy. You just have to place two tildes (~) at the start and end of the text you want to strikethrough.  

Example: If you want a strikethrough over your text, the sentence should be something like this:

~~One~~
Strikethrough in Discord

The result for this entry will be:

One

Strikethrough output

Basic Discord Text Formatting 5: Spoiler Tag

A Spoiler tag is a cover for text. This cover will be removed only when it is clicked on. It comes quite handy when you’re spoiling something fun and the viewers can see it only if they want to. To do this, you have to place two vertical bars (||) at the start and end of the message. 

Example Input: Spoiler – ||Arthur Morgan dies halfway through the game||

Output:

Spoiler in Discord

Basic Discord Text Formatting 6: Empty Messages

In Discord, hitting the Enter key will send the message and not go to the next line. By habit, when you press the enter key with the intention to jump to the next line, you send an incomplete message. This can be very frustrating. Discord users can add empty lines to their message by pressing the Shift + Enter keys on the keyboard.

New line

These are the most basic kinds of text formatting in Discord. 

Combine Basic Text Formatting 

The Basic Discord text formatting can be combined to create a new format containing the features of the formats present in the combination. There are possible combinations that can be made in the Discord Text Formatting:

  1. Underline and Italics
  2. Bold & Italic
  3. Underline and Bold text
  4. Bold, Italics, and Underlined text
  5. Bold, Italics, Underline, and Strikethrough

Combined Text Formatting 1: Italic and Underlined Text

You can type in the results of a hybrid between underline text and italic in Discord. You have to start and end the formatting text with two underscores and one asterisk (__* *__).

Example Input: 

__*Buffalo Wings*__
Italic and Underlined Text

Output:

Buffalo Wings

Italic and Underlined Text Output

Combined Text Formatting 2: Bold and Italic

To get text which is bold text and italic at the same time, you have to place three asterisks around the test.

Example Input: ***Hello, World***

Bold and Italic input

Output: Hello, World

Bold and Italic Output

Combined Text Formatting 3: Underline and Bold text

To come up with a text that is underlined and bolded, at the same time, you have to add two underscores and two asterisks (__** **__)before and after the text.

Example Input: __**What’s up?**__

Underline and Bold text input

Output: What’s up?

Underline and Bold text output

Combined Text Formatting 4: Bold, Italics, and Underlined Text

To get text which is a result of combining all the first three text formats (Bold, Italics, and Underline), use two underscores and three asterisks (__*** ***__).

Example Input: __***How are you?***__

Bold, Italics, and Underlined Text input

Output:

Bold, Italics, and Underlined Text output

Combined Text Formatting 5: Bold, Italics, Underlined, and Strikethrough text

Users can apply all the text formats to the text. This means that the text can be bolded, italicized, underlined, and Struck through, at the same time. You have to place three asterisks, two tildes, and two underscores (***~~__ __~~***)before and after the text.

Example Input: ***~~__You are amazing__~~***

Bold, Italics, Underlined, and Strikethrough text input

Output: You are amazing

Bold, Italics, Underlined, and Strikethrough text output

Escaping Text and Seeing all the Asterisks, Underscores, and Tilde signs

In some cases, you might want to use the asterisk, underscore or the tilde sign in the text as a part of a conversation, you can place backslashes before every character that you want to be displayed as it is. It is just like this:

_\_\*\*\*This is a sentence.*\*\*\_\_
asterisk, underscore or the tilde sign

The output for this input will be:

__***This is a sentence.***__

asterisk, underscore or the tilde sign output

International Keyboard Layout formatting

The keys for some signs, including the asterisk and the tilde, may vary over keyboard palettes in each country. If you are using a keyboard in any of these countries, here is a list of keys that you have to use to type in an asterisk.

Germany: Shift + Plus (+) 

Spain: Shift + Plus (+)

France: * 

Belgium: Shift + $ 

Switzerland: Shift + 3

Italy: Shift + Plus (+)

Sweden: Shift + ’ 

Though most computers use the standard English keyboard and the keys for the asterisk are still Shift + 8, it is safe to know the international alternatives for this, in case you were using Discord on an internationally different keyboard layout. 

Advanced Discord Text Formatting 

Discord Text Formatting: Code Blocks

There are a few things we should know before we start typing text in bright colors. Discord is not involved in the coloring process. Highlight.js, a computer language, is used to accomplish this. Code blocks are used in this procedure. We’ll begin with that.

What is code block discord?

A code block is a Discord feature that puts the select text inside a box, which helps to lay emphasis on the text. Discord supports code blocks. 

Code blocks in Discord allow users to customize them, with the help of the backtick symbol (`). The backtick is located below the Esc key on your keyboard. 

Basic Discord Code Blocks

These are the two types of Code Blocks in Discord:

  1. Single line Code Blocks

As the name suggests, a code block of this type is for single-line usage only. Users can use a Single-line code block by placing a single backtick in front of and after the text. 

For example, if the text you enter is: `Good Game Well Played`,

Single line Code Blocks

The output would be, Good Game Well Played

Single line Code Blocks output
  1. Multi-line Code Blocks

A Multi-line code block is used for more than one line of text. Multiline code blocks can be used by placing three backticks (“`) around the text message. 

For instance, if your input is:

```He’s strafing to the left. 
    Watch out for fire from the left.```

The output for this will be: He’s strafing to the left. 

Watch out for fire from the left.

Multi-line Code Blocks

How do you do syntax highlighting in discord?

The process begins with the creation of a multiline code block and the specification of the Syntax highlighting. There is no straight way for this to be done, without having to use a loophole in the syntax highlighting process and exploiting it. 

Limitations

In order to use syntax highlighting, the text must not be justified. There should be no space between words in a phrase, according to this rule. Variable values are the most common way to store colors.

The multiline code blocks don’t recognize our input text as code, therefore we get an error message when we try to write in the text. Spaces are not allowed in variables in code blocks. It is possible to include spaces between words in code comments and strings.

Discord Text Formatting: Text Color with the Syntaxes

The next level of formatting text in Discord is adding color to the text. There are certain programs of syntax highlighting language that can affect the colors of the text. Some of them are as follows

  1. Diff – Red & Green
  2. CSS – Orange – Red blend, Blue, Green & Light Green
  3. Fix – Yellow
  4. Apache – Dark Yellow
  5. INI – Blue
  6. Bash, JSON, CoffeeScript & CPP – Dark Green

The upcoming content is about how to color format text in Discord, in easy steps.

How to add color to text in discord?

You can color the text with different colors with different syntaxes. Follow the upcoming instructions in this passage.

Color text in Discord: Making Red text with the Diff Syntax

If you wish to make your text red in Discord, your code has to be something like this:

```diff
- Apples are Red.
```

Input:

Color text in Discord

Output: 

– Apples are Red.

Color text in Discord output

Color text in Discord: Make text Red-Orange with the CSS syntax

The CSS syntax can be used to make the desired text an Orange-red color. 

For instance, your input can be something similar to this:

```css
[Orange soda is Orange-red in color]
```
Color text in Discord - red orange

The results would be

[Orange soda is Orange-red in color]
Color text in Discord red orange output

Color text in Discord: Make text Blue with CSS syntax

There are two ways to turn your text blue in Discord- the INI and the CSS syntax. 

If you use the CSS syntax, your code should be:

```css
.The_sky_is_blue
```
Color text in Discord blue

The result would be:

.The_sky_is_blue

Color text in Discord blue output

You have to place a period sign before the text. 

Color text in Discord: Make text Blue with INI syntax

The INI syntax requires [ ] box braces. If you prefer the INI language syntax, your code would be:

```ini
  [Blue colored berries]
```
Make text Blue with INI syntax

The output will be:

Make text Blue with INI syntax output

Note: The blue text looks similar to a shared link to a website. A hyperlink has an underline under it and the cursor changes when it hovers over it. 

Color text in Discord: Make text Yellow with the Fix syntax

The fix syntax does not require any other characters. It would be quite simple, just like this code block:

```fix
Yellow is a happy color
```
Make text Yellow with the Fix syntax

The resultant message would be

Yellow is a happy color

Make text Yellow with the Fix syntax output

Color text in Discord: Make text Dark Yellow with the Fix syntax

Apache also does not permit spaces. Underscores have to be used. Your code may look similar to this:

```apache
Dark yellow is luxurious
```
Make text Dark Yellow with the Fix syntax

The output result will be, 

Dark_yellow_is_luxurious

Make text Dark Yellow with the Fix syntax output

Color text in Discord: Make text Light Green with the Diff syntax

The Diff syntax requires a Plus symbol in front of the desired text. The code block should look similar to this:

```diff
+Grass is light green
```
Make text Light Green with the Diff syntax

The resultant output will be

+Grass is light green

Make text Light Green with the Diff syntax output

Color text in Discord: Make text Dark Green with the Bash and JSON syntax

The Bash code blocks need double quotation marks while the JSON code blocks require single quotation marks before and after the text.

A sample Bash code for light green text is:

```bash
‘Dark Green is comforting’
```
Make text Dark Green with the Bash and JSON syntax

The output for this is 

‘Dark Green is comforting’

Make text Dark Green with the Bash and JSON syntax output

The JSON code block sample is as follows:

```json
‘Dark Green is comforting’
```
JSON input

The Output to this sample will be:

“Dark Green is comforting”

JSON output

Conclusion

These are the possible ways to format text before you send it on Discord. This will give you ways to enhance your text, which will make your statements stand out from that of others. 

Learn how to share your discord screen with your friends which will make it much easier to share with multiple people.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you do discord text effects?

There are certain characters that have to be placed around the text for the effects to be applied. You can bold, italicize, underline, strikethrough, cover text and make blank space. 

Can you use HTML in discord?

No, you can not use any form of language script in Discord. But you can share HTML pages through channels or text windows. 

How do I change the font in discord chat?

Discord does not permit users to change the default font in its text channels or the User Interface. 

How do you make text bold and italic in discord?

For bold, place two asterisks before and after the text. For italics, place one asterisk each in front and back of the text. 

How do I hide Discord text?

You can hide text by placing two vertical bars (||) before and after the text you want to be hidden. The text will be displayed when it is clicked on. 

Can You Merge Different Discord Text Formatting Styles?

Yes, Discord lets users combine text formatting styles. You can create combinations between bold, italics, underline, and strikethrough