Formatting text
Bold, italic, headings, links, and highlights, from the toolbar or the keyboard.
The toolbar carries what you reach for mid-sentence: bold, italic,
strikethrough, code, highlight, three heading levels, quotes, indents, links,
and dividers.
From the keyboard
| Keys | Does |
|---|---|
| ⌘B | Bold |
| ⌘I | Italic |
| ⌘U | Underline |
| ⌘K | Link the selection |
| ⇧⌘H | Highlight |
| Tab | Indent a paragraph, or nest a list item |
| ⇧Tab | Pull it back again |
Markdown as you type
Typing Markdown formats it. ## at the start of a line becomes a heading,
- becomes a bullet, 1. a numbered list, > a quote, and three backticks
open a code block. Wrap words in ** and they come out bold.
You don't have to use any of it. The toolbar does the same things.
Indenting
The two buttons beside the lists push a paragraph or a heading to the right and pull it back, up to six steps. ⌘] and ⌘[ do the same if you'd rather Tab stayed a Tab.
An indent shows on screen, on paper, and on a published page. Markdown has no way to write one, so an exported note comes out flush.
Links to the web
Select some words and press ⌘K to link them. A link pasted on a line of its own becomes a card or a player, and resting the pointer on a link in a sentence shows where it goes. See Links, cards and players.
Links between notes
Type [[ and the start of a note's name, and pick it from the list: the link keeps working when the note is renamed, and the note it points to shows the link under Backlinks.
To link to a heading inside a note, type # after the name, then the start of the heading, like [[Lisbon#plan. The link reads Lisbon › The plan and opens the note at that heading. Renaming the heading doesn't break it.
Hover over a heading and a # appears to its left: press it to copy a link to that heading, to paste anywhere. On a phone, it shows while you're typing in the heading.
Last updated 1 October 2026