Formatting stories on Medium is super simple—just select the text you want to format and choose the relevant option from the toolbar. Below you'll find all the formatting options offered by the editor on your platform.
Bold
Select the text you want to format to open the text toolbar and click the B button to apply the formatting. You can also use the keyboard shortcut ⌘ + B / Ctrl + B.
Italics
Select the text you want to format to open the text toolbar and click the i button to apply the formatting. You can also use the keyboard shortcut ⌘ + i / Ctrl + i.
Headers and subheaders
Select the text and click the large or small T icon from the pop-up menu. Click it again to remove formatting.
Header shortcut: ⌘ + Alt + 1 / Ctrl + Alt + 1
Subheader shortcut: ⌘ + Alt + 2 / Ctrl + Alt + 2
Quotes
Click the " (quotation mark) icon from pop-up menu. To use a large or pull-out quote style, select the text and click " icon twice from pop-up menu. You can also remove quote formatting by selecting the text and clicking the " icon until text returns to default.
Keyboard shortcut: ⌘ + Alt + 5 / Ctrl + Alt + 5
Links
To create a hyperlink in your post, select the text you want to convert into a link to open the text toolbar, click on the chain icon 🔗 in the toolbar to hyperlink the selected text, paste or type in a link (e.g., medium.com), and press Enter.
To add a link to an image, click it to select and press ⌘ + K / Ctrl + K.
Lists
Simple bulleted and numbered lists in posts are also supported on Medium.
- To begin a bulleted list, go to a new line, type in * (asterisk), and press Space.
- To begin a numbered list, go to a new line, type in 1. (numeral one, period), and press Space.
For either type, pressing Enter at the end of a line will begin another item. Press Enter again to escape list formatting.
Note: Numbered lists cannot be continued after a section break, or between images.
Code blocks & inline code
To begin a code block, go to a new line and type ``` (triple backtick).
For inline code in a paragraph, type a single backtick ` to begin and end your code. Or highlight some text and press the backtick key.
Keyboard shortcut: ⌘ + option + 6 / Ctrl + alt + 6.
Note: Code blocks do not support syntax highlighting. To embed code with syntax highlighting on Medium, try using Github Gists, Codepen.io, or JSfiddle embeds. To do this, paste your snippet URL from one of those sources to a new line in the editor and press Enter.
Emoji
To add an emoji to your post, type in a colon, followed by the name of your favorite emoji.
Tip! Check out the emoji cheat sheet to find the names of all the supported emoji.
Drop caps
To add drop caps, select a paragraph and click on the drop caps icon in the menu bar that pops up:
Custom drop caps
You can also upload a custom image drop cap instead. Here's how:
- Follow the steps above.
- Click on the drop cap letter itself until a green border appears.
- From your desktop, drag the custom image file you'd like to use in place of your drop cap directly onto the green box.
- Your custom image will now appear in its place.
Bold
Select the text you want to format and tap Bold on the bottom menu to apply the formatting.
Italic
Select the text you want to format and tap Italic on the bottom menu to apply the formatting.
Headers and subheaders
Select the text and click the T icon from the bottom menu to format it as a header. Click it again to change it into a subheader. Clicking the button again will remove the formatting entirely.
Quotes
Click the " (quotation mark) icon from bottom menu. To use a large or pull-out quote style, select the text and click " icon twice from the menu. You can also remove quote formatting by tapping the " icon until the text returns to default.
Links
To create a hyperlink in your post, select the text you want to convert into a link to open the toolbar, tap Link in the toolbar to hyperlink the selected text, paste or type in a link (e.g., medium.com), and press Return.
Lists
Simple bulleted and numbered lists in posts are also supported on Medium.
- To begin a bulleted list, go to a new line, type in * (asterisk), and press Space.
- To begin a numbered list, go to a new line, type in 1. (numeral one, period), and press Space.
For either type, pressing Return at the end of a line will begin another item. Press Return again to escape list formatting.
Note: Numbered lists cannot be continued after a section break, or between images.
Bold
Select the text you want to format and tap Bold on the pop-up menu to apply the formatting.
Italic
Select the text you want to format and tap Italic on the pop-up menu to apply the formatting.
Headers and subheaders
Select the text and click the T icon from the bottom menu to format it as a header. Click it again to change it into a subheader. Clicking the button again will remove the formatting entirely.
Quotes
Click the " (quotation mark) icon from bottom menu. To use a large or pull-out quote style, select the text and click " icon twice from the menu. You can also remove quote formatting by tapping the " icon until the text returns to default.
Links
To create a hyperlink in your post, select the text you want to convert into a link to open the toolbar, tap Link in the toolbar to hyperlink the selected text, paste or type in a link (e.g., medium.com), and press Enter.
Lists
Simple bulleted and numbered lists in posts are also supported on Medium.
- To begin a bulleted list, go to a new line, type in * (asterisk), and press Space.
- To begin a numbered list, go to a new line, type in 1. (numeral one, period), and press Space.
For either type, pressing Enter at the end of a line will begin another item. Press Enter again to escape list formatting.
Note: Numbered lists cannot be continued after a section break, or between images.