Text & Block Formats

Workflowy knowledge base

When to use

Text & block formats in Workflowy help you add clarity and style to your notes. You can bold key points, italicize thoughts, add headers for structure, create checklists, code blocks, quotes, and more - all without leaving the keyboard. Whether you’re drafting an outline, writing a blog post, or organizing research, formatting keeps your content clear, expressive, and easy to scan.

You can change the format of almost any piece of text - these are called inline text formats. This includes basic styles like bold and italics, but also things like text color and highlights.

You can also change the style or presentation of a chunk of text - these are called block-level formats. These are things like paragraphs, to-dos, quote blocks, etc.

Format inline text

Most text format options are available from the 'text format widget' that appears when you select any piece of text.

All text formats have keyboard shortcuts - you can see these by hovering over the format option in the text format widget.

1. Select some text to format
‍2. Choose the text format option you want from the text format widget that pops up

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Format blocks

Some block-level formats are available from the text format widget and others are available as slash commands. Some can also be created by typing their markdown marker (for example quote blocks by typing '>' then a space)

1. Find some text to format
‍2. Use the text format widget, slash command, or markdown marker to apply your desired format

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Inline text formats

Inline text formats can be applied to any words within a line of text.
All of theses are available in text format widget.

Bold
Underline
Italic
Strikethrough
Inline code
Link
Text color
Text highlight

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Block-level formats

Block-level formats affect the structure or presentation of a chunk of text, rather than individual words.

Available in the text format widget.

Available as slash commands.

H1
H2
H3
Paragraph
To-do
Quote
Code Block
Divider
Board
Bullets
AI Node

Available from the 'Turn into ...' dropdown.

H1
H2
H3
Paragraph
To-do
Board
Quote
Code Block
Divider
AI Node

Available by typing their markdown marker plus a space.

H1 - #
H2 - ##
H3 - ###
Quote - >
To-do - [ ]
Divider - ---

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Works well with...

Templates → Format reusable templates with headers, dividers, and styled sections so every new document or project automatically inherits your structure and hierarchy.
Mirrors → Combine formatted blocks with mirrors to reuse sections like “About,” “Methods,” or “Next steps” across multiple projects - edit once, update everywhere.
Boards → Use headings (H2 or H3) as column titles, then drop formatted bullets and to-dos beneath them. Perfect for creating content calendars, pipelines, or sprint boards with clear visual hierarchy.
Search operators → Pair formatting with operators like is:h1, is:quote, or is:code-block to instantly filter and review all titles, references, or code snippets across your account.