--- title: "WhatsApp Text Formatter" description: "Free WhatsApp text formatter. Make bold, italic, strikethrough and monospace text, lists and quotes, preview the message live and copy it. Works with Arabic." canonical: "https://omnichannels.ai/tools/whatsapp-text-formatter/" language: "en" updated: "2026-10-10" publisher: "BroadNet Technologies" brand: "OmniChannels.ai" --- # WhatsApp Text Formatter Canonical: https://omnichannels.ai/tools/whatsapp-text-formatter/ Language: en Publisher: OmniChannels.ai by BroadNet Technologies To format text in WhatsApp, put a symbol on both sides of the words with no spaces in between: *bold*, _italic_, ~strikethrough~ and ```monospace```. Use `text` for inline code, and start a line with > for a quote, * or - for a bulleted list, or 1. for a numbered list. The same markup works in WhatsApp Business API template bodies. ## How to format a WhatsApp message 1. **Write or paste your message:** Type in the editor or start from the example. Arabic, emoji and line breaks are supported, and nothing you type leaves your browser. 2. **Select text and pick a style:** Click Bold, Italic, Strikethrough, Monospace or Inline code, or press Ctrl/Cmd+B, Ctrl/Cmd+I, Ctrl/Cmd+Shift+X or Ctrl/Cmd+Shift+M. For quotes and lists, select the lines first. 3. **Check the live preview:** The bubble shows the message as WhatsApp renders it. The counter compares its length with the 4,096-character message limit and the 1,024-character template body limit. 4. **Copy the right version:** Copy the formatted text for WhatsApp, a JSON-escaped string for the API, or a plain-text version without symbols for an SMS fallback, with its segment count. ## WhatsApp formatting symbols: the complete list WhatsApp has no font menu. You style text by typing symbols around it, and the app replaces them with formatting when the message is displayed. The WhatsApp Help Center article "How to format your messages" lists eight styles. We last checked it on 10 October 2026. - Bold: an asterisk on both sides, *text* - Italic: an underscore on both sides, _text_ - Strikethrough: a tilde on both sides, ~text~ - Monospace: three backticks on both sides, ```text``` - Inline code: one backtick on both sides, `text` - Quote: an angle bracket and a space at the start of the line, > text - Bulleted list: an asterisk or hyphen and a space before each line, * text or - text - Numbered list: a number, a period and a space before each line, 1. text ## Why formatting sometimes doesn't work Most failures come from spacing. The symbols must touch the words they wrap: *bold* works, but * bold * is shown with the asterisks. The editor keeps any spaces you selected outside the markers, so a sloppy selection still gives a valid result. A marker that touches a letter or digit on its outer side isn't treated as formatting either. That is why snake_case_name and 2*3*4 stay as typed. Inline styles also stop at a line break, so if you select several lines, the tool wraps each line separately instead of wrapping the whole block once. Nothing inside monospace or inline code is formatted, which makes those styles useful for showing symbols literally. The Help Center also says the newer styles (lists, quotes and inline code) are only available on Web and Mac desktop, and that formatting can't be switched off. Recipients on older app versions may see the raw symbols. ## Combining styles and formatting Arabic text You can nest styles by stacking the markers: *_bold italic_* or ~*bold strikethrough*~. Open them in one order and close them in the reverse order. Keep nesting light, because every symbol counts toward the message length. Formatting works the same way in Arabic, Hebrew and Urdu. Put the markers around the Arabic word, for example *عرض خاص*. WhatsApp sets the message direction from its first strong character, so a message that starts with an Arabic word is laid out right-to-left. The preview follows the same rule, so you can see where markers fall in mixed Arabic and English text. ## Formatting in WhatsApp Business API templates Template bodies use the same markup as normal chats. Meta's own authentication template body comes back from the API as "*{{1}}* is your verification code.", so wrapping a variable in asterisks bolds whatever value you send. Header text accepts emoji but not markdown, so keep styling in the body. According to Meta's Cloud API docs, a text message body can be up to 4,096 characters and a template body up to 1,024. Formatting symbols count toward both limits. Put line breaks in the approved template text, because parameter values sent at runtime can't contain newlines, tabs or more than four consecutive spaces (error 132018). When you build JSON by hand, write a line break as \n. The "Copy as JSON string" button does this for you. - Text message body: up to 4,096 characters - Template body: up to 1,024 characters, markdown supported - Template header: text and emoji, no markdown - Variables: *{{1}}* bolds the value you send - Parameter values: no \n, no tabs, no more than 4 spaces in a row ## Fancy fonts, and SMS fallback Some sites offer "WhatsApp fonts" made of Unicode look-alike letters such as 𝐛𝐨𝐥𝐝. These are separate mathematical characters, not formatting. Screen readers spell them out oddly or skip them, search can't find them, and they don't exist for Arabic script. Use WhatsApp's own markup for business messages. If a WhatsApp message fails and you resend it by SMS, the symbols would appear as raw asterisks and underscores. The plain-text copy removes them and counts SMS segments: 160 characters for one GSM-7 message (153 per part when split) and 70 for Unicode text such as Arabic (67 per part). ## WhatsApp text formatting: FAQ ### How do I make text bold in WhatsApp? Put an asterisk directly before and after the words, with no spaces inside: *Sale ends today*. On WhatsApp Web and desktop you can also double-click the text and choose Bold. ### How do I write in italics on WhatsApp? Wrap the text in underscores: _like this_. An underscore glued to a letter on the outside, as in file_name_v2, won't create italics. Combine styles with *_bold italic_*. ### How do I add strikethrough or monospace text? Use tildes for strikethrough (~old price~) and three backticks on each side for monospace (```ORDER-1042```). A single backtick on each side (`code`) gives inline code. ### How do I make a list or a quote in WhatsApp? Start each line with * or - and a space for a bulleted list, or with 1., 2. and a space for a numbered list. Start a line with > and a space to quote it. WhatsApp says these newer styles are available on Web and Mac desktop. ### Can I change the font or text colour in WhatsApp? No. WhatsApp offers bold, italic, strikethrough, monospace, inline code, quotes and lists, but no font family, size or colour. Unicode "fancy text" generators produce look-alike symbols that hurt accessibility and search, and they don't support Arabic. ### Why isn't my WhatsApp formatting working? Usually there's a space between the symbol and the text (* bold *), the marker touches a letter on its outer side, or the styled text crosses a line break. Fix the spacing, or format each line separately. ### Does WhatsApp formatting work in Arabic? Yes. Put the markers around the Arabic text, for example *خصم 20%*. A message that starts with Arabic is shown right-to-left, and the markers work the same way as in English. ### Does formatting work in WhatsApp Business API templates? Yes, in the template body: *bold*, _italic_, ~strikethrough~ and ```monospace``` all render, and *{{1}}* bolds a variable. Headers don't support markdown. The body is limited to 1,024 characters, and line breaks belong in the template text, not in parameter values.