Formatting text with Markdown

In many text fields you can structure and format the text with Markdown: with headings, lists, tables, links and highlighted passages. Markdown is written as ordinary text and is applied automatically when the text is displayed.

This page shows the notation on the left and the result on the right. It describes exactly what our applications support. Many Markdown overviews on the internet show additional notations. Some of them do not work here, see What is not supported.

Emphasis

What you type	How it looks
`bold`	bold
`italic`	italic
`*bold and italic*`	*bold and italic*
`~~strikethrough~~`	~~strikethrough~~
`fixed character width`	`fixed character width`

Paragraphs and line breaks

A single line break (pressing Enter once) is shown as a line break. A blank line (pressing Enter twice) starts a new paragraph with slightly more spacing.

What you type How it looks

First line
Second line

First line
Second line

First paragraph

Second paragraph

First paragraph

Second paragraph

Pressing Enter repeatedly does not help

Three or more blank lines have exactly the same effect as a single one. The spacing therefore cannot be increased by pressing the Enter key repeatedly.

Headings

Headings begin with one or more hash signs, followed by a space. There are six levels.

What you type	How it looks
`# Level 1`	Level 1
`## Level 2`	Level 2
`### Level 3`	Level 3
`#### Level 4`	Level 4
`###### Level 6`	Level 6

From the fourth level on, the font size stays the same as in body text. The levels then differ in font weight and color.

Lists

Bulleted lists begin with a hyphen, numbered lists with 1.. Sub-entries are indented.

What you type	How it looks
`- First item - Second item - Sub-item`	First item Second item Sub-item
`1. First step 2. Second step 1. Sub-step`	First step Second step Sub-step

In numbered lists the counting style changes with each level: digits, then lower-case Roman numerals, then letters.

How far to indent?

A sub-entry must be indented as far as the list marker of its parent entry is wide, including the space that follows it: with - that means two spaces, with 1. three and with two-digit numbers such as 10. four. If the indent is too small, no sub-level is created, only another entry on the same level.

Task lists

What you type	How it looks
`- [x] done - [ ] open`	☑ done ☐ open

The boxes are for display only and cannot be clicked. The status is maintained in the text, that is by adding or removing the x.

Links and images

What you type	How it looks
`[Byron Informatik](https://www.byron.ch)`	Byron Informatik
`https://www.byron.ch`	https://www.byron.ch
`![Floor plan](image.png)`

An address written directly in the text also becomes a link automatically. Images are scaled down to the available width.

Quotations

Quotations begin with a greater-than sign. They are useful for setting off statements by others or excerpts from a message.

What you type	How it looks
`> Feedback from Friday. > > Second paragraph in the quotation.`	Feedback from Friday. Second paragraph in the quotation.
`> Message from the customer. > > > Reply from the caretaker.`	Message from the customer. Reply from the caretaker.

Quotations can be nested by putting another greater-than sign in front. This is useful for showing a history, for example a message and the reply to it. Each level is displayed slightly paler, so anything deeper than two levels becomes hard to read.

Tables

Columns are separated by vertical bars, the second row separates the header from the contents.

What you type How it looks

| Device   | Status |
| -------- | ------ |
| BY-HE-01 | Error  |
| BY-NE-02 | OK     |

Device	Status
BY-HE-01	Error
BY-NE-02	OK

The bars do not have to line up, but doing so makes the text easier to read in the input field. If a table is wider than the available space, it can be scrolled sideways.

Code and fixed character width

For single expressions in body text, backticks are enough. For sections spanning several lines, three of them are used as brackets. If a language follows the opening characters, keywords are highlighted in color.

What you type	How it looks
The value `3.14.2` is new.	The value `3.14.2` is new.
```sql SELECT Id FROM Reader; ```	`SELECT Id FROM Reader;`
``` C:\Temp\ablage ```	`C:\Temp\ablage`

Without a language, the section stays colorless but keeps the fixed character width. That is the right choice for paths, log excerpts and anything where spaces have to be preserved.

Dividing line

What you type	How it looks
`Text before --- Text after`	Text before Text after

Further formatting with HTML

Markdown does not support some formatting. For that, HTML can be written directly into the text.

What you type	How it looks
`<kbd>Ctrl</kbd> + <kbd>C</kbd>`	`Ctrl` + `C`
`m<sup>2</sup>`	m²
`H<sub>2</sub>O`	H₂O
`<abbr title="Access control system">ACS</abbr>`	ACS
`<details> <summary>More</summary> Contents </details>`	More Contents
`<mark>highlighted</mark>`	highlighted
`<span class="colorWarn">urgent</span>`	urgent

HTML is limited to a safe subset

For security reasons, embedded HTML is filtered. Formatting such as the elements above is allowed, as are links, tables and images. Scripts and custom formatting via the style attribute are removed. A hard-coded color such as style="color: red" is therefore not applied.

Coloring text with classes

The class attribute is preserved. This makes the styling classes of the respective application available, for example colorWarn for a warning color or colorPrimary for the primary color:

<span class="colorWarn">urgent</span>

This is preferable to a hard-coded color, because the display follows the color scheme of the application and stays readable in light as well as in dark mode. Which classes are available depends on the application.

What is not supported

Common Markdown overviews list notations under "Extended Syntax" that are not implemented here. The middle column shows what appears instead, the right-hand one the way that leads to the goal here.

What you type	How it looks	Better this way
`==highlighted==`	==highlighted==	`<mark>highlighted</mark>` highlighted
`X^2^`	X^2^	`X<sup>2</sup>` X²
`H~2~O`	H2O	`H<sub>2</sub>O` H₂O
`Funny :joy:`	Funny :joy:	Insert the character directly Funny 😀
`Term : Explanation`	Term : Explanation	Bold term with a line break, or a table Term Explanation
`Text[^1] [^1]: The footnote.`	Text[^1] [^1]: The footnote.	By hand, with a superscript number and a line at the end Text¹
`### Title {#id}`	Title {#id}	No substitute, there are no jump targets here