WhatsApp welcomes new text editing and formatting functions. You will be able to create bulleted lists, quote specific parts of messages or even share lines of code more easily.
WhatsApp is constantly adding new features and additions, constantly evolving for the better. The company behind instant messaging, Meta, has been particularly active lately. It now allows users to send photos and, soon, videos in HD quality, share their screen during video calls and chat with unknown numbers without using third-party applications. But, on certain points, Meta lags behind its competitors. The company is doing everything to catch up with its main competitors like Telegram, Discord and Slack
In August 2023, code was spotted in the beta version of the application, introducing several text formatting options, in particular to highlight certain elements. And that’s good, because instant messaging hasn’t really received any new features since 2017, after the addition of the monospace option, which allows you to format code snippets. Obviously, it is already possible to put your messages in italics, bold or strikethrough (see our article). From now on, no less than four new formats are offered, to our great delight!
WhatsApp text editing: coding, quoting and bulleted list
The first new feature is called Code Block and aims to make sharing and reading lines of computer code more practical and enjoyable. Unlike the monospace option, the code block format displays text in a slightly different colored window, similar to Slack. A function that should appeal to developers and other IT specialists who frequently exchange code snippets via the application, avoiding any confusing display. You will simply need to surround the words with apostrophes (“this is an example”) in order to create a block of code.
Meta also adds the Quote function which allows, as its name suggests, to quote a specific part or sentence of a message or article. It is different from the current message quoting function, which takes all the text of its latest messages, without distinction. It is therefore much more practical to respond to certain parts of a message rather than to the entire text. Just add a quote (> this is an example). Simple, right?
Finally, instant messaging accommodates bulleted lists, which will be particularly useful for listing arguments and ideas, or even making a list of shopping or tasks to complete. To take advantage of it, you will need to precede each of its lines with a dash (or an asterisk), followed by a space. For a numbered list, you will need to type one or more numbers, then a period, then add a space behind.