WhatsApp launches overdue formatting features, bringing order to chaotic texts

WhatsApp is releasing several new formatting tools to help you manage those long walls of text in group chats.

Triggering one of the new text formats requires you to enter a certain punctuation mark, followed by a space, and then the words themselves. Hyphens let you create a bullet list. A numeral with a period right after establishes a numbered list. Users can even make block quotes by first hitting the Greater Than arrow on the keyboard and then adding a space. To make inline code, you’ll have to press the accent symbol (which is found below the Esc key on most keyboards) followed by a single space. If done correctly, the messages you enter will be reformatted to your specifications. Otherwise, you’ll just see a bunch of random punctuations.

In total, users now have eight different ways to spruce up their conversations on the platform counting the likes of bold, italic, strikethrough, and monospace from years prior.

WhatsApp's new formatting tools

(Image credit: Future)

Finer details

Meta announced the update on social media and via WhatsApp notification; however, they neglected to mention some of the finer details. Not only are the features present in one-on-one chat rooms but also on the platform’s Channels, according to TechCrunch. The tools are available on WhatsApp for Android, iOS, Mac, and web browsers. Do keep in mind the patch is still rolling out so there’s a chance you may not have it on your mobile device. We didn’t get it on our Android, but luckily, it's currently live on the web version.

If you look closely, you’ll notice that we didn’t mention the Windows desktop app. This is because, for whatever reason, the Windows version lacks these features. It’s a rather strange omission especially when you consider the fact that this update has been in the works since August 2023. You’d think Meta would’ve brought it over PC in that time. So we reached out to the company asking for information on a Windows release. We’ll let you know if we hear back.

While we have you, be sure to join TechRadar’s WhatsApp channel to receive news stories and our latest reviews right on your phone.

You might also like

TechRadar – All the latest technology news

Read More

Google Docs update makes formatting on mobile easier at last

Google is working on a new update for its office software that will make formatting documents in Google Docs even easier on mobile.

Last year the search giant added the ability to add a page break before paragraphs in Google Docs on the web and according to a new post in the Google Workspace blog, this same functionality is now rolling out to smartphones.

This feature is particularly useful for journalists and other writers that want certain paragraph styles to always create a new page such as titles, subtitles or headings.

Page breaks before paragraphs on mobile

Just like in Google Docs on the web, users will now be able to mark paragraphs to always begin on a new page with the new “Add page break before” option.

In addition to helping keep your formatting the same throughout a document, this feature will also allow users to import and export Microsoft Word and other third-party documents that have “Page break before” applied to paragraphs and Google Docs will retain that formatting.

While the ability to add page breaks before paragraphs is now rolling out to Google Docs users, it could take up to 7 days on Android and up to 15 days on iOS before it becomes available. Once it does though, a new formatting menu will appear at the bottom of your screen that will make it much easier to configure the style of your documents on the go.

We've also highlighted the best office software and best word processor

TechRadar – All the latest technology news

Read More