Formatting text with Markdown

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<p class="p">Markdown is a simple markup language you can use to easily add
formatting, links, and images to plain text. You can use it in the following places:</p>
<div class="p">
<ul class="ul" id="topic-1__ul_owf_dpj_zm">
<li class="li">Ticket comments (from the agent interface)</li>
<li class="li">Macros</li>
<li class="li">Agent signatures</li>
<li class="li">Dynamic content</li>
<li class="li">Help center articles, including <a class="xref" href="https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/4408829589274" target="_blank">content blocks </a>
</li>
</ul>
</div>
<p class="p">Markdown commands are automatically supported by your ticket and article editor. You can
enter Markdown comments to format your content, or you can use the format toolbar to add rich
content. See <a class="xref" href="#topic_xqx_mvc_43">Table 1</a> below for supported
Markdown commands. </p>
<div class="note">
<span class="notetitle">Note:</span> Markdown is not available in emails and email templates. If you enter text with Markdown
syntax, the formatting will not render and the text will remain as is. For a detailed list of
where Markdown is supported, see <a class="xref" href="https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/4408893263770" target="_blank">Where can I use Markdown and HTML in Zendesk Support?</a>
</div>
<p class="p">Topics covered in this article:</p>
<div class="p">
<ul class="ul" id="topic-1__ul_kdg_spj_zm">
<li class="li">
<a class="xref" href="#topic_xqx_mvc_43">Adding Markdown to text</a>
<ul class="ul" id="topic-1__ul_hbr_k4n_1n">
<li class="li"><a class="xref" href="#topic_xqx_mvc_43__row_bj4_vjn_1n">Bold</a></li>
<li class="li"><a class="xref" href="#topic_xqx_mvc_43__row_lkm_tln_1n">Italics</a></li>
<li class="li"><a class="xref" href="#topic_xqx_mvc_43__row_ppv_wln_1n">Bulleted
lists</a></li>
<li class="li"><a class="xref" href="#topic_xqx_mvc_43__row_lhh_xln_1n">Numbered
lists</a></li>
<li class="li"><a class="xref" href="#topic_xqx_mvc_43__row_xww_xln_1n">Nested lists</a></li>
<li class="li"><a class="xref" href="#topic_xqx_mvc_43__row_ubd_yln_1n">Headings</a></li>
<li class="li"><a class="xref" href="#topic_xqx_mvc_43__row_k3l_yln_1n">Block quotes</a></li>
<li class="li"><a class="xref" href="#topic_xqx_mvc_43__row_vwt_yln_1n">Inline code</a></li>
<li class="li"><a class="xref" href="#topic_xqx_mvc_43__row_fs1_zln_1n">Code blocks</a></li>
<li class="li"><a class="xref" href="#topic_xqx_mvc_43__row_abf_1mn_1n">Images</a></li>
<li class="li"><a class="xref" href="#topic_xqx_mvc_43__row_tf4_bmn_1n">Links</a></li>
<li class="li"><a class="xref" href="#topic_xqx_mvc_43__row_plc_cmn_1n">Images that are also
links</a></li>
<li class="li"><a class="xref" href="#topic_xqx_mvc_43__links_tix">Links to tickets</a></li>
<li class="li"><a class="xref" href="#topic_xqx_mvc_43__horizontal_line">Horizontal line
rule</a></li>
<li class="li"><a class="xref" href="#topic_xqx_mvc_43__line_break">Line break</a></li>
<li class="li"><a class="xref" href="#topic_xqx_mvc_43__line_break">Underscore</a></li>
</ul>
</li>
<li class="li"><a class="xref" href="#topic_ldp_nd5_25b">Pasting Markdown text from another source</a></li>
</ul>
</div>
</div>
<div aria-labelledby="topic_xqx_mvc_43__title_adm_kjn_1n" class="topic nested1" id="topic_xqx_mvc_43">
<h2 class="title topictitle2" id="topic_xqx_mvc_43__title_adm_kjn_1n">Adding Markdown to text</h2>
<div class="body">
<p class="p">The following table shows examples of how you can use Markdown to add common formatting.
You don't need to preview your formatting. Your content is formatted automatically as you
enter Markdown commands. </p>
<div class="p">
<div class="note">
<span class="notetitle">Note:</span> These examples demonstrate one way you can add certain formatting. There might also
be additional ways you can achieve the same formatting. There are also many more
formatting options you can add with Markdown. For more options and information, see the
<a class="xref" href="http://daringfireball.net/projects/markdown/syntax" target="_blank">complete Markdown syntax documentation</a>. </div>
</div>
<p class="p">You can also watch this short video.</p>
<p class="p"><img class="image" id="topic_xqx_mvc_43__image_ekn_fl1_fsb" src="https://zen-marketing-documentation.s3.amazonaws.com/docs/en/aw_markdown.gif"></p>
<div class="p">
<div class="tablenoborder">
<table border="1" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" class="table" frame="border" id="topic_xqx_mvc_43__table_hj4_3dk_zm" rules="all" summary="">
<caption><span class="tablecap"><span class="table--title-label">Table 1. </span>Examples of Markdown syntax</span></caption>
<colgroup>
<col style="width:25%">
<col style="width:25%">
<col style="width:25%">
<col style="width:25%">
</colgroup>
<thead class="thead" style="text-align:left;">
<tr class="row">
<th class="entry nocellnorowborder" id="d87e221" style="vertical-align:top;">Formatting</th>
<th class="entry nocellnorowborder" id="d87e224" style="vertical-align:top;">Entered text</th>
<th class="entry nocellnorowborder" id="d87e227" style="vertical-align:top;">Published text</th>
<th class="entry cell-norowborder" id="d87e230" style="vertical-align:top;">Comments</th>
</tr>
</thead>
<tbody class="tbody">
<tr class="row" id="topic_xqx_mvc_43__row_bj4_vjn_1n">
<td class="entry nocellnorowborder" headers="d87e221" style="vertical-align:top;">Bold</td>
<td class="entry nocellnorowborder" headers="d87e224" style="vertical-align:top;">This is how you **bold** text. </td>
<td class="entry nocellnorowborder" headers="d87e227" style="vertical-align:top;"><img class="image" id="topic_xqx_mvc_43__image_wbf_sxr_zm" src="https://zen-marketing-documentation.s3.amazonaws.com/docs/en/markdown_bold.png"></td>
<td class="entry cell-norowborder" headers="d87e230" style="vertical-align:top;">Supported</td>
</tr>
<tr class="row" id="topic_xqx_mvc_43__row_lkm_tln_1n">
<td class="entry nocellnorowborder" headers="d87e221" style="vertical-align:top;">Italics</td>
<td class="entry nocellnorowborder" headers="d87e224" style="vertical-align:top;">This is how you *italicize* text.</td>
<td class="entry nocellnorowborder" headers="d87e227" style="vertical-align:top;"><img class="image" id="topic_xqx_mvc_43__image_vzv_yxr_zm" src="https://zen-marketing-documentation.s3.amazonaws.com/docs/en/markdown_italics.png"></td>
<td class="entry cell-norowborder" headers="d87e230" style="vertical-align:top;">Supported</td>
</tr>
<tr class="row" id="topic_xqx_mvc_43__row_ppv_wln_1n">
<td class="entry nocellnorowborder" headers="d87e221" style="vertical-align:top;">Bulleted lists</td>
<td class="entry nocellnorowborder" headers="d87e224" style="vertical-align:top;">* Bullet one (don't forget a space after the asterisk) <p class="p">* Bullet two
</p>
<p class="p">You must type a line break before and after the list.</p>
</td>
<td class="entry nocellnorowborder" headers="d87e227" style="vertical-align:top;"><img class="image" id="topic_xqx_mvc_43__image_dn3_1yr_zm" src="https://zen-marketing-documentation.s3.amazonaws.com/docs/en/markdown_bulleted_list.png"></td>
<td class="entry cell-norowborder" headers="d87e230" style="vertical-align:top;">Supported. You can also start with a hyphen (-) followed by a space to create
a bulleted list.</td>
</tr>
<tr class="row" id="topic_xqx_mvc_43__row_lhh_xln_1n">
<td class="entry nocellnorowborder" headers="d87e221" style="vertical-align:top;">Numbered lists</td>
<td class="entry nocellnorowborder" headers="d87e224" style="vertical-align:top;">1. Step one<p class="p">2. Step two</p>
<p class="p">Do not use a hashtag (#) when creating
numbered lists in Markdown, as the symbol is used for other formatting.
</p>
<p class="p">You must type a line break before and after the list.</p>
<p class="p">Numbered
lists will always start with 1, regardless of what number was pasted. If you
need a list to use different numbers, you need to paste plain text.
</p>
</td>
<td class="entry nocellnorowborder" headers="d87e227" style="vertical-align:top;"><img class="image" id="topic_xqx_mvc_43__image_oyt_ytr_zm" src="https://zen-marketing-documentation.s3.amazonaws.com/docs/en/markdown_numbered_list.png"></td>
<td class="entry cell-norowborder" headers="d87e230" style="vertical-align:top;">Supported</td>
</tr>
<tr class="row" id="topic_xqx_mvc_43__row_xww_xln_1n">
<td class="entry nocellnorowborder" headers="d87e221" style="vertical-align:top;">Nested lists</td>
<td class="entry nocellnorowborder" headers="d87e224" style="vertical-align:top;">* This is the first level of this list.<p class="p">You can add things like images,
quote blocks, or links to a nested list in addition to just text. </p>
<p class="p">You
must type a line break before and after the
list.</p>
</td>
<td class="entry nocellnorowborder" headers="d87e227" style="vertical-align:top;"><img class="image" id="topic_xqx_mvc_43__image_omv_dyr_zm" src="https://zen-marketing-documentation.s3.amazonaws.com/docs/en/markdown_nested_lists2.png" width="400"></td>
<td class="entry cell-norowborder" headers="d87e230" style="vertical-align:top;">Supported, except for content blocks and articles. For the second level of
indent, press Tab after you enter the list item. Works for both bulleted and
numbered lists.</td>
</tr>
<tr class="row" id="topic_xqx_mvc_43__row_ubd_yln_1n">
<td class="entry nocellnorowborder" headers="d87e221" style="vertical-align:top;">Headings</td>
<td class="entry nocellnorowborder" headers="d87e224" style="vertical-align:top;"># Heading level one (with a space after the #)<p class="p">## Heading level
two</p>
<p class="p">### Heading level
three</p>
</td>
<td class="entry nocellnorowborder" headers="d87e227" style="vertical-align:top;"><img class="image" id="topic_xqx_mvc_43__image_qf3_qvr_zm" src="https://zen-marketing-documentation.s3.amazonaws.com/docs/en/markdown_headings.png"></td>
<td class="entry cell-norowborder" headers="d87e230" style="vertical-align:top;">Supported. Up to four heading levels. Up to six heading levels in content
blocks.</td>
</tr>
<tr class="row" id="topic_xqx_mvc_43__row_k3l_yln_1n">
<td class="entry nocellnorowborder" headers="d87e221" style="vertical-align:top;">Block quotes</td>
<td class="entry nocellnorowborder" headers="d87e224" style="vertical-align:top;">
<p class="p">&gt; Block quotes have to start and end with a blank line</p>
<p class="p">&gt; And each line of the quote starts with a right angle bracket and a
space</p>
<p class="p"></p>
</td>
<td class="entry nocellnorowborder" headers="d87e227" style="vertical-align:top;"><img class="image" id="topic_xqx_mvc_43__image_g1l_svr_zm" src="https://zen-marketing-documentation.s3.amazonaws.com/docs/en/markdown_block_quote.png"></td>
<td class="entry cell-norowborder" headers="d87e230" style="vertical-align:top;">Supported</td>
</tr>
<tr class="row" id="topic_xqx_mvc_43__row_vwt_yln_1n">
<td class="entry nocellnorowborder" headers="d87e221" style="vertical-align:top;">Inline code</td>
<td class="entry nocellnorowborder" headers="d87e224" style="vertical-align:top;">Here is some `inline code.`</td>
<td class="entry nocellnorowborder" headers="d87e227" style="vertical-align:top;"><img class="image" id="topic_xqx_mvc_43__image_uk1_vcb_bn" src="https://zen-marketing-documentation.s3.amazonaws.com/docs/en/markdown_inline_code.png"></td>
<td class="entry cell-norowborder" headers="d87e230" style="vertical-align:top;">Supported</td>
</tr>
<tr class="row" id="topic_xqx_mvc_43__row_fs1_zln_1n">
<td class="entry nocellnorowborder" headers="d87e221" style="vertical-align:top;">Code blocks</td>
<td class="entry nocellnorowborder" headers="d87e224" style="vertical-align:top;">```<p class="p">This is a code block.</p>
<p class="p">```</p>
<p class="p">Creating a blank line and then
indenting the next line or lines with four spaces creates a code block
too.</p>
<p class="p">You must type a line break before and after the code
block.</p>
</td>
<td class="entry nocellnorowborder" headers="d87e227" style="vertical-align:top;"><img class="image" id="topic_xqx_mvc_43__image_r21_zpr_zm" src="https://zen-marketing-documentation.s3.amazonaws.com/docs/en/markdown_code_block_2.png"></td>
<td class="entry cell-norowborder" headers="d87e230" style="vertical-align:top;">Supported. To exit a code block placed at the end of a comment, press the
Return key three times in a row.</td>
</tr>
<tr class="row" id="topic_xqx_mvc_43__row_abf_1mn_1n">
<td class="entry nocellnorowborder" headers="d87e221" id="topic_xqx_mvc_43__entry_u3l_zln_1n" style="vertical-align:top;">Images</td>
<td class="entry nocellnorowborder" headers="d87e224" style="vertical-align:top;">![Optional alternative text if image doesn't load](http://www.sampleurl.com/logo.png)<div class="p">
<div class="note tip" id="topic_xqx_mvc_43__note_yk5_fxl_25b">
<span class="tiptitle">Tip:</span> To embed an image that's not hosted,
first attach the image to the ticket. Then open the attachment, right-click
the image, select <strong class="ph b">Copy image URL</strong>, and use this link to embed your
image. Doesn't work if <a class="xref" href="https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/4408832757146-Enabling-attachments-in-tickets#topic_nrp_bnx_xdb" target="_blank">private attachments are
enabled</a>.</div>
</div>
</td>
<td class="entry nocellnorowborder" headers="d87e227" style="vertical-align:top;"><img class="image" id="topic_xqx_mvc_43__image_jpy_f41_dn" src="https://zen-marketing-documentation.s3.amazonaws.com/docs/en/markdown_image.png"></td>
<td class="entry cell-norowborder" headers="d87e230" style="vertical-align:top;">Supported, except for content blocks and articles. Adding an image URL
automatically turns it into an image link. When the ticket comment is submitted,
the image appears in the conversation log.</td>
</tr>
<tr class="row" id="topic_xqx_mvc_43__row_tf4_bmn_1n">
<td class="entry nocellnorowborder" headers="d87e221" id="topic_xqx_mvc_43__entry_b2q_1mn_1n" style="vertical-align:top;">Links</td>
<td class="entry nocellnorowborder" headers="d87e224" style="vertical-align:top;">[Link display text](http://www.sampleurl.com)</td>
<td class="entry nocellnorowborder" headers="d87e227" style="vertical-align:top;"><img class="image" id="topic_xqx_mvc_43__image_djm_f41_dn" src="https://zen-marketing-documentation.s3.amazonaws.com/docs/en/markdown_text_link.png"></td>
<td class="entry cell-norowborder" headers="d87e230" style="vertical-align:top;">Supported in agent signatures</td>
</tr>
<tr class="row" id="topic_xqx_mvc_43__row_plc_cmn_1n">
<td class="entry nocellnorowborder" headers="d87e221" id="topic_xqx_mvc_43__entry_rpl_qln_1n" style="vertical-align:top;">Images that are also links</td>
<td class="entry nocellnorowborder" headers="d87e224" style="vertical-align:top;">[![alt text](imageurl)](linkurl)</td>
<td class="entry nocellnorowborder" headers="d87e227" style="vertical-align:top;"><img class="image" id="topic_xqx_mvc_43__image_by1_w2s_zm" src="https://zen-marketing-documentation.s3.amazonaws.com/docs/en/markdown_linked_image.png"></td>
<td class="entry cell-norowborder" headers="d87e230" style="vertical-align:top;">Supported in agent signatures</td>
</tr>
<tr class="row" id="topic_xqx_mvc_43__links_tix">
<td class="entry nocellnorowborder" headers="d87e221" style="vertical-align:top;">Links to tickets</td>
<td class="entry nocellnorowborder" headers="d87e224" style="vertical-align:top;">We addressed this in ticket #61.</td>
<td class="entry nocellnorowborder" headers="d87e227" style="vertical-align:top;"><img class="image" id="topic_xqx_mvc_43__image_sgw_ckb_vy" src="https://zen-marketing-documentation.s3.amazonaws.com/docs/en/linked_ticket-ex.png"></td>
<td class="entry cell-norowborder" headers="d87e230" style="vertical-align:top;">Not supported, yet</td>
</tr>
<tr class="row" id="topic_xqx_mvc_43__horizontal_line">
<td class="entry nocellnorowborder" headers="d87e221" style="vertical-align:top;">Horizontal rule line</td>
<td class="entry nocellnorowborder" headers="d87e224" style="vertical-align:top;">
<p class="p">---</p>
<p class="p">You must enter a line break before and after the hyphens. </p>
<p class="p">If you have three or more dashes under a line of text, with no blank space
between them, instead of creating a horizontal rule below the text, the text
above will change into a header. </p>
</td>
<td class="entry nocellnorowborder" headers="d87e227" style="vertical-align:top;">
<p class="p"></p>
<img class="image" id="topic_xqx_mvc_43__image_iyx_r3p_pp" src="https://zen-marketing-documentation.s3.amazonaws.com/docs/en/markdown_horizontalrule.png">
</td>
<td class="entry cell-norowborder" headers="d87e230" style="vertical-align:top;">Supported</td>
</tr>
<tr class="row" id="topic_xqx_mvc_43__line_break">
<td class="entry nocellnorowborder" headers="d87e221" style="vertical-align:top;">Line break</td>
<td class="entry nocellnorowborder" headers="d87e224" style="vertical-align:top;">
<p class="p">Line 1</p>
<p class="p">&amp;nbsp;</p>
<p class="p">Line 2</p>
<p class="p">&amp;nbsp;</p>
<p class="p">You must type two line breaks before each &amp;nbsp;.</p>
</td>
<td class="entry nocellnorowborder" headers="d87e227" style="vertical-align:top;">Line 1<p class="p">Line 2</p>
</td>
<td class="entry cell-norowborder" headers="d87e230" style="vertical-align:top;">Not supported, except in articles and content blocks. In articles and content
blocks, type <strong class="ph b">Shift+Enter</strong> to add a line break.</td>
</tr>
<tr class="row">
<td class="entry nocellnorowborder" headers="d87e221" style="vertical-align:top;">Underscore</td>
<td class="entry nocellnorowborder" headers="d87e224" style="vertical-align:top;">This is how you \_underscore\_ text.</td>
<td class="entry nocellnorowborder" headers="d87e227" style="vertical-align:top;">This is how you <u class="ph u">underscore</u> text.</td>
<td class="entry cell-norowborder" headers="d87e230" style="vertical-align:top;">Not supported</td>
</tr>
<tr class="row">
<td class="entry cellrowborder" colspan="4" headers="d87e221 d87e224 d87e227 d87e230" style="vertical-align:top;">When you enter URLs for links and images, make
sure you include the full URL, including the http:// or https:// prefix.
</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
<div aria-labelledby="ariaid-title3" class="topic nested1" id="topic_ldp_nd5_25b">
<h2 class="title topictitle2" id="ariaid-title3">Pasting Markdown text from another source</h2>
<div class="body">
<p class="p">You can paste Markdown from another source in the ticket composer, but not in the article
editor. Here are some things to consider when you copy Markdown text from another source and
paste it into the ticket composer:</p>
<ul class="ul" id="topic_ldp_nd5_25b__ul_kpb_c25_25b">
<li class="li">If you copy text with Markdown commands from a <em class="ph i">plain text editor</em>, the content is
automatically formatted as soon as you paste it. If you don't want the content to be
automatically formatted, use <strong class="ph b">Cmd+Shift+V</strong> (Mac) or <strong class="ph b">Ctrl+Shift+V</strong> (Windows) to
paste.</li>
<li class="li">If you paste text with Markdown commands from a <em class="ph i">rich text editor</em>, the Markdown
commands remain "as is". The content is not automatically formatted.</li>
<li class="li">If you copy text with Markdown commands from any type of editor into a code block in the
ticket composer, the content is not automatically formatted. It remains "as is." </li>
<li class="li">If you paste Markdown text with code blocks or nested lists, the format is not
automatically carried over into the ticket
composer.</li>
</ul>
</div>
</div>
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