Add formatting to your Google Chat messages

To change the appearance of your Chat messages, use the Format menu or use markdown.

Format Google Chat messages

1. On your Android phone or tablet, open the Chat app or Gmail app .
   • In Gmail: At the bottom, tap Chat .
2. Go to a conversation.
3. Enter a message.
4. On the left, tap Action menu Format .
5. Select an option:
   • To bold: Tap Bold .
   • To italicize: Tap Italic .
   • To underline: Tap Underline .
   • To strikethrough: Tap Strikethrough .
   • To change the text color: Tap Text color .
   • To add a bullet point before the text: Tap Bulleted list .
   • To insert a link:
     1. Tap Insert link .
     2. Enter the link.
6. Tap Send .

Tip: To quickly add or remove text format, touch and hold the text, then tap Format.

Use markdown formatting in Google Chat

Important: If you use the “Format” button on your mobile device to format text, it overrides any markdown formatting you add to the message.

To add markdown formatting to your Google Chat messages, you can include special characters in the text.

Format option	Markdown example
Bold	*Text*
Italicize	_Text_
Strikethrough	~Text~
Inline code block	`Text`
Multi-line code block	```Text```

Tips:

• An inline code block wraps the text.
• A multi-line code block keeps the original line breaks and doesn't wrap the text.

Related resources

• Send a direct message
• Edit or delete a message