WhatsApp rolls out ability to format, customise messages text

After announcing the enhanced search option for the web client, Meta-owned messenger WhatsApp is now releasing the new text formatting tool to improve the messaging capabilities for its desktop users, WABetaInfo reported.

The new set of tools will enable the users to format the text and customise the appearance and layout of their messages.

As per the WhatsApp news tracker, the update will be available to some beta testers prior to being rolled out to more users.

"Following successful testing with a select group of beta testers over the past few weeks, it appears that WhatsApp is now widely rolling out to more users the ability to apply fresh formatting styles to their text messages," the WhatsApp news tracker said.

These tools include Code Blocks, Quote Blocks, and Lists.

This screenshot explains how WhatsApp users on desktops can format their messages' text in a variety of ways.

Here is a detailed description of the new text formatting tools with the following list:

Code Block: This tool is mainly designed to make it easier for users to share code within WhatsApp. While it’s commonly used by software engineers and programmers, it’s accessible to all users in various situations, even for better highlighting the messages. To format your text as a code block, simply use backticks (`) between the desired text.

Quote Block: The Quote Block is useful for responding to a specific part of a previous message. You can create a quote block by adding the “>” character before the text you want to quote.

Lists: Lists provide a clear way to organise information. You can create ordered lists by adding one of the following characters before your text: “*”, “-“, or numbers.

As per WABetaInfo, the addition of these tools is a "significant improvement in enhancing the user experience" when sharing text messages as they make it easier to apply a new style to their messages.

More specifically, it adds a more professional touch to messages as the users can convey technical or detailed information with greater precision.

It may be noted that the feature was initially launched for the iOS and soon, it will be available for Android as well after more users on the desktop version.