Formatting text and headings | Doghouse SaaS Knowledge Base [Skip to content](#main) [ ![Doghouse SaaS Knowledge Base](/storage/branding/01M3N8PQ7PSDNQBBKKJM6XGW03.svg) ](https://nginx.deploy-lagoon-production.districtcms-docs.dh1.amazee.io) [Product documentation](/articles) [Roadmap](/roadmap) Toggle navigation [Product documentation](/articles) [Roadmap](/roadmap) 1. [Home](/) › 2. [Product documentation](/articles) › 3. [Creating & editing](/articles?category=17) › 4. Formatting text and headings Formatting text and headings ============================ Updated 5 days ago · 4 min read Search Search Overview -------- Most of what you do in the editor uses a handful of buttons. This article covers those: giving a page structure with headings, marking a few words as important, breaking text into lists, using the site's own styles, and tidying up formatting that has come out wrong. For what the editor is and where you meet it, see [**Using the editor**](/articles/using-the-editor). --- Headings -------- Headings are the most useful thing in the toolbar and the most often skipped. They give a long page a shape, so a reader can find the part they came for instead of reading everything. ### Applying a heading 1. Click anywhere in the line you want to change. You do not need to select the whole line. 2. Open the heading menu on the toolbar. It shows **Paragraph** while the cursor is in ordinary text. 3. Choose a level. ![Animation: placing the cursor in a line, opening the Paragraph menu and choosing Heading 2.](/storage/sJrRwYFvKFKZPoSGDVYTspAX5WGXiOubCXsspSYq.gif) The menu offers Heading 2 down to Heading 6. Use them in order rather than picking one because you like its size: Level Use it for Heading 2 The main sections of the page. Most pages need only these. Heading 3 A subsection inside a Heading 2 section. Heading 4 to 6 Rarely needed. If you are reaching for Heading 5, the page is probably too long and wants splitting. > **💡 Note:** There is no Heading 1. The page title is already the first heading, so your sections start at Heading 2. Skipping levels, going from Heading 2 straight to Heading 4, makes the page harder to follow for anyone using a screen reader. --- Emphasis and quotes ------------------- Select the text first, then press the button. Button Use it for Bold A few words that matter. It stops working if you bold a whole paragraph, because nothing stands out when everything does. Italic Titles of things, or a word being used in an unusual sense. Strikethrough Showing that something has been withdrawn or replaced, such as a cancelled date. Superscript and Subscript Raised or lowered characters, such as m² or a footnote marker. Block quote Setting a whole passage apart, for quoting someone. It applies to the paragraph your cursor is in, not to a selection of words. There is no underline button. Underlined text reads as a link to most people, so leaving it out avoids the confusion. --- The Styles menu --------------- **Styles**, near the end of the toolbar, applies designs that belong to your site. What it offers depends on what you have selected: Select Styles you can apply A paragraph Lead paragraph, for a larger opening paragraph, and Small text. A few words Monospace, and the Badge styles for a short status label such as "Closed" or "New". A link An arrow link style, and the Button styles, which make a link look like a button. Use them sparingly. A page with a button in every paragraph has no button that stands out. --- Lists ----- Two kinds, and the choice matters more than it looks: - **Bulleted List** for things where the order does not matter. - **Numbered List** for steps someone follows in order. ### Making a list 1. Select the lines you want to turn into a list. 2. Press **Bulleted List** or **Numbered List**. 3. Press Enter for the next item. Press Enter twice to finish the list. ### Changing how a list looks The small arrow beside each list button opens more choices: - Beside **Numbered List**: numbers, Roman numerals or letters, and **List properties**, where **Start at** begins the list at a number other than 1 and **Reversed order** counts down instead of up. Use Start at when a list carries on after a paragraph or an image has interrupted it. - Beside **Bulleted List**: a filled disc, an open circle or a square. ![The menu beside Numbered List open, offering Decimal, Roman numeral and letter styles, and List properties.](/storage/UVTX0j7pjS86zoWxVNNlxxbfUboWY2HCVMGwbW6q.png) ### Nesting a list To tuck an item underneath the one above, put the cursor in it and press Tab. Shift+Tab brings it back out again. There are no indent buttons on the toolbar. --- Code blocks and dividing lines ------------------------------ Two buttons add something other than words: Button Use it for Insert code block Showing code or a command exactly as it is typed, in a fixed-width font. The arrow beside the button chooses a language, such as HTML or CSS. Plain text suits most uses. Horizontal line A dividing line across the text, to separate one part of the page from the next. Where the next part needs a name, use a heading instead. --- When formatting goes wrong -------------------------- Text pasted from Word, a PDF or another website arrives carrying its old styling, and it rarely matches the rest of the page. ### Stripping formatting out 1. Select the text that looks wrong. 2. Press **Remove Format**, the button showing a crossed-out letter. 3. Apply the formatting you actually want with the toolbar. Ctrl+Z (Cmd+Z on a Mac) steps back through your recent changes, which is often quicker than fixing something by hand. > **⚠️ Important:** Remove Format strips formatting from a selection. It does not undo a heading. To turn a heading back into ordinary text, open the heading menu and choose **Paragraph**. Related articles ------------------ - [ Glossary → ](/articles/glossary) - [ Using the editor → ](/articles/using-the-editor) - [ Linking to pages, files and addresses → ](/articles/linking-to-pages-files-and-addresses) Was this article helpful? ------------------------- Your feedback helps us prioritise what to rewrite. Yes No [ Back to Creating & editing ](/articles?category=17) On this page **Need additional help?** Submit a support request through the [**support portal** ](https://doghouse.atlassian.net/servicedesk/customer/portals)or email © 2026 [Doghouse SaaS](https://doghouse.agency) [Glossary](/articles/glossary)