Formatting and Markdown
Messages are plain text until you turn Markdown on. With Markdown enabled you get bold, italic, lists, code blocks and headings, plus a small toolbar that inserts the syntax for you.
Turn Markdown on
The composer carries a Markdown button next to the emoji button. Select it to switch formatting on for the message you are writing; select it again to switch it off.
| State | What the button announces |
|---|---|
| Off | Enable markdown |
| On | Disable markdown |
On the web, hovering the button shows a Markdown tooltip.
You do not have to press the button first. Using any formatting button turns Markdown on for you.
The formatting toolbar
When Markdown is on, a toolbar appears directly above the composer. It scrolls sideways if the window is narrow. These are all of its buttons, in order:
| Button | What it inserts | Result |
|---|---|---|
| Bold | ** around the selection | bold text |
| Italic | * around the selection | italic text |
| Strikethrough | ~~ around the selection | struck-through text |
| Inline code | a backtick either side of the selection | code inside a sentence |
| Code block | a fenced block of three backticks | a multi-line block |
| Bullet list | - at the start of the current line | a bulleted line |
Each button works two ways. If you have text selected, the syntax wraps the selection. If nothing is selected, the pair is inserted at the cursor and the cursor lands between the two halves, ready for you to type.
Bullet list is a toggle: press it on a line that already starts with - and the dashes are
removed again.
Writing Markdown by hand
Anything the toolbar writes you can also type yourself, and a few things the toolbar does not cover are supported as well — headings, numbered lists, links and images all render in the message bubble.
What stays clickable with Markdown off
Even in a plain message, HushChat still recognises a few things and makes them selectable:
- Web addresses.
- Mentions of people in the conversation — see Replies and mentions.
With Markdown on, phone numbers and #hashtags are recognised too. Text inside backticks is left
alone, so a link written inside a code block stays literal.
On the web, right-clicking inside a message offers Copy link address, and — when the message was sent with Markdown — Copy text.
The full-screen editor
Long messages are easier to write with more room. As the composer fills up, an expand control appears next to the Markdown button: the first press grows the composer in place, the second opens a full-screen editor.
The editor is titled Compose message. It fills most of the window, prompts you with
Type a message..., and carries the Markdown toggle and the send button along its bottom edge. Sending
from here closes the editor and posts the message. Select the close control, or the dimmed area behind
the editor, to go back to the conversation without sending.
The expand control and the full-screen editor are web only. On iOS and Android the composer simply grows as you type.
Link previews
When a message contains a link, HushChat can show a preview card above the message text with the page's image, title, description and domain. Long descriptions are shortened. The message text itself is always shown underneath the card, so nothing you wrote is hidden by the preview.
Formatting and editing
Whether a message was written with Markdown is stored with the message. When you edit it, the composer reopens in the same mode, so a formatted message stays formatted and a plain one stays plain — see Edit, unsend, and pin.
Turning Markdown off does not strip syntax you already typed. **like this** will simply be shown
literally, asterisks and all.