Editor blocks and shortcuts

This page lists what the editor of task descriptions and comments offers:

• the blocks in its slash menu, with the toolbar of each;
• the text toolbar;
• the keys and text shortcuts it understands;
• what it does with what you paste.

How to write a description is in Write a task description.

Blocks in the slash menu

Type / in the editor to open the menu, then a word of the block's name to narrow it. The menu shows the blocks in six groups, in this order.

Chips

Menu entry	What it inserts	Shortcut	Guide
Mention task	another task as a chip, with its status; adds a mentions relation. Removing the mention removes the relation, unless the task is still mentioned elsewhere in the same task, such as in a comment	#	Mentions, Link related tasks
Mention user	a person's name as a chip; the person is notified and becomes one of the task's watchers	@	Mentions
Date…	a date chip, with a calendar to pick the day
Date: Today	today's date as a chip
Emoji	an emoji, picked in Search emoji…
Chip	a blue label inside a line of text; you type its text
Chip Warning	a chip with the warning color and icon
Chip Success	a chip with the success color and icon
Chip Note	a chip with the note color and icon

Chip toolbar

Control	What it does
Icon	picks the chip's icon
color row, More colors	picks the chip's color
Fill	picks how the color fills the chip

Basic

Menu entry	What it inserts	Markdown	Key	Guide
Heading 1, Heading 2, Heading 3	a large, medium or small section heading		Cmd+Alt+1, 2, 3 (Ctrl+Alt+…)	Budget example
Code block	monospaced code, with a Language picker (Auto by default, or Plain text), Copy code and Remove	``` and a space; ```js and a space sets the language	Cmd+Alt+C (Ctrl+Alt+C)
Quote	a block quotation	> and a space	Cmd+Shift+B (Ctrl+Shift+B)
Divider	a horizontal line	---

A heading also comes from:

• /heading in the slash menu;
• Block type in the text toolbar;
• its key.

A # starts a task mention

A # at the start of a word opens a task search, so # is not a heading shortcut.

Lists

Menu entry	What it inserts	Markdown	Key	Guide
Bulleted list	bullet points	- and a space	Cmd+Shift+8 (Ctrl+Shift+8)
Numbered list	a list numbered in order	1. and a space	Cmd+Shift+7 (Ctrl+Shift+7)
Checklist	items with checkboxes; Tab nests an item	[ ] and a space	Cmd+Shift+9 (Ctrl+Shift+9)	Budget example
Toggle	a titled block that opens and closes

Media

Menu entry	What it inserts	Other ways	Guide
Image	an uploaded picture	paste or drop an image	Pasted links and screenshots
File	an uploaded file, shown as a chip in the text	paste or drop a file

Image toolbar

Control	What it does
S, M, L, Full	sets the width to 25%, 50%, 75% or 100% of the text column
Align left, Align center, Align right	places the image in the column
Zoom	opens the image in a larger view
Copy image	copies the image to the clipboard
Remove	removes the image from the text

Dragging the image's left or right edge resizes it to any width; near 25%, 50%, 75% or 100% it snaps to that size.

Callouts

Menu entry	What it inserts	Guide
Banner	a colored callout box of the Info type
Banner Warning	a banner of the Warning type	Budget example
Banner Success	a banner of the Success type
Banner Note	a banner of the Note type

Banner toolbar

Control	What it does
Banner type	switches the banner to Info, Warning, Success or Note
Icon	picks the banner's icon
color row, More colors	picks the banner's color
Fill	picks how the color fills the banner

Any change in Icon, the color row or Fill makes Banner type read Custom.

Layout

Menu entry	What it inserts	Guide
Table	a 3×3 table with a header row
Columns: 2	two columns side by side, up to four

Table toolbar

Control	What it does
Row	adds a row below
Column	adds a column to the right
Cell color	colors the cell, or No color
Table options → Add row above	adds a row above
Table options → Delete row	deletes the row
Table options → Add column left	adds a column to the left
Table options → Delete column	deletes the column
Table options → Header row	turns the header row on or off
Table options → Delete table	deletes the whole table

Tab moves to the next cell.

Columns toolbar

Control	What it does
Column	adds a column to the right
Columns options → Add column left	adds a column to the left
Columns options → Delete column	deletes the column with its text
Columns options → Remove columns, keep text	removes the columns and keeps their text, one column under another
Columns options → Delete columns	deletes the columns and all their text

Text toolbar

While the cursor is in text, the toolbar shows:

Control	What it does
Block type	turns the line into Normal text, Heading 1, Heading 2, Heading 3, Quote or Code block
Bold, Italic, Strikethrough, Inline code	styles the selected text
Toggle link	opens Paste or type a link: Apply links the selected text, Remove unlinks it
Text color	colors the selected text, or Default color
Highlight	highlights the selected text, or No highlight
Clear formatting	removes the styles from the selected text
Lists	turns the line into a Bulleted list, Numbered list or Checklist

When the toolbar is narrow, some controls move into More formatting.

Text shortcuts

Type the marks around a word; the style applies when you type the closing mark.

Type	You get	Key
**text** or __text__	bold	Cmd+B (Ctrl+B)
*text* or _text_	italic	Cmd+I (Ctrl+I)
~~text~~	strikethrough	Cmd+Shift+S (Ctrl+Shift+S)
`text`	inline code	Cmd+E (Ctrl+E)
==text==	highlighted text	Cmd+Shift+H (Ctrl+Shift+H)
	underlined text	Cmd+U (Ctrl+U)

A web address you type becomes a link when you finish it with a space.

Editor keys

Key	What it does
E	Focus description: puts the cursor in the open task's description. The default key; change it in User settings → Hot keys
Cmd+Shift+V (Ctrl+Shift+V)	Paste as plain text: the text only, with no formatting. The default key; change it in Hot keys
Tab	in a list, nests the item; in a table, moves to the next cell; in plain text, inserts a tab

Every other key is in Keyboard shortcuts.

Paste rules

You paste	You get	Guide
formatted text from a web page or a document	the same headings, lists and links
plain text written in Markdown, for example from a .md file	formatted blocks (example below)
anything, with Paste as plain text	the text only, with no formatting
one web link on its own, with nothing selected	a link preview: a chip with the page's title and icon, or the site's address if the title can't be read	Pasted links
a link to a Hule task, on its own	a task mention chip; a task in another workspace gets no relation	Link related tasks
a link, over selected text	the text becomes a link
an image, such as a screenshot	an Image block, uploaded to the workspace	Pasted links
another file	a File chip, uploaded to the workspace

Upload fails: Workspace storage limit reached

The workspace has used its storage. Delete files the workspace no longer needs from tasks and comments; the space comes back about a day later. Workspace settings → General → Storage shows what is used (you need Manage general settings; Limits).

This Markdown, pasted as plain text:

## Budget

- Rent
- Office

**Due Friday**

becomes:

Markdown	Block
## Budget	Heading 2 "Budget"
- Rent, - Office	a Bulleted list of two items
**Due Friday**	"Due Friday" in bold

Link preview menu

Right-click a link preview, or use its Link options button:

Item	What it does
Open link	opens the page
Copy link address	copies the address
Display as URL	turns the preview back into the plain address, as a link
Delete	removes the preview