Autoformatting

The autoformat feature lets you quickly format your content with Markdown-like shortcodes. This way you do not need to use toolbar buttons or dropdowns for the most common formatting features.

# Demo

Test the autoformatting feature in the editor below. Try using Markdown shortcodes while typing. For example:

1. Start a new line.
2. Press # and then Space.

The line will automatically turn into a heading.

If needed, you can revert the automatic change by pressing Backspace.

# Block formatting

The following block formatting options are available:

• Bulleted list – Start a line with * or - followed by a space.
• Numbered list – Start a line with 1. or 1) followed by a space.
• To-do list – Start a line with [ ] or [x] followed by a space to insert an unchecked or checked list item, respectively.
• Headings – Start a line with # or ## or ### followed by a space to create a heading 1, heading 2, or heading 3 (up to heading 6 if options defines more headings).
• Block quote – Start a line with > followed by a space.
• Code block – Start a line with ```.
• Horizontal line – Start a line with ---.

# Inline formatting

The following basic styles inline formatting options are available:

• Bold – Type **text** or __text__,
• Italic – Type *text* or _text_,
• Code – Type `text`,
• Strikethrough – Type ~~text~~.

# Installation

To add this feature to your editor install the @ckeditor/ckeditor5-autoformat package:

npm install --save @ckeditor/ckeditor5-autoformat

And add it to your plugin list:

import { Autoformat } from '@ckeditor/ckeditor5-autoformat';

ClassicEditor
    .create( document.querySelector( '#editor' ), {
        plugins: [ Autoformat, /* ... */ ],
        toolbar: [ /* ... */ ]
    } )
    .then( /* ... */ )
    .catch( /* ... */ );

# Creating custom autoformatters

The Autoformat feature bases on blockAutoformatEditing and inlineAutoformatEditing tools to create the autoformatters mentioned above.

You can use these tools to create your own autoformatters. Check the Autoformat feature’s code as an example.

# Known issues

While the autoformatting feature is stable and ready to use, some issues were reported for it. Feel free to upvote 👍  them on GitHub if they are important for you:

• Pasting Markdown-formatted content does not automatically convert the pasted syntax markers into properly formatted content. GitHub issues: #2321, #2322.
• Setting a specific code block language is not supported yet (it defaults to plain text on insertion). GitHub issue: #8598.

# Related features

In addition to enabling automatic text formatting, you may want to check the following productivity features:

• Automatic text transformation – Enables automatic turning of snippets such as (tm) into ™ and "foo" into “foo”.
• Autolink – Turns the links and email addresses typed or pasted into the editor into active URLs.
• Mentions – Brings support for smart autocompletion.
• Slash commands – Allows to execute a predefined command by writing its name or alias directly in the editor.
• Markdown output – Lets the user output the content as Markdown instead of HTML and use CKEditor 5 as a WYSIWYG Markdown editor.
• Source editing – Allows for Markdown source edition if configured accordingly.

Coupled with the Markdown output feature, the autoformatting feature allows for the full-fledged Markdown WYSIWYG editing experience, as described in the “CKEditor 5: the best open source Markdown editor” blog post. Visit the free online Markdown editor to see this solution implemented.

# Contribute

The source code of the feature is available on GitHub at https://github.com/ckeditor/ckeditor5/tree/master/packages/ckeditor5-autoformat.