Formatting text

Formatting using the Textile markup language

Text in the Talk Abstract field and the Series Description field can be formatted using Textile markup.

The basics are very easy to remember:

Headings (Abstract only)

h1. Main Heading
h2. Sub heading

Paragraphs

Separate paragraphs with a blank line.

This is a new paragraph.

Bold and Italic

*This will create bold text*
_This will create italics_

Bullet Points and Numbered Lists (Abstract only)

* First Item
* Second Item
# Item One
# Item Two

Links

A web address should convert into a link automatically when you save the talk. To give the link a title rather than just show the web address:

"Oxford University":http://www.ox.ac.uk

To make an email clickable use the following:

"$":mailto:joe.blogs@ox.ac.uk

If you need more, there is a comprehensive manual on txstyle.org

Pasting from Word

You can copy and paste from Word, but you will need to format the text again.

If you have a number of abstracts and lots of formatting, then try:

  • adjusting the styles in your Word document following the guidelines below
  • saving your Word document as a plain text file
  • opening the file in a plain text editor (e.g.: Notepad) and copying from there

Headings

  • Format > Style > Modify > Numbering ...
  • Choose Numbering, click any numbering style and click the Customize ... button
  • Set the Number style to None and type ‘h1’ in the Number format box

Bullet Points

  • Format > Bullets and Numbering
  • Click the Customize ... button
  • Select an asterisk from the Bullet Character options

Numbered Lists

  • Format > Bullets and Numbering
  • Click the Customize ... button
  • Set the Number style to None and type ‘#’ in the Number format box

Other useful tools

  • Table converter - turning a CSV file (e.g.: exported from Excel) into a Textile table of information
  • Pandoc - open source software to convert to Textile from other formats