Without proper formatting, Obsidian notes can become unreadable and lose their ability to improve your productivity. Formatting not only makes your notes more organized, but it also adds markers and breaks when you're reading them.

Obsidian uses Markdown for text formatting. Markdown has a simple syntax and enables you to organize your notes efficiently. If you want to use Obsidian to boost your productivity, you must get the hang of Markdown first.

How to Use Markdown to Format Notes in Obsidian

Markdown is a markup language for formatting text. With the growing popularity of Markdown, you can format your text in any of the best Markdown editors by typing out the proper symbols—without the need for buttons and interfaces.

Obsidian is built upon Markdown. There are no exclusive buttons for formatting text, and that's a good thing. Once you get the hang of Markdown, you can swiftly format your Obsidian notes without touching your mouse.

While Markdown is capable of more complex formatting, mastering the basics is enough to get you started and organized if you are new to it. These are some markups you need to start formatting your notes in Obsidian.

Headings

Headings in Obsidian

Headings are the most important part of formatting long notes. You can use headings to organize and structure your notes. In Obsidian, headings are indicated by the hash (#) symbol.

To add a heading, simply type the number of hash symbols you want to use, insert a space, and then the heading text. For example, if you're going to add a first-level heading, you can type:

        # Heading Text
    

Once you create a heading, you can collapse the heading to hide the paragraph underneath it. You can use up to five levels of headings in Obsidian:

        # Heading 1
## Heading 2
### Heading 3
#### Heading 4
##### Heading 5

Remember to put a space after the hash symbol. If you don't add a space, you'll end up with a tag instead.

Bold Text

Bold text in Obsidian

You can use bold text to make certain words or phrases stand out. To bold text in Obsidian, enclose the text in two asterisks (*).

For example, if you want to bold the word MakeUseOf, you can type:

        **MakeUseOf**
    

Alternatively, you can also use two underscores (_) to bold text as well:

        __MakeUseOf__
    

Italic Text

Italic text in Obsidian

Italic text is used to emphasize certain words or phrases. To italicize text in Obsidian, enclose the text in one asterisk (*).

For example, if you wanted to italicize the word MakeUseOf, you can type the below:

        *MakeUseOf*
    

Just like bold, you can use an underscore (_) instead of an asterisk (*) to italicize text:

        _MakeUseOf_
    

Strikethrough Text

Strikethrough text in Obsidian

Strikethrough text indicates that something has been deleted or crossed out. You can use strikethrough to keep track of your thought process and how a note has changed over time.

To strikethrough text in Obsidian, enclose the text in two tildes (~). For example, if you wanted to strikethrough the word Strike, you can type:

        ~~Strike~~
    

Underlined Text

Underlined text in Obsidian

You can underline certain words or phrases in your note to emphasize them. The bad news here is that Markdown doesn't support underlined text. The good news is that Markup does, and Obsidian supports that too!

To underline text in Obsidian, you can enclose the text in <u> tags. For example, if you wanted to underline the word MakeUseOf, you can type the below:

        <u>MakeUseOf</u>
    

Although this isn't Markdown, it still gets the job done. Just remember to close the tag with a slash (/).

Quote Blocks

Quote blocks in Obsidian.

You can use quote blocks to indicate that a certain text is a quotation. They're also good style breaks in long notes.

To add a quote block in Obsidian, type in a greater-than sign (>) followed by a space. For example, if you wanted to add a quote block with the text Obsidian is a powerful note-taking app, you can type:

        > Obsidian is a powerful note-taking app.
    

You don't need to close the quote block. Pressing Enter will automatically seal the quote block.

Code Blocks

Code blocks in Obsidian

You can use code blocks to indicate that a certain text is a code snippet. To add a code block in Obsidian, enclose the code in a single backtick (`).

For example, if you wanted to add a code block with the code <div>hello!</div>, you can type:

        `<div>hello!</div>`
    

With a single backtick, the code block will simply change the font and background color of the code. You can use syntax highlighting to make the code more readable.

For syntax highlighting, enclose your code in three backticks (```) and type the language right after the first set of backticks. For instance, the same HTML code with syntax highlighting would be:

        ```html
<div>hello!</div>
```

Obsidian uses Prism for syntax highlighting. You can check out the Prism website for all supported languages.

Image Embeds

Image embeds in Obsidian

Obsidian isn't all about text. You can embed images in your notes to help break up text and provide visual cues. Use the syntax below to embed an image in Obsidian:

        ![Image Name](Image URL).
    

For example, if you want to embed an image of the MakeUseOf logo, you can type:

        ![MakeUseOf Logo](https://www.makeuseof.com/public/build/images/muo-logo-full-colored-light.svg)
    

If the image is large, it'll take up too much space in the note. You can resize the image's width by typing a pipe (|) after the image name followed by the width in pixels:

        ![MakeUseOf Logo|300](https://www.makeuseof.com/public/build/images/muo-logo-full-colored-light.svg)
    
External links in Obsidian

External links are used to link to websites or other resources. To add an external link in Obsidian, use the following syntax:

        [Link Anchor Text](Link URL)
    

For example, if you want to link to the MakeUseOf website, you can type:

        [MakeUseOf](https://www.makeuseof.com)
    

Remember to include the protocol prefix before the URL. Otherwise, it won't be an external link.

Internal links in Obsidian

Internal links refer to other notes in your vault. These links are essentially the backbone of your Obsidian vault. Once you link your notes together, you can view the connections in Obsidian's graph view.

To add an internal link in Obsidian, type in two opening brackets ([[) and then type in the note's name. For example, if you want to link to a note called Markdown Guide, you can type:

        [[Markdown Guide]]
    

Once you type in the opening brackets, Obsidian will suggest notes in your vault to autofill the link. Press Enter on your keyboard to link to the highlighted note.

You can also give your internal links custom anchor text by typing a pipe (|) before the closing brackets and inputting the anchor text. The code below links to the same note, but the displayed text will be different:

        [[Markdown Guide|markdown]]
    

Streamline Your Note-Taking with Markdown and Obsidian

Formatting notes in Obsidian makes your notes organized, readable, and efficient. With Markdown's simple syntax, you can quickly format your notes without using time-consuming formatting options.

With a basic knowledge of Markdown in Obsidian, you can now format your notes to make them more organized. Just remember that this isn't all that there's to formatting in Obsidian. There's more where that came from!