• WhatsApp has launched four new text formatting options today
• These are bulleted lists, numbered lists, block quotes, and incline code  

There's nothing more frustrating than coming home from the shops only to realise you've forgotten a vital ingredient. 

But with new text formats in WhatsApp, there will no longer be any excuse for forgetting your shopping list.

Today, the popular messaging app has launched four new text formats to make it easier for users to communicate.

These are the bulleted list, numbered list, block quote, and incline code.

Here's how you can try them out for yourself. 

How to use the new formatting options

Bulleted Lists to help outline steps in a process, list ingredients in a recipe or call out main points of a message

• To use, type the - symbol, followed by a space

Numbered Lists to note a specific order of things such as instructions or recap of events

• To use, type 1 or 2 digits followed by a period and one space

Block Quote to help highlight key text and make it more noticeable in messages

• To use, type the > symbol followed by a space

Inline Code to help distinguish specific information within a sentence

• To use, wrap text with ` symbol

From today, WhatsApp users on Android, iOS, Web, and Mac desktop will have access to a new set of options to customise their messages. 

WhatsApp says that the new formats will 'help save time and help people communicate more effectively via their messages, especially in group chats.'

These new options will also be available to channel admins to enable clearer communication.  

These new options come in addition to the bold, italic, strikethrough, and monospace options that are already available.

Each of the four new formats has a specific shortcut which users include in their messages. 

To use the bulleted list, which adds bullet points for lists or to highlight key points, simply add a '-'  followed by a space before typing your message.

For example, you could write: - Message 

Add this before each part of the message you want to be bulleted to create a longer list with multiple points. 

To create a numbered list the process is very similar, simply type out the number you want to use followed by a period and then a space, for example: 1. Message

Repeat this for as many steps as you want to include for longer numbered lists. 

WhatsApp says that you can use up to two digits so lists with up to 99 numbered points are now possible,

To highlight a specific piece of text or make it more noticeable within the message you can use a 'Block Quote'.

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To use this format, type the '>' symbol followed by a space before your message. For example: > Message.

Finally, to use the 'Incline Code' format, which WhatsApp says is to distinguish specific information, you need to add punctuation before and after your message.

Place a `symbol on either side of the text you want to be formatted, for example: `Message`.

This works in a similar way to WhatsApp's previous formatting options which all require symbols to wrap the formatted text.

Daily Mail