To make text appear bold in a document, you need to apply bold formatting. This can be done in several ways depending on the type of document you are working with. The most common ways to bold text are using keyboard shortcuts, clicking the bold button, or surrounding the text with HTML or Markdown formatting.
Using Keyboard Shortcuts
One of the fastest ways to make text bold is to use keyboard shortcuts. This allows you to quickly bold text without taking your hands off the keyboard to use the mouse. The keyboard shortcuts for bolding text are:
– **CTRL+B** (Windows)
– **⌘+B** (Mac)
To use these shortcuts, simply highlight the text you want to bold and press the CTRL/⌘ key and B key together. The selected text will become bold.
Clicking the Bold Button
Another common way to bold text is to use the bold button found in most word processors and text editors. The bold button is represented by a letter B that is bolded or has a bold border.
To use the bold button:
1. Highlight the text you want to make bold
2. Click the bold button (B)
The selected text will become bold. This method is very similar to using the keyboard shortcuts, but uses the mouse instead of shortcut keys. The bold button can typically be found on the home tab or formatting toolbar in most applications.
Using HTML
If you are editing text for the web, you can use HTML markup to make text appear bold:
Bold text
OR
Bold text
To do this, surround the text you want to be bold with opening and closing or tags. The tag is preferable as it has extra semantic meaning to indicate that the enclosed text is important.
Using Markdown
In Markdown documents, which are commonly used for documentation or readme files, bold text can be formatted by surrounding it with double asterisks **:
**Bold text**
Markdown will interpret the double asterisks and display the text in bold automatically when rendered.
When to Use Bold Text
Bolding text can be useful in a variety of situations when formatting documents, websites, presentations, and more. Here are some common uses for bold text:
– **Draw attention to important words or phrases:** Bolding emphasizes key terminology, titles, headings, names, or important ideas. This makes them stand out from the surrounding text.
– **Highlight differences:** Using bold to differentiate specific words or items from other text helps illustrate differences and changes. For example, bolding text that was added or edited.
– **Increase readability:** Bold text helps break up long blocks of text, making it easier for readers to skim and scan information.
– **Apply emphasis:** Bolding stresses emphasis on words or phrases to heighten importance relative to other text.
– **Identify navigation and buttons:** Buttons, menu items and navigational elements on websites are often bold to help them stand out.
Overall, use bold judiciously to highlight the most significant text that you want readers to focus on in your document or website. Avoid overusing bold formatting, as too much can decrease readability.
Best Practices for Using Bold Text
When applying bold formatting, follow these best practices:
– **Use bold purposefully:** Only make text bold when it is necessary to draw attention or emphasize importance. Avoid overusing it.
– **Be consistent:** Use bold formatting consistently throughout a document or website when applying to similar text types like headings or key terms.
– **Bold complete phrases:** Avoid bolding random single words. Bold entire key phrases or sentences for greatest impact and readability.
– **Avoid overcapitalization with bold:** Capitalizing entire bolded phrases reduces readability. Only capitalize properly according to standard capitalization rules.
– **Use a bold font variant:** When possible, choose a bold font variant instead of artificially creating boldfaced text with HTML/CSS formatting. This improves rendering, especially for fonts without a separate bold font file.
– **Check contrast:** Make sure bold text has sufficient color contrast from surrounding text so it is clearly visible.
– **Use proper semantic tags:** When using HTML, apply tags for bold text to add semantic meaning, rather than just for presentation.
By following these best practices, you can effectively use bold text formatting to improve readability, highlight important information, and add visual interest to documents and webpages. Use bold judiciously and purposefully for maximum impact.
Examples of Using Bold Text
Here are some examples of different ways bold text can be effectively used:
**In a product description:**
The Anvil 1000 Digital Anvil features a durable steel construction and 1000 lb weight capacity perfect for professional use.
**On a website:**
Welcome to the Product Support portal. Open a ticket, access documentation or view system status.
**In a resume:**
**Web Developer,** FiberTech Inc. – June 2021 – Present
– Developed frontend UI components using Angular and optimized page load times by 35%.
– Led migration of company website to mobile-first design increasing mobile traffic by 42%.
**In an email:**
Don’t forget, the **deadline to register** is Friday, July 10th. Sign up now to reserve your spot!
**In instructions:**
To operate the equipment:
1. Put on safety goggles to protect your eyes.
2. Use both hands to lift the 15 lb. weight plate. Never exceed the recommended capacity.
Using Bold for Emphasis vs. Headings
When formatting text for emphasis, it’s important to understand when to use bolding versus dedicated heading styles like subheadings.
Use bold text when you want to:**
– Draw attention to a key **phrase**, **word**, or **short** sentence for **emphasis** within a larger paragraph or block of text
Dedicated heading styles like subheadings are better suited when you want to:
– Create hierarchy and **structure** long sections of **content**
– Organize **major** topics and themes into **sections**
– Establish **clear** relationships between **headings** and **sections**
– Provide **waypoints** for users to easily **scan** and **navigate** long pages
For example, you would use bold in a paragraph like this:
_Starbucks has over 32,000 stores worldwide. The company has locations in 78 countries outside the US. Starbucks opened most of its **international stores** in the last decade._
But an H3 subheading would be better as:
#### Starbucks’ Global Growth
Starbucks has over 32,000 stores worldwide. The company has locations in 78 countries outside the US. Starbucks opened most of its international stores in the last decade.
So in summary:
– Use bold for **short** phrases and transient **emphasis**
– Use dedicated headings for **extended sections** and to establish **structure**
Both formatting options are important for organizing and calling attention to key content.
Using Bold vs Italics
Bold and italics are two options used to distinguish text from surrounding content. Here are some differences:
**Bold**
– Makes text darker and thicker
– Use for key words, phrases, or short sentences
– Grabs attention assertively
– Best for short bursts of emphasis
**Italics**
– Makes text leaner and more cursive
– Use for longer phrases or clauses
– Grabs attention subtly
– Best for extended emphasis
Because bold stands out more assertively, use it sparingly for highlighting the most important words that need emphasis. Use italics for lighter emphasis of longer phrases that need distinction from surrounding text.
Overusing bold can make it lose its impact and reduce readability. Alternating bold and italics can provide visual interest. However, use both judiciously. Avoid excessive formatting to maintain clean document style.
Conclusion
Bold text formatting is a useful way to make important words, phrases or short sentences stand out from surrounding content. It grabs readers’ attention and highlights key information.
There are several methods to make text bold, including keyboard shortcuts, the bold button, and HTML tags. Use bold purposefully to emphasize differences, highlight navigation, increase readability, and stress importance. Follow best practices like bolding full phrases and avoiding overuse.
Use bold for transient emphasis and subheadings for section structure. Italics provide light emphasis for longer phrases. Careful use of bold and italics can improve the presentation of your documents, websites, and other formats by directing attention and aiding readability.
| Formatting Option | Usage |
|---|---|
| Bold | Key words, names, short phrases, navigation, buttons |
| Italics | Extended emphasis of longer phrases, quotes |
| Headings | Organize sections, structure content |